Formula 1 has visited the famous streets of Monte Carlo ever since its debut season in 1950 and the Monaco GP has delivered a flurry of truly unforgettable moments since.
The Principality also played host to one iconic incident in Formula 1’s history from the race’s first appearance. It marked the second race of F1’s inaugural season after the British GP and yielded Juan Manuel Fangio’s first win in a career that returned five drivers’ championships.
Monte Carlo has regularly been a playground for the best of the best in Formula 1. No driver has more Monaco GP wins to their name than the six that Ayrton Senna sealed from 1987 to 1993. The Brazilian surpassed the five of ‘Mr Monaco’ Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher.
Even when Senna was not winning on the streets of the Principality with Lotus and McLaren, the Brazilian created unforgettable Monaco GP moments. So, with that in mind, here are the seven most unforgettable moments to unfold whilst Formula 1 has staged the Monaco GP…
Alberto Ascari and Paul Hawkins fell in the harbour at the 1955 and 1965 Monaco GP
F1’s early events in Monte Carlo saw the pinnacle of motorsport race around narrow streets with little safety measures. It was not until 1969 that the organisers installed Armco barriers at certain points of the track. Jackie Stewart played a vital role in F1’s push for greater safety.
So slim, in fact, were the safety measures that Alberto Ascari even took a dip in the harbour during the 1955 Monaco GP. Paul Hawkins even also followed the Italian by crashing into the harbour at the 1965 race after spinning through the straw bales which denoted the chicane.
Ascari ended up in the drink in his Lancia upon skidding through the chicane after the tunnel before hitting a stone wall and smashing through a sandbag-lined fence. The sight of Stirling Moss retiring from the lead of the race succinctly distracted Ascari, who only broke his nose.
Riccardo Patrese won the Monaco GP no driver wanted to win in 1982
Ricardo Patrese won the race that no driver seemed to want to win at the 1982 Monaco GP. The final three laps of the event saw chaos unfold on the streets of Monte Carlo as the lead changed hands four times. Just five drivers also took the chequered flag among 10 finishers.
Rain drenched the Principality as the end of the race approached and caught Alain Prost out in first place. The Frenchman span at the harbourside chicane after assuming the lead from his Renault teammate, Rene Arnoux, thanks to his compatriot stalling at the swimming pool.
Patrese passed Prost’s wrecked Renault for the lead but held it for less than a lap before also spinning. His error gave Didier Pironi the lead only for the Ferrari driver to run out of fuel on the final lap. Andrea de Cesaris could not steal the win, either, after also running out of fuel.
Pironi and De Cesaris’ woes were a welcome relief for Patrese, though. He came back from a spin to win the 1982 Monaco GP as the only driver to finish on the lead lap. Derek Dally (P6) and Prost (P7) were classified finishers despite crashing. Michele Alboreto (P10) also retired.
Ayrton Senna produced one of Formula 1’s greatest qualifying laps at the 1988 Monaco GP
The Monaco GP of 1988 yielded one of its most unforgettable moments thanks to Senna. He produced one of the greatest laps that Formula 1 has ever seen as the Brazilian secured pole position by 1.427 seconds from his biggest rival Prost in their dominant McLaren MP4/4 car.
Senna climbed out of his car with a ghostly look on his face. So in the zone was the Brazilian, in fact, that he remarked after the session: “Suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension.”
But after an out-of-body experience in qualifying came a rare mistake from Senna. He failed to convert his substantial qualifying advantage in the race, despite opening a 55-second gap to Prost, after McLaren boss Ron Dennis urged Senna to slow down to seal a one-two finish.
Senna obeyed Dennis’ request and reduced his pace but, by doing so, he lost concentration for a split second at Portier. The Brazilian crashed into the barriers and so livid was he with himself for crashing that Senna even stormed back to his apartment without saying a word.
Ayrton Senna delivered a defensive masterclass to deny Nigel Mansell in 1992
Two-time F1 champion Hill was the original ‘Mr Monaco’. But Senna’s legend in Monte Carlo produced several unforgettable Monaco GP moments, which are likely best remembered for his 1992 drive to deny Nigel Mansell. It was a famous fight for the win forged in F1’s history.
