A look ahead to the Monaco Grand Prix

This weekend sees the jewel of Formula 1’s crown, the Monaco Grand Prix, take centre stage as the race around the streets of the tiny principality form the most famous track on the Formula 1 calendar.

There is no greater challenge for a driver than racing on the tight and twisting public roads that are lined with barriers waiting to punish any mistake by the drivers with each corner littered with a history of past accidents by some of the greatest drivers of all time, whether it is Senna crashing going into the tunnel in ’88 or Schumacher at Porter in ’96 each corner has a history of epic proportions.

Monaco has historically been a car breaker with half of all cars finishing the race that have started. This has improved in recent years but even so only an average of 13 cars has finished in the last decade. This race will be exceptionally tough on the components of the cars and with the lack of in race refuelling it can be expected that teams will place a greater emphasis on durability rather than outright speed.

The Circuit

With its tight and twisting nature Monaco places a greater requirement on mechanical grip than almost any other circuit Formula 1 visits throughout the year. Melbourne places a similar requirement on the cars and Red Bull was the class of the field in the dry in Australia so the team will look to replicate that form this weekend. They will once more take the fastest car in the field to Monaco but will face stiff competition as there are five different previous winners challenging Webber and Vettel for victory. The past winners are Button, Alonso, Trulli, Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, long renowned as a ‘Monaco Master.’

Weather for the Monaco Grand Prix

Changeable weather is forecast for this weekend’s race but it is expected that most of the rain will pass the Rivera by the time cars roll out for practice tomorrow. The expectation if for it to be cloudy but there is only a 15% chance of rain according to local stations.

Statistics

Obviously enough with the tight track configuration it is necessary to qualify at the front of the field to have a successful Grand Prix; the winner generally comes from the first three on the grid. Olivier Panis is the lowest qualified driver to emerge victorious having won the wet 1996 edition from 14^th on the grid. This race coincidently was the second most mechanically challenging race ever with only 7 of 22 cars finishing. The 1990 race won by Senna was slightly more taxing on cars and drivers (7 of 26.)

Monaco was one of the races that formed the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship but due to financial issues the race was not restaged until 1955, since then it has had an uninterrupted presence in the championship.

Senna is the most successful driver to grace the principality with six wins ahead of Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher with five apiece.

What can we expect from this weekend?

The Red Bull’s will once more be expected to arrive in Monaco with the fastest car but the one thing that Monaco has always been able to provide is a shock result. This is one of the last circuits on the calendar that can allow the driver to make a massive difference and as a result it is generally more beneficial to look at past Monaco Grand Prix rather than this seasons race weekends to find the potential form for this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton will once more look to showcase his abilities on the streets where he won in 2008, but with Michael Schumacher looking more confident in the Mercedes from Barcelona he could be primed to spring a surprise this weekend. The raw pace of the updated Mercedes wasn’t all that impressive in Spain but the fact that Schumacher looked confident in how it would react and handle could make him a legitimate contender on Sunday.