Monaco casino f1

The Monaco Grand Prix is arguably the most iconic race on the Formula One calendar – steeped in history and the scene of some season-defining moments down the years.

The street circuit means the principality transforms for one long weekend, and it forms one-third of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the Indianapolis and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

While the Monaco GP brings glitz and glamour – as well as the chance to follow in the legendary footsteps of Ayrton Senna, who won it a record six times – the narrow circuit presents challenges at every corner.

Each corner has a name, too, adding to the charm of a race that will this year feature 78 laps of the km Circuit de Monaco.

Sainte Devote

Turn 1 – Named after the patron saint of Monaco, the Grand Prix’s first turn takes place in front of the chapel dedicated in her name.

Drivers are unlikely to notice it, mind. Not only is it obscured behind barriers, but the focus will be on jostling for position when the lights go out on Sunday – especially with overtaking notoriously difficult around the circuit.

Beau Rivage

Turn 2 – Drivers will reach speeds of up to mph at the “beautiful coastline”, and here those watching from the many balconies will take in the action as it heads uphill. You’ll see plenty of yachts, too, with the circuit heading back closer to the harbour around Turns 10 and

Massenet

Turn 3 – Named after the French opera composer Jules Massenet, blink and you’ll almost certainly miss his bust sitting in front of the eponymous opera house. The corner itself is a long, left-hand turn.

Casino Square

Turn 4 – No prizes for guessing the meaning behind this corner. Yep, the year-old Monte Carlo Casino dominates the landscape at what is the highest point of the race – and it’s sharply downhill from there…

Mirabeau

Turns 5 & 7 – Before and after the famous hairpin are the two turns named after Le Mirabeau, once a hotel and now a residential building. Expect close encounters and potentially even crashes as drivers drop down to second gear and speeds of around 50mph.

The Hairpin

Turn 6 – Just look at it (below). Cars snaking but daring not to pass one another as first gear is engaged and speeds drop down to around 30mph. Pedestrian stuff, and it’s the slowest corner on the F1 calendar, making it an ideal viewing point if you want keep tabs on who’s in front.

Portier

Turn 8 – Le Portier is a residential area within the principality of Monaco, and the turn is therefore named after the neighbourhood. It was here where Ayrton Senna crashed in to gift McLaren teammate and rival Alain Prost victory. Senna would go on, however, to win his first of three drivers’ championships that year.

The Tunnel

Turn 9 – Though the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi has a short tunnel when exiting the pit lane, this is the tunnel of Formula One, presenting drivers with a rapid change in visibility as they head through at speeds of around mph.

Nouvelle Chicane

Turns 10 & 11 – Breaking up the straight before Tabac is the awkward left-right-left, and “new” (nouvelle) as of after it was reprofiled. Both Sergio Perez and Jenson Button experienced serious accidents here. Button called it a “danger spot” when commenting on Perez’s crash in , having also been hospitalised eight years prior.

Tabac

Turn 12 – So called because a tobacconist used to sit by the corner of the circuit, Tabac is an iconic stretch of the GP that is virtually unchanged throughout its history.

Swimming Pool

Turns 13, 14, 15 & 16 – The original Monaco GP used to go straight on after Tabac, but the swimming pool you can see pictured below was built in the early s, making for two challenging chicanes.

La Rascasse

Turn 17 – The corner is name after an old fisherman’s bar which is now an up-market bar by the track. A popular spot for revellers taking in the Monaco GP, , La Rascasse rates * on Google reviews too, in case you were wondering. “Bucket list experience, worth every penny,” said one reviewer.

Anthony Noghes

Turn 18 – The final corner is named after the founder of the Monaco Grand Prix. Noghes was born in and the first race was held in It was therefore a feature of the inaugural F1 season in , the second of seven races.