All Info You Want to See Before the 2024 Monaco F1 GP Starts

The 2024 Formula 1 World Championship season continues with the legendary Monaco Grand Prix, the eighth round of the campaign.

Will We See a Three-Way Battle?

After a thrilling end to the race last weekend at Imola, we might again see a battle for victory between Red Bull and McLaren, while Ferrari could have some chances. Max Verstappen is coming into the weekend with five wins in the first seven rounds. On his side, McLaren's Lando Norris and his momentum could give him big chances of winning on a weekend when the Woking-based team is honoring the legendary Ayrton Senna with a special yellow livery.

Verstappen beat Norris in Imola by just seven-tenths, but the biggest battle could come in Q3, or simply start at that moment of the Grand Prix weekend.

Last week, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc overtook Sergio Pérez's Red Bull for second in the World Drivers' Championship. Verstappen is the leader with 161 points, while Leclerc is second with 113. Pérez remains third with 107 points, but it might not last, as Norris is fourth with 101 points and has scored big points in the last three events, with a couple of second places and a win.

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Circuit on May 19, 2024 in Imola, Italy

Red Bull is leading the World Drivers Championship with 268 points, but not having two competitive drivers could hinder the Austrian outfit's chances in this regard, with Ferrari (212 points) having a consistent lineup with Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

McLaren (Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri) is third in the WCC with 154 points, a long way ahead of Mercedes (79 points with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton), and Aston Martin (44 points with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll).

Mercedes looked at least comfortably behind the Top 3, without big competition from the rest of the midfield. With drivers feeling a bit more comfortable with the W15 car, the team could be a surprise performer at Monaco. However, the car continues to be unpredictable in Qualifying and it could be costly at a place like the twisty Circuit de Monaco.

Williams (Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant) and Kick Sauber (Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu) are the only teams without points scored in 2024.

2024 Monaco GP Facts & Figures

This will be the 81st Monaco Grand Prix in racing history, and the 70th celebrated under the F1 World Drivers’ Championship format, since 1950.

The first Monaco Grand Prix was held in 1929, and William Grover-Williams took the victory for Bugatti, while Juan Manuel Fangio won the first Monaco race that was part of the World Championship, in 1950, in what was the first of his 24 Formula 1 wins.

The race was not part of the World Championship from 1951 to 1954, while one non-championship race took place in that span (1952). In 2020, the race did not take place, and it ended a run of 65 official Monaco Grands Prix in a row, since 1955, but it returned successfully since 2021.

The Monaco round is the most prestigious in Formula 1, and it is also one of the biggest motor races in the world, as it is a part of the motorsport ‘Triple Crown’ with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A win at Monaco often means something similar to a World Championship for a driver, and only 36 racers have won at the prestigious street circuit in Formula 1 history. Out of those 36, only 17 have more than one victory at Monaco, and the legendary Ayrton Senna leads the all-time table with six wins at the principality and some iconic performances. In 1984, Senna finished second in a wet race and had the pace to win on a Toleman car that was not among the most competitive machines on the grid.

Two-time F1 champion Graham Hill was another Monaco master in his prime, winning five times around the streets, a tally surpassed by Senna and matched by seventime World Champion Michael Schumacher. Four-time champion Alain Prost is the only other driver with at least four wins at Monaco, followed by Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Nico Rosberg, and Lewis Hamilton (leader among active racers) with three wins each.

In terms of the highly important Pole Position at Monaco, Senna also leads the table with five, followed by five-time champion and two-time winner at Monaco, Juan Manuel Fangio, two-time champion Jim Clark, three-time champion Stewart (three-time winner) and Prost with four poles at the track.

Senna also had the most podiums at Monaco, with eight. He is followed by Graham Hill, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel with seven podiums each.

Among teams, McLaren has the most wins at Monaco with 15, achieved by seven drivers.

The Pole Position will be essential for the results of Sunday’s race, as 44% of the Monaco GPs have been won from first on the grid (32 out of 69 - Verstappen won in 2021 from first on the grid, as pole-sitter Leclerc didn’t start the race). Overall, 85.5% of the Monaco races were won from the Top 3 places (59 out of 69) which makes qualifying surely one of the most important of the entire season, if not the most important.

In 1996, Frenchman Olivier Panis won a crazy race after starting from 14th place on the grid (the lowest grid position for a Monaco winner in F1 history), but changeable weather conditions and many mistakes from seemingly every driver helped Panis and Ligier.

The last three editions have been won by Red Bull, with Verstappen winning in 2021 and 2023, and his teammate Sergio Pérez winning the event in 2022 from third on the grid.

