The Monaco Grand Prix, like the Indy 500 or Le Mans, stands out as the series race every driver dreams of winning – and we have, driving for us, somebody who has lived that dream.
Mark Webber’s masterful display from pole to flag around the tight corners of Monte Carlo last year saw him join a select band of drivers to have tasted victory in the principality. He described it as “the greatest day of my life”, which pretty much sums up the emotions Monaco can stir in everybody connected to the sport. Even those who are just here to be seen at the parties.
With Sebastian Vettel crossing the line second last year for our 1-2, it would be something of an understatement to say 2010 was our best performance in Monaco. But, the race in 2006 was a real milestone for the team, as David Coulthard secured our very first podium by finishing third – and celebrated in style with a Superman cape. Points then came in 2008 as Mark finished fourth, while in 2009 he crossed the line in fifth.
The race has been in existence since 1955, with Ayrton Senna leading the list of multiple winners with six victories, followed by Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher with five apiece.
The circuit itself has been altered several times since the first race in the mid-1950s, but the tight, barrier-lined route still demands high levels of driver concentration, and overtaking is near impossible, so a good qualifying session is crucial to success here. As Nelson Piquet liked to say, a lap of Monaco is “like trying to cycle round your living room."
There are 19 turns on a 3.34km lap of this particular living room. The race is 78 laps, a distance of 260.520km – Schumacher’s 2004 lap record of 1:14.439 still stands today.
Some of the world’s biggest celebrities flock to Monaco each year for the four-day F1 party – and several make the Red Bull Energy Station their base. After all, if you’re going to kick back and enjoy a motor race, then what better place to do it than at the most glamorous sporting event on the planet?
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