Circuit de Monaco is considered the ultimate test of driving skills. It contains both the slowest corner in Formula 1, taken at just 50 km/h, and one of the quickest, taken at 260 km/h. The average speed is very low compared to other F1 circuits. The drivers have to go very close to the Armco barriers all the time and there is no margin for error at all. The Grand Prix of Monaco is certainly the most classic race on the calendar of the Formula One World Championship, and the one race teams and drivers want to win above all others.

Monaco is a track where the driver plays a more important role than the power of the car. The course is narrow and dangerous, and overtaking is almost impossible, so qualifying is very important. The only corner that offers a real chance of a passing move is turn 1, Sainte Devote. It is one of the few points with any run-off area and drivers quite often have to use the escape road. Overtaking might also be possible in the Nouvelle Chicane after the famous tunnel section, by pressuring the driver in front to make a mistake. The circuit demands a softer set-up than usual and maximum downforce.

In 1955 Italian Alberto Ascari made history by becoming the first driver to crash into the harbour in Monaco during a Grand Prix. Ascari survived, but he was treated for a broken nose, bruises and shock. The only other driver to crash into the harbour in the circuit’s history was Paul Hawkins from Australia. He did so when he spun at the chicane with his Lotus during the 1965 Grand Prix. Hawkins emerged from the unusual accident uninjured.