The 1992 Monaco GP alone dispels suggestions that the only session truly worth watching is qualifying. Mansell in his utterly dominant Williams FW14B with its active suspension looked set to claim a sixth successive race win. But a loose wheel nut proved costly on Lap 71 of 78.
READ MORE: The most successful drivers at the Formula 1 Monaco GP of all time
Mansell had uncharacteristically opted against blitzing away from the field during the race in a cruise to glory. But he lost nearly 15 seconds to Senna after feeling the rear of his car drop in the tunnel. Mansell pitted, believing he had a puncture, and came out 5.1s behind Senna.
Six laps with vastly superior tyres were not enough, though, as Senna made his McLaren as wide as the roads of the Principality. The Brazilian was a moving roadblock that Mansell did not have a way around. He intimidated Senna as much as possible but came home 0.2s shy.
Oliver Panis won his only F1 race as three drivers finished the 1996 Monaco GP
Oliver Panis only ever won one Grand Prix over his Formula 1 career from 1994 to 2004 that featured 158 entries. But the Frenchman took his sole victory at the 1996 Monaco GP ahead of David Coulthard by 4.828 seconds and Johnny Herbert by 37.503s as the only finishers.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen in P4 plus Mika Salo (P5), Mika Hakkinen (P6) and Eddie Irvine (P7) all were still classified as finishing the Monaco GP. But they had each retired like 14 of the other drivers to start the race. Andrea Montermini did not even get to make the start of the event.
Attrition was the theme of the day after rain fell in Monte Carlo with Montermini’s Monaco GP ending in the morning warm-up. Schumacher even crashed on the first lap after Damon Hill overtook the German. Hill would even remain in the lead until Lap 40 when his engine died.
Panis had started to make progress towards the front before Hill’s retirement having pitted for slick tyres. The Frenchman overtook Irvine and eventually had Jean Alesi in his sight for the lead. But his compatriot would fall to the wayside on L60 owing to suspension damage.
Michael Schumacher parked his Ferrari at Rascasse at the 2006 Monaco GP
Schumacher was a master of the dark arts in Formula 1 on way to becoming the first seven-time drivers’ champion. But his controversial methods like bumping into Hill during the 1994 Australian GP to decide the title would not pay off when he parked at the 2006 Monaco GP.
One headline even led with ‘super-villain’ amid the cheat storm that Schumacher sparked in qualifying. He was on provisional pole position after posting the fastest time but was unable to improve with the Ferrari pilot’s final run. So, he nestled the nose of his car in the barriers.
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Schumacher made it appear like he made a mistake through Rascasse after going deep and losing the rear. But he intentionally left it too late to make the bend and turned out twice to block the road. It ensured Fernando Alonso would not steal pole position away for Renault.
Alonso had lapped the Circuit de Monaco 0.064 seconds slower than Schumacher. But the German’s mistake meant the Spaniard did not have a chance to improve his time. Yet it was not over as the stewards stripped Schumacher of pole and sent him to the back of the grid.
Renault team boss Flavio Briatore had declared that what Schumacher did in qualifying ‘was unsporting’. McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen even said, ‘I don’t believe that he really had any problems’. Jacques Villeneuve also said, ‘There’s no way you could make a mistake like that’.
The stewards agreed with Briatore, Raikkonen and Villeneuve’s views that Schumacher had stepped beyond the limits. But from one of the most unforgettable Monaco GP moments of all time came one of its best drives, as Schumacher fought from a pit lane start to secure P5.
Kimi Raikkonen trudged to his yacht after retiring from the 2006 Monaco GP
While Senna stormed back to his apartment after crashing out of a near-certain Monaco GP win in 1988, Raikkonen stormed back to a yacht upon retiring with a similarly unforgettable moment in 2006. The Finn even trudged 2km (1.25m) in his full race gear to reach the yacht.
Raikkonen had no interest with returning to the paddock or McLaren’s garage after retiring from the 2006 Monaco GP. His race came to an abrupt halt when his Mercedes engine took its last breath. So, he returned to his yacht and watched the rest of the meet in the hot tub.
McLaren watched Raikkonen’s hopes of winning the 2006 Monaco GP go up in smoke from second place on Lap 51. His MP4-21 ground to a halt exiting the hotel hairpin before walking along the pavement from Portier, through the tunnel and down to the harbourside chicane.
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