GoKawiilFormula 1 held its annual race on the streets of Monte Carlo this past weekend. The event predates the sport—the first Monaco Grand Prix was held in 1929 on a layout that isn’t too different from the one used today.
Over the years, the buildings have changed, crash barriers appeared, the swimming pool section grew, and the cars eventually got too big and fast to race each other properly on the tight confines of a circuit that one world champion described as “riding a bicycle in your living room.” But nestled by the Mediterranean, surrounded by super yachts, F1’s least-good race is also its most famous and glamorous. After their home Grands Prix, it’s the one many drivers most want to win.
Overtaking here is virtually impossible; to see race cars do that around the principality, you’ll want to tune into Formula E’s visits there. So qualifying on Saturday, which sets the grid order for Sunday’s race, was more important than usual. Everyone expected pole to go to one of the two Ferraris. And for the first time this season, the cars wrecked completely flat-out; with no long straights and plenty of braking zones, the cars were not energy-limited for once this season.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is a hometown boy—a true Monegasque rather than a tax exile like the other F1 drivers who live there—and may just have the fastest one-lap pace among the entire grid right now. Meanwhile, his seven-time world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton has won the race three times and stood on the podium on six other occasions. The Ferrari this year is down on power—more on this in a bit—but the team’s decision to go with a small turbocharger for better low-speed drivability and the fact that the car is recognized as having the best chassis compliance should make it well-suited for this outlier of a track.