I do not go to very many Grands Prix these days, but the one I never miss is the Monaco Grand Prix. First of all, it is on my doorstep – the paddock is just a short scooter ride from my apartment – and, second, it is a truly fantastic event.

However, although Monaco is most famous in a Formula 1 context for its glitz and glamour, it is the in-cockpit action that has always captivated my attention, nowadays almost as much so as when I was in the cockpit myself.

People often ask me what it takes to win at Monaco – and, having done just that, I guess I am pretty well qualified to answer that question.

It is a circuit like no other – narrow, tight, sinuous, tortuous, bumpy, yumpy – and its perimeter is delimited nearly everywhere by Armco. In other words, run-off area has it almost none.

That being the case, to be successful at Monaco, above all, you must stay away from those unforgiving guardrails. Equally, however, to be quick there, you must maximise the radii of your racing lines by running as close as possible to that unyielding steel. When you are on a quick lap, in qualifying for example, you should be aiming to use all but the last 5cm of the racetrack, on entry, apex and exit. That requires meticulous judgment, unflinching commitment, and even, yes, real courage.

Moreover, as with all street circuits, on which trucks and taxis ply their trade, the asphalt is very ‘green’ on Thursday, for FP1 and FP2, coated with dust and grease as it necessarily always is, but it becomes progressively more grippy by the day – by the hour in fact – as more and more rubber goes down, deposited by fat sticky ‘gumball’ tyres wheel-spinning and slip-sliding their way around.  

You have to anticipate that gradual evolution, and therefore attack that bit harder with every lap. That is difficult to get right, not only physically but psychologically too. You have to steel yourself to believe that, yes, you really can go faster through a given corner than you could just 80-odd seconds before.

Moreover, more than anywhere else on the current Formula 1 calendar, Monaco rewards local knowledge. You have to learn not only every turn and every twist, but also every ridge, every rut, every kerb and every white line. I used to walk the circuit often – and not only in the lead-up to the Grand Prix.

My first Monaco Grand Prix was the 1991 event. It did not go well for me. I retired my Lotus-Judd 14 laps from the end, with an oil leak.

The following year, 1992, was no better: my Lotus-Ford’s gearbox gave out before half-distance.

I missed the race in 1993 – I was McLaren’s test and reserve driver that year – but in 1994 I was more optimistic about my chances. I duly put my McLaren-Peugeot on the front row – I qualified it in P2 alongside Michael Schumacher’s pole-sitting Benetton-Ford – but, on race day, on lap one, as I braked for the first corner, Sainte Devote, my car was thumped from behind by Damon Hill’s Williams-Renault, ending my race almost before it had begun. I was gutted.

In 1995 I was less competitive in qualifying – I could manage only P6 in my McLaren-Mercedes – and again I was unable to finish the race, retiring with engine failure after just eight laps.

It was not until 1996 that I finally scored points in a Monaco Grand Prix – at my fifth attempt – and even then I was involved in a collision five laps from the finish. Such was the level of attrition, however, with only four cars still running at the end of a very topsy-turvy race, that I was classified sixth nonetheless.

In 1997 I qualified eighth, only to suffer a repeat indignity of having my race ended by yet another coming-together with Damon, whose Arrows-Yamaha made contact with my McLaren-Mercedes on lap two, the resulting accident damage eliminating both of us.

By 1998 I was beginning to fear that the Monaco Grand Prix might be a jinxed race for me. However, that year’s McLaren-Mercedes, the MP4-13, was a truly sensational machine, and I had already won three of the season’s first five Grands Prix in it. As the Formula 1 circus arrived at Monaco, which was round six, I was determined to do well.

Acutely aware that overtaking was (and still is) all but impossible on those tricky little streets, I was extremely keen to bag pole position. I felt it was possible, because as I say my McLaren-Mercedes MP4-13 had already proved itself to be ultra-competitive that season. But the fly in the ointment was that my team-mate, David Coulthard, had always been super-quick at Monaco – and, as the practice sessions unfolded during the 1998 event, sure enough David began to show his trademark scintillating Monaco pace.

I remember the qualifying hour vividly, even now, 17 long years later. Initially, to our surprise, the man to set the pace was Giancarlo Fisichella, who had his Benetton-Playlife hooked up really well. I always regarded Giancarlo as a guy with great natural talent, and it was clear that he was really enjoying himself that afternoon, chucking that pretty blue-and-white car around as though it were a go-kart.

Eventually, however, DC and I began to gain the upper hand. The asphalt was rubbering-up all the time, and the track was consequently becoming faster and faster with every lap. I would put in a quick lap, and then David would beat my time. I would dig a bit deeper, and then, again, David would find another tenth and displace me at the top of the time-sheets.

As I prepared for my final run, the atmosphere in the McLaren garage was very tense. David had annexed provisional pole, having driven an excellent 1m20.137s lap. Now it was my turn again; I had just one set of tyres left; it was a now-or-never situation.

