Circuit de Monaco

Monaco is the calendar's most iconic venue and its most idiosyncratic. The 3.337-kilometre street circuit winds through Monte Carlo at speeds that peak in the tunnel and slow to walking pace at Loews, with barriers millimetres from the racing line at almost every apex. Modern F1 cars have outgrown the layout: there is effectively no overtaking outside mistakes and pit stops, which has made strategy, qualifying and tyre management the entire story of a Monaco weekend.

The circuit has been used for grand prix racing since 1929, continuously as a Formula 1 championship round since 1955 (with the exception of a single missed year). It rewards precision over pace — drivers routinely set their fastest laps by braking later at corners where the margin of error is zero.

The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the three events in motorsport's unofficial Triple Crown, alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Graham Hill's five Monaco wins earned him the nickname "Mr Monaco" until Ayrton Senna surpassed him with six, a record matched only in recent years. Changes to the layout have been minimal — the circuit today is recognisably the same one raced in the 1950s.