Circuit de Monaco Track Info

A twisty, challenging track that allows no mistakes from the drivers, the iconic Circuit de Monaco will make drivers pay for any issue throughout the entire weekend. The track, which has not had major changes throughout its history, beyond some corners added or reshaped, is currently 3,337 km long and has 19 corners.

In Formula 1, the track layout has had some changes throughout its history to increase safety, and the most notable change in Monaco's history is the shape of the chicane at the tunnel exit, which was super fast in the early days and until the early 1980s. Now, the chicane forces the cars to enter at slower speeds, but it offers a slight chance of overtaking.

Other changes were the addition of the Piscine ‘S’ and La Rascasse for the 1973 race and the new shapes of the Sainte Devote and Anthony Noghes corners from 1976. The chicane at the tunnel exit was a simple left-right, fast chicane ever since the race was part of the World Championship, but it was changed for the 1986 race and it has maintained a similar feel since.

Small changes have been made since 1986, but the track has maintained its essence.

Though overtaking is highly difficult at Monaco, the circuit has seen some extraordinary battles in the modern era of Formula 1, especially in the 1992 race between Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, or Max Verstappen’s hot pursuit of Lewis Hamilton in the 2019 edition.

The lap records for the track are held by Lewis Hamilton (1:10.166 in the 2019 qualifying - outright record) and 1:12.909 for the Fastest Lap during a race (2021).

2024 Monaco Grand Prix - Tyres

The dry tyres for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix will be the C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C5 as P Zero Red soft.

Pirelli explained their choice with a statement from Mario Isola, Pirelli’s head of motorsport: "The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the classics on the Formula 1 calendar and this year it reaches an impressive milestone. This weekend will be the 70th edition of the race to count towards the Drivers’ World Championship. There were in fact eleven earlier races, ten before the World Championship for the blue riband racing category was established and one in 1952 when the Grand Prix was contested by closed-wheel Sports cars.

As usual, Pirelli’s choice of slick tyre compounds falls to the three softest available this year, which means the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft. As is generally the case on street circuits the track has a particularly smooth surface, given it is in daily use for road cars and so the tyres must provide as much grip as possible.

In Monaco, the tyres are subjected to some of the lowest forces of the whole season as the average speed over the 3.337 kilometre-long track is very slow with some corners taken at less than 50 km/h, while the cars are only at full throttle for 30% of the lap.

However, mitigating this low stress level is the fact that, with 78 laps to cover on Sunday, every phenomenon that can characterise tyre behaviour occurs far more frequently than average, especially when it comes to the level of energy developed when traction is required. Another factor to consider regarding the tyres is graining which, especially on the first couple of days, could turn out to be an unwelcome guest.

On a track where the margin for error is pretty much non-existent, one factor which 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 harbours. The driver must work towards finding the best lines, getting ever closer to the barriers, often brushing them with the shoulder of the tyres.

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 wellnigh impossible, even when there is a performance gap between cars that can run into seconds. Qualifying will be even more critical, when this year we have seen the order in which the cars line up behind the starting lights decided by just thousandths of a second.

On a track like this, an appearance from the Safety Car is almost inevitable, with past experience rating it at 77% probable, on average almost twice per race. Although curiously, last year’s race ran smoothly with no neutralisation periods.

There is really only one strategic option and that is a one-stop, trying to pit as late as possible precisely to benefit from any eventual Safety Car, thus minimising the time lost in the pit lane.

The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the classics on the Formula 1 calendar and this year it reaches an impressive milestone. This weekend will be the 70th edition of the race to count towards the Drivers’ World Championship.

There were in fact eleven earlier races, ten before the World Championship for the blue riband racing category was established and one in 1952 when the Grand Prix was contested by closed-wheel Sports cars."

The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 20.0 PSI (front) and 19.0 PSI (rear).

2024 Monaco Grand Prix Weather Forecast

The action in Monaco will start on Friday.

Friday, May 24th - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Partly sunny and pleasant
Max. temperature: 21°C
Chance of rain: 6%

Saturday, May 25th - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: Partly sunny
Max. temperature: 21°C
Chance of rain: 5%

Sunday, May 26th - Race
Conditions: Mostly sunny and pleasant
Max. temperature: 22°C
Chance of rain: 4%

Who will be on the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix Podium?

2023 Monaco F1 Grand Prix podium: 1. Verstappen, 2. Alonso & 3. Ocon

We're expecting a dry Monaco Grand Prix, as opposed to the rain-hit races we've had over the last two seasons. Still, the importance of Qualifying remains as high as ever, with the race expected to be quite straightforward in terms of strategy.

Track position will be vital, and teams like McLaren and Ferrari can't afford to allow Red Bull to control the race at the front, especially at a track were overtaking seems an impossible task.

The prediction for the top three of the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix is 1. Lando Norris, 2. Charles Leclerc, 3. Max Verstappen.

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