Fast facts ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix

F1 Grand Prix, GP Monaco, Monte Carlo Circuit

After the coronavirus-enforced absence last year, Formula One teams and drivers are back in the Principality for another thrilling event in the glamorous scenery.

The Circuit de Monaco is one of the most exciting challenges faced by F1 drivers, a circuit at which precise control must be matched by total commitment and unwavering focus.

Long history – Today’s race in the Principality will be the 67th Monaco Grand Prix. The first Monaco race was the second round of the Formula One World Championship in 1950. It fell off the calendar in the next three season, but it returned in 1955 and remained on the schedule until last year when it was called off due to the pandemic.

The successful Brazilian – Ayrton Senna is the most successful driver in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix with six victories to his name. The Brazilian is followed by the duo of Michael Schumacher and Graham Hill, who both scored five triumphs apiece.

Alain Prost is the only four-time Monaco Grand Prix winner while Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Nico Rosberg and Nico Rosberg have all three wins in the Principality. Of the current field, only Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel are repeat winners in the Principality with both of them having won two times.

Clear leader – McLaren is the most successful constructor in Monaco with 15 triumphs, followed by Ferrari with the Italians having won 9 races in the Principality so far.

Five configurations – The Monaco Grands Prix took place on five different layouts. The first one was used between 1929 and 1972, the second one was in use for the following three season, the third one hosted the race between 1976 and 1985 while the fourth one was used until 1996.

1:14.260 – That is the actual lap record around the twisty Monaco race track. Max Verstappen recorded the fastest lap during the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, lowering the previous record.

Race distance – As the average speed is the lowest of the year at around 160 km/h, drivers are unable to cover the usual minimum of 305km during the race. Completing a total of 78 laps around the 3.337km-long circuit, drivers cover a race distance of 260.286km.

60km/h – Due to the tight pit lane, drivers have to adhere to the speed limit of 60km/h in the pit lane during the entire race weekend.

Modifications – The Circuit de Monaco has been resurfaced in a number of locations, including the fast lane of the pit lane, from the exit of Turn 19 to the exit of Turn 1, from the exit of Turn 4 to the exit of the tunnel prior to Turn 10, and from the exit of Turn 11 to the entry to Turn 15. Debris fences have also been added in a number of locations. Furthermore, the apex kerb at Turn 4 has been replaced with a painted flat kerb.

DRS – There is only a single DRS in Monaco, with the detection point located 80m after Turn 16 and the activation point located 18m after Turn 19.

Surface – The track has been resurfaced in a number of places, with changes being made for example to Massanet, Tabac, the Swimming Pool exit and the Anthony Noghes exit. In total, two-thirds of the circuit have been resurfaced for this year.

19 - The layout features 19 turns of which eight are left-handed ones while eleven right-handed corners.

No start-finish offset – Monaco is one of the few tracks at which there is no offset between the start and finish line.

Three softest compounds - To cope with the slow corners where traction is vital, Pirelli brought the softest end of its five-compound range with the C3 nominated as the Hard, the C4 as the Medium and the C5 as the Soft compound.

Five stewards – The group of stewards for the Monaco Grand Prix will be formed by five members with Nish Shetty, Dennis Dean, Jose Abed, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Eric Barrabino taking on this vital role at this weekend.