Monaco GP Track Guide

For the sixth round of the 2009 F1 world championship, the teams and drivers head to the small principality of Monaco—the jewel in the crown of the F1 calendar. Monaco is arguably the most famous race on the F1 calendar, and until last season was F1's only street circuit.

There has been a race on the streets of Monaco since 1929, and is one of the original races from the first world championship back in 1950.

It is unique amongst the circuits because it is so tight and twisty with no run-off areas and very little overtaking spots—Nelson Piquet once described racing there as 'riding a bike around your living room' which I feel is a pretty good description.

The average lap speed here is around 90mph—pedestrian speeds when compared to the average speed of around 160mph at the likes of Monza.

As for the circuit characteristics, it tests the driver's concentration to the maximum with no resting place at all for the drivers—the straightest piece of the circuit being a small section between the chicane and Tabac corner.

But in order for anyone to understand just how demanding the circuit is, you need to see and what the drivers will face. So heres my track guide to Monaco:

St Devote

The approach to the first corner is quite tricky as the start-finish straight (if you could call it that) curves to the right, making the braking point very difficult. And due to the large apartments blocks lining the outside of the circuit, it can appear to be very dull and dark, making seeing the marker boards even more difficult.

But it is a corner that rewards bravery and commitment. The drivers must clip the apex of the kerb as they go through the corner, and then go as wide as possible on the exit for maximum traction without ending up in the barrier—get it wrong, like many drivers have done in the past, and your race ends in the tyres.

Massinet/Casino

After the run up Beau Rivage, the drivers enter the long, tricky Massinet corner, which always seems to go on forever and frustrating to get the power down.

A well set up car will always gain speed through this section—a poor set-up will see the driver drifting towards the barrier on the outside of the corner in the way that Bourdais and Coulthard did last season.

After getting through the corner the drivers needs to be careful, as the barrier on the inside tends to come towards them on the exit, so the drivers cannot hug the inside barrier too much.

Then from Massinet its straight into Casino Square, a corner which many drivers enjoy. Similar to St Devote, the drivers have to attack the corner and clip the apex, getting the power down as early as possible.

But like so many areas in Monaco things aren't as straight forward as that—the track drops away from the drivers on the exit and the back end of the car gets very light, and you will often see drivers fighting the car on the exit

Mirabeau/ Grand Hotel/ Portier

Out of Casino Square the drivers run into Mirabeau, which is more tricky than it first appears. Although it looks like a straight forward braking zone into the corner, we have seen many drivers over the years lock up the inside wheel and run into the small run-off area of the corner, causing either a loss of time or a race-ending crash.

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