Considered as the most legendary Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Monaco Grand Prix is one of the main and most prestigious motor races. Its urban layout, winding road and steep bends follow the Principality’s natural landscape.
The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the oldest and one of the three most prestigious races in the world, held in the Principality on an urban circuit designed in 1929 by Antony Noghès, son of the President of the Automobile Club de Monaco, under the patronage of Prince Louis II of Monaco. This creation was a response to the challenge of organising a competition on the cramped territory of Monaco (about 1.5 km2 at the time). This was also the condition required by the International Sporting Commission for the Automobile Club de Monaco to be recognised internationally. Indeed, the other major Monégasque competition, the Monte-Carlo Motor Rally, created in 1911, was raced along the roads of many European countries.
On 14 April 1929, the Automobile Club de Monaco organised the first Monaco Grand Prix, with the agreement of Prince Louis II of Monaco. The race was won by William Grover-Williams and his Bugatti. The world was unaware then that the Monaco Grand Prix would soon become one of the most prestigious motor races, especially for sports cars, since 1952. A journey that sports commentator Stuart Codling recounts in the book, Grand Prix de Monaco, the life, published on 18 September 2019. He tells the story of this first race, with a route through the streets of the Principality considered complex and dangerous. We find all the sentiments of the Belle-Epoque, from the carefree atmosphere of the inter-war period to our time, when sportsmen such as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg now triumph.
Fun fact : With six victories across ten races, including five consecutive wins, Ayrton Senna holds the record for the most victories in the Monaco Grand Prix.