I sat in my car, and mentally rehearsed my lap, in real time, eyes closed. I knew what I had to do. I felt I knew how to do it, too. I had to push to the absolute limit – leaving no margin anywhere – but at the same time I had to make no mistakes whatsoever. I had butterflies in my tummy, I admit that, but you need that sometimes. It is a sign of adrenaline, and it keeps you ultra-sharp.

I drove a careful out-lap, examining the kerbs and guardrails all the way around. As I powered my way out of Rascasse towards Virage Antony Noghes, the last corner of the lap, I began to push. I whipped my car through that final tight right-hander, fast but economical of line in order to optimise my exit speed, and gunned my way along the start-finish straight to begin what I already knew would surely be one of the most important laps of my career so far.

As I did so, I remember saying to myself, aloud, “Okay, here we go, Mika, flat-out, maximum attack.”

For the first corner, Sainte Devote, I had a plan. I braked a tiny bit earlier than usual, and very hard, on a short and ever-so-slightly downhill section of asphalt, in order to pitch the weight of my car forward and thereby immediately heat my front tyres to their operational maximum. That way, I figured I would forcibly generate the front-end bite that I always loved in a race car. I always hated understeer, you see. I was invariably at my best in a car that I could hurl at the apex, almost imperceptibly catching and re-catching its rear end as I did so, so as to ‘ping’ that apex with just a few degrees of sideways attitude deliberately dialled in, the better to set my car up for an early and speedy exit, power on, foot to the floor. You cannot do that with understeer – you cannot do that with a front-end you cannot lean on in other words – but on that Monaco 1998 quali-lap I was pleased to find that my tactic had worked. I released the brakes a tiny bit early, turned the wheel, and the car followed my command accurately and obediently: I had generated, and instantly benefited from, the front-end bite I so craved. I duly got the power down early and well and began my charge up the hill towards Massenet and Casino Square.

That stretch of track – Avenue d’Ostende – is not quite straight, but it is important to try to thread as near-straight a path along it as you can. Every time you turn the steering wheel of a race car, even a fraction, even though your foot may remain planted firmly on the accelerator, still you always scrub off a small amount of speed. The laws of physics dictate that. So, as I say, I always tried to straight-line Avenue d’Ostende as far as was possible, which was tricky: tricky but worthwhile.

I got Massenet and Casino Square just right – a little bit of oversteer on the exit of the Square, my left-rear tyre a no more than 5cm from the Armco, but not so much as to compromise my exit.

As I plunged downhill along Avenue des Beaux Arts towards Mirabeau, I remember thinking, “Careful, Mika, careful.” Mirabeau is very easy to get wrong. You have to brake in the middle of the road, to avoid a bump that badly destabilises your car if you run over the top of it, and then flick left before turning sharp right into the corner. Your car’s inside front wheel becomes momentarily airborne as you do so, but, even so, you have to be ready to plant your foot on the accelerator as early and as hard as you can, for the ultra-brief blast down to Loews.

Loews is the slowest corner on the Formula 1 calendar. You take it in first gear, with maximum left lock wound on, and you feel as though you are sitting in the turn for ages. You are not, of course, but it feels that way. The important thing is not to be too impatient: get the power on too early and you may have to back off momentarily, which loses you irreplaceable lap-time.

Thankfully, I got it right on that 1998 quali-lap, then turned right into Portier, clipping both its apices nicely, ran my car right up to the exit guardrail on the left, and powered into the Tunnel.

As I hurtled through that dingy section of track and out into the bright sunshine, I determined to brake late and hard for the Harbour Chicane, but not to lose any lap-time by being too ambitious in so doing. I succeeded, and, as I powered past the super-yachts on my left towards Tabac, I began to think, “Yes, this just might be pole.”

I quickly re-gathered my concentration, and sliced my way through Tabac, neat and quick. The Tabac apex is the wall itself – there is no kerb – but I got it just right: it is a fourth-gear left-hander that you take at about 120mph (193km/h), but, even so, I ran very close to the Armco and made no contact, just as I had hoped.

The next corner is the Swimming Pool entry – one of the most exciting turns of the lot, and I do not mean only among Monaco corners. No, the Swimming Pool entry is mighty by any standards.

First of all, it is incredibly quick. You brake at about 150mph (241km/h), and it is not a place where subtlety is rewarded. In fact, I would say you have to punish your car to be really quick there. As you pitch your car left towards the first part of the turn – it is a left-right switchback – you aim for the apex Armco on your right, ride the apex kerb as you do so, miss the wall on your right by a few centimetres, and then floor the accelerator earlier than seems sensible or even possible.

There is something odd about the track surface there, you see. If you hesitate, your car can become unsettled. Instead, you absolutely have to get the power down hard and fast so as to load up your rear tyres and prevent them from sliding. It is not easy to do, but you have to do it to be proper-quick there. So you have to dial in the power early, lots of it, and, as soon as you have done that, you instantly know whether you have got it right or not. And if you have, then there is no sensation better for a Formula 1 driver, none at all.

