In a rain-drenched debut, a young Ayrton Senna took his modest Toleman car from 13th to 2nd in soaking conditions. He was rapidly closing in on the leader, Alain Prost, when the race was controversially red-flagged. Senna may not have won that day, but a star was undeniably born—and was there a better stage than Monaco for his coronation?

An all-time fan favourite is the 1992 race. Nigel Mansell had led flawlessly, dominating in his Williams, but with only a few laps to go, fearing a puncture, he pitted. The stop was sluggish, and Senna swept through to take the lead. What followed was pure, nail-biting theatre. Mansell hunted him down with alarming pace, but Senna unleashed a masterclass in defensive driving and held off Mansell to equal Graham Hill’s record of five Monaco wins (he’d break it the next year). 

In 2006, after a fiery engine failure, Kimi Räikkönen exited his car on the track, hopped over the barriers and walked straight onto his yacht. Still in his race suit, he poured himself a drink and watched the rest of the Grand Prix from the comfort of his deck. DNF? Yes. Dignity? Intact. The most Monégasque way to retire from a race.

Born just steps from the circuit, Leclerc grew up dreaming of victory in Monaco. In 2021, he put his Ferrari on pole but crashed at the end of qualifying. The team gambled, choosing not to replace the gearbox. The car gave out before the formation lap and Leclerc’s heartbreak was visible and personal. Since then, victory has been painstakingly close, and Leclerc finally secured his first home win last year. I’m sure we can expect him to be contending for the title again this year. 

If you find yourself in Monaco that weekend explore an amazing assortment of ASMALLWORLD F1 Monaco events, including terrace lunches, exclusive viewing events and glamorous afterparty tickets.