Fast facts ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli came out on top in yesterday's qualifying session for the 72nd running of the Monaco Grand Prix. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers his race guide for Round 5 of the 2026 F1 season.
Long history – Today’s race in the Principality will be the 72nd Monaco Grand Prix. The first Monaco race was the second round of the Formula One World Championship in 1950. It fell off the calendar in the next three season, but it returned in 1955 and remained on the schedule.
The successful Brazilian – Ayrton Senna is the most successful driver in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix with six victories to his name. The Brazilian is followed by the duo of Michael Schumacher and Graham Hill, who both scored five triumphs apiece.
Alain Prost is the only four-time Monaco Grand Prix winner while Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have all three wins in the Principality. Of the current field, only Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen are the only other repeat winners in the Principality with both of them having won two times.
Clear leader – McLaren is the most successful constructor in Monaco with 16 triumphs, followed by Ferrari with the Italians having won 10 races in the Principality so far.
Five configurations – The Monaco Grands Prix took place on five different layouts. The first one was used between 1929 and 1972, the second one was in use for the following three seasons, the third one hosted the race between 1976 and 1985 while the fourth one was used until 1996.
1:12.909 – That is the actual lap record around the twisty Monaco race track. Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest lap during the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, lowering the previous record.
Home heros - Louis Chiron was the last driver from Monaco who won on home turf. The racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix triumphed at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1931.
Race distance – As the average speed is the lowest of the year at around 160 km/h, drivers are unable to cover the usual minimum of 305km during the race. Completing a total of 78 laps around the 3.337km-long circuit, drivers will cover a race distance of 260.286km.
60km/h – Due to the tight pit lane, drivers have to adhere to the speed limit of 60km/h in the pit lane during the entire race weekend.
Modifications – The track has been resurfaced in a number of areas. These are: from Turn 19 to Turn 1, the Trun 5 run-off, from Turn 7 to the tunnel, and at the pit entry and the pit exit.
Straight-line mode – Monaco might become the only circuit this year where the FIA decides against the activation of the straight-line mode. The short straights and the curved section have been deemed too dangerous for a potential reduction in downforce at the front and the rear axle of the car.
19 - The layout features 19 turns of which eight are left-handed ones while eleven right-handed corners.
No start-finish offset – Monaco is one of the few tracks at which there is no offset between the start and finish line.
Three softest compounds - To cope with the slow corners where traction is vital, Pirelli brought the softest end of its five-compound range with the C3 nominated as the Hard, the C4 as the Medium and the C5 as the Soft compound.
Four stewards – The group of stewards for the Monaco Grand Prix will be formed by four members with Jean-Francois Calmes, Garry Connelly, Derek Warwick, and Tanja Geilhausen taking on this vital role at this weekend.
