The first ever Grand Prix of Monaco took place in 1950 and since 1995 there has been a regular Formula 1 race at the Circuit de Monaco course in Monte Carlo. Since 1929 Formula 1 and rally car races have been held in the Kingdom of Monaco and, in contrast to other Grand Prix events, first training runs are already are held on Thursday, not Friday which is a day off. The peculiarity of this course is the long tunnel where drivers have to cope with the stark contrast between light and dark. Nelson Piquet compares driving the course at Monaco with flying a helicopter in your living room.

The course at Monaco highlights the driver, not the car, which is why Ayrton Senna was able to win Monaco five times. The distance is an unusual 262.50, as normal distances are usually around 305 km. This is based on the fact that a race should take about 2 hours to complete and this time, even in good conditions, isn’t enough to cover the usual 305 kilometers in Monte Carlo. The track record is 1:14.439 minutes by Michael Schumacher. If you want to get caught up in the media hype and to see how the jet set lives --this is the place.