The race every driver dreams of winning
Conceived by Antony Noghès, the Monaco Grand Prix remains the most famous race on the Formula One calendar. First held in 1929, the street circuit is tight, twisty, bumpy, slow and totally unforgiving - an anachronism for today's Formula One cars that gasp and crawl around its 3.340 km lap. To this day, Monaco remains the race that every driver dreams of winning sometime in their career.
In terms of chassis set-up, the overriding concern at Monaco is downforce. Overall speeds are low - cars may reach a maximum of 290kph through the famous tunnel but the average speed for a lap is less than half that. The result is that engineers throw everything they can at their cars to generate downforce and optimise low-speed handling. Securing a good grid position is vital since overtaking is truly problematic, while fuel consumption and tyre wear are not significant issues. It's a weekend that requires maximum concentration and consistency from drivers and team members alike.