Welcome to Monaco, the jewel in the F1 crown! The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the classics on the Formula 1 calendar and this year it reaches an impressive milestone. This was the 70th edition of the race to count towards the Drivers’ World Championship, only Monza has been on the F1 calendar more times than Monaco.

On a track where the margin for error is virtually non-existent, one factor that affects how quickly a driver’s lap times come down is the confidence they gradually gain, regardless of how well they know the track, as they tackle its 19 corners and all the other hazards it harbors. The driver must work towards finding the best lines, getting ever closer to the barriers, often brushing them with the shoulders of the tires. The skill is in doing this without breaking anything on the car, and it is the key to securing a good grid position, essential in a race where overtaking is well-nigh impossible, even when there is a performance gap between cars that can run into seconds. Qualifying will be even more critical, as this year we have seen the order in which the cars line up behind the starting lights decided by just thousandths of a second.

2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna, who left a significant mark on the Monaco Grand Prix. The Brazilian still holds the record for the most wins (6), pole positions (5), and podium finishes (8). Michael Schumacher has set the most fastest race laps (5) and is tied with Graham Hill for second place on the winners' standings with five victories. Schumacher, Hill, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel are all tied for second in podium finishes, with seven each. With 17 wins, McLaren is the most successful team, while Ferrari has started from pole the most times (12), set the most fastest race laps (17), and tops the list of podium appearances with 55, more than double that of second-placed McLaren with 27.

As had happened at Imola the weekend before, many teams and drivers had special designs commemorating Ayrton Senna. McLaren featured a special livery with Senna’s helmet colors on the MCL38. Oscar Piastri had a special edition helmet design, similar to Pierre Gasly’s Imola helmet, which was also auctioned to raise funds for the Instituto Ayrton Senna and its projects to provide opportunities and transform lives.

Since Monaco is Charles Leclerc’s home race, he had some special edition gear showcasing his father’s racing colors.

Every corner in Monaco has a story to tell. Each turn holds its own place in Monaco Grand Prix folklore, epitomizing the glitz, glamour, and rich history of the principality. Here are their names: T1 Sainte Devote, T2 Beau Rivage, T3 Massenet, T4 Casino Square, T5 Mirabeau Superior, T6 Hairpin—this particular curve has had many names in the past, is the slowest corner on the F1 calendar, and one of the most iconic in Formula 1—T7 Mirabeau Inferior, T8 Portier, T9 The Tunnel, T10 and T11 Nouvelle Chicane, T12 Tabac, Turns 13 to 16 Swimming Pool, T17 La Rascasse, and T18 Antony Noghès, honoring the founder of the Monaco Grand Prix. Antony Noghès is often credited with introducing the chequered flag as the official signal to mark the end of motor races.

FRIDAY

If it’s true that the outcome of the Monaco Grand Prix is pretty much determined by the qualifying order, then Charles Leclerc had already put his name forward, dominating the first day of practice for the 70th edition of his home race to count for the Drivers’ World Championship. The Monegasque set the fastest time of the day during FP2 at 1:11.278, already quicker than last year’s pole time of 1:11.365 set by Max Verstappen. It was impressive to watch the Scuderia Ferrari driver improve on every run, while others seemed to struggle a bit more to find the limit in their cars. While showering praise on the quickest driver on track that day, it was only Friday, and Monaco qualifying always throws up some surprises, especially as the margin for error is practically non-existent.

Furthermore, the fact that five different teams were represented in the top five in FP2, all covered by just 675 thousandths of a second, showed how close the hierarchy was throughout the field. For the record, behind Leclerc were Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes, Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris in the McLaren.

As was often the case in Monaco free practice, drivers tried to do as many laps as possible to build up confidence dealing with the unique challenges of this track. Between them, the 20 drivers covered 1,180 laps, or almost four thousand kilometers, 3,937.66 to be precise.

SATURDAY

What a thrilling qualifying session we witnessed on the streets of Monte Carlo!

After being quickest on Friday, Charles Leclerc today took his third Monaco Grand Prix pole position, having previously secured the top spot on the grid in 2021 and 2022. He thus joins drivers of the caliber of Niki Lauda, Stirling Moss, and Michael Schumacher on the list of three-time pole sitters in the Principality. This was the Monegasque’s 24th pole, which puts him equal twelfth with the aforementioned Lauda and Nelson Piquet. It’s Ferrari’s 13th pole here and its 250th overall.

The front two rows of the grid will feature two Ferraris and two McLarens tomorrow afternoon. Alongside Leclerc (1:10.270) will be Australia’s Oscar Piastri (1:10.424). Behind them will be Spain’s Carlos Sainz (1:10.518) and Englishman Lando Norris (1:10.542).

SUNDAY

Some races are built for us, the fans, but this place was built for them, the drivers. This was the Monaco Grand Prix!

It had been a perfect weekend for Charles Leclerc, who finally shook off his Monaco jinx. He had been quickest in Friday free practice and in qualifying on Saturday, and on race day, the Monegasque won his home race for the first time, securing his sixth Formula 1 victory. His previous win dated back to the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix. This was the Maranello team’s 245th win and their tenth in this race.

But it wasn’t a race without drama. When the lights went out at the start, pole-sitter Leclerc got away well and led the field into Sainte-Devote. Behind him, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was under pressure from Carlos Sainz. As the pair went into Turn 1, Piastri clipped Sainz's left-front tyre. Nursing a puncture, Sainz was forced to take the escape road as they approached Casino Square. Further back, chaos unfolded. Starting from 16th on the grid, Pérez began slowly and was swamped by both Haas drivers, who had made good starts after being relegated to the back row following disqualification from qualifying due to rear wing infringements.

On the run up the hill, Pérez moved to the middle of the track to defend his position. Behind him, to his left, Nico Hülkenberg backed away from any challenge, but on the right, Kevin Magnussen tried to push past. He clipped Pérez’s right rear wheel, causing the Mexican to collide violently with the barriers and both Haas cars. Thanks to the strength of the survival cell and the wheel tethers, the Red Bull driver quickly climbed out of the wrecked tub. However, with debris scattered over a long stretch of the track and another incident occurring at Portier, where the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon clashed, the race was immediately red-flagged. Ocon was later handed a 10-second time penalty for colliding with his teammate, a sanction that would be converted to a five-place grid drop next time out in Montreal.

After an almost 45-minute delay, the race resumed, becoming a complicated chess match between the top four. The Ferraris managed the tires and the gaps strategically, ensuring the McLarens didn't have a pit stop window to George Russell in fifth.

After the race, it was all celebrations for Leclerc, his team, and the Monegasque Royal Family, with Prince Albert even spraying champagne on the podium for the first time.

Alongside Charles on the podium were Oscar Piastri, second for McLaren, equalling his previous best result at last year’s Qatar GP, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who had already finished twice on the podium in Monaco, with second places in 2021 and 2022.

Charles Leclerc became the first Monegasque driver to win a Grand Prix at home since Louis Chiron did it in a Bugatti in 1931, and the first since the World Championship was established in 1950!

Excerpts of this article provided by Pirelli S.p.A. and Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

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