In 1998, on that quali-lap, I got it just right. After that, I began to feel really good. The last few corners passed in a blur, in fact, but I remember taking them all absolutely flat-out. Maximum attack, as I always used to put it.

Maximum-attack is how you almost always have to drive at the end of a quali-lap anyway: drive like an animal, as fast as you can, taking everything out of the car; after all, there is no point finishing a quali-lap with anything left in your tyres’ grip reserve, is there?

As I crossed the line, my time flashed up: 1m19.798s. Pole position, 0.339s quicker than DC’s best.

I was delighted – and relieved. As I say, David was always brilliant at Monaco, and I knew I had had to dig very deep indeed to beat him to the pole that day.

The next day, I was determined to convert that pole to a win. I was nervous as we drove to the grid, but most of all I was anxious to make a good start.

Luckily, I did just that, and led the field into and through Turn One. But David was just behind me, his car’s nosecone never more than a few metres behind my car’s gearbox, and I felt sure he was going to be a threat all afternoon. I pushed as hard as I could – flat-out in fact – but David just sat behind me all the while. I would drive a few corners as fast as I possibly could, and afterwards I would glance in my mirrors, but he was always still there; the word that springs to mind is ‘menacing’.

Between lap four and lap 12 – in other words nine laps for each of us, or 18 in all – we established no fewer than 12 fastest laps. We were both absolutely flying.

But, on lap 18, suddenly, David was not there any more: it turned out that his engine had let go.

That took the pressure off me, and I eventually won by 11 seconds from Giancarlo, who had capped his fine weekend with a very solid drive to second place, a full half-minute ahead of Eddie Irvine’s third-placed Ferrari.

As I drove into pace fermé, and climbed out of my car, I felt real joy. I had won the Monaco Grand Prix. But, just as important, I felt massively proud of my fellow McLaren-Mercedes team-members, who had designed, built, prepared and run such a superb racing machine. Here and now, I thank them again, all of them, 17 long years later.

Later that evening, exhausted but happy, I remember thinking to myself: “Mika, you’ve won the Monaco Grand Prix. Not every driver can do that. So you’re good enough to win the World Championship. You are. You really are. Now go and win it, Goddammit!”

And I did – but that is another story, which I will tell in a future mclaren.com/formula1 blog…

Circuit de Monaco snapshot

Fernando Alonso

“Monaco is a unique event. The atmosphere is fantastic and the challenge of the track is something really special. As a driver, you live for races like this one. After a disappointing end to my race in Spain a couple of weeks ago, I can’t wait to get back in the car.”

Jenson Button

“In many ways, Monaco is what Formula 1 is all about. You’ve got lots of glamour, a brilliant atmosphere and one of the most demanding racetracks on the calendar. Every corner is a huge challenge and that’s so thrilling for a driver.”

Circuit lowdown

Monaco is unlike any other venue in Formula One. It’s the shortest and slowest circuit on the calendar, but it’s also one of the most challenging, owing to the narrowness of the Principality’s streets and the proximity of the barriers.

The 3.340km/2.075-mile layout has remained largely unchanged since it first hosted a world championship grand prix in 1950. There have been minor alterations over the years in the name of safety, such as the easing of Rascasse and the introduction of TecPro barriers, but the original challenge and character of the circuit remain intact.

Technically, the circuit is very demanding. There are many short bursts of acceleration from low speed, all of which put an emphasis on traction, and the bumps in the road force teams to run their cars with much softer suspension than at a conventional racetrack. The steering angle of the front wheels has to be increased as well, in order to make it round the Loews Hairpin.

Much of the track has been re-surfaced since last year, but the asphalt is expected to remain slippery. Grip levels will improve as more rubber gets laid down over the course of the weekend, but the teams will be chasing the mechanical grip provided by Pirelli’s two softest compounds, the Soft (Prime) and Supersoft (Option). Engine driveability will also have a large bearing on performance.

McLaren is the most successful constructor in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix, having won the race 15 times. Five of those victories came with the late, great Ayrton Senna; of the team’s current line-up, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have both previously won the race.

Circuit de Monaco facts & stats

It’s all about: the race

It’s all about: the track

It’s all about: the car

Technical words of wisdom

Matt Morris, director of engineering

“We put as much downforce on the car as possible at Monaco. There aren’t any long straights, so the extra drag that the car produces doesn’t penalise you as much as it would at other racetracks. There are a few tricks to Monaco that you need to factor in, such as running the suspension very soft and altering the steering angle of the car to get you around Loews Hairpin.

“This is also a track at which the driver can make a real difference. He needs confidence in his car and in the track, and you need to let him build that up during practice to ensure he’s ready for qualifying. With it being so difficult to overtake around Monaco, a lot of emphasis is placed on getting a good grid position.”

McLaren at the Monaco Grand Prix

Our most memorable Monaco Grand Prix: 1992

Nigel Mansell kicked off his 1992 campaign with five consecutive victories, and many people expected another win for the Williams driver in Monaco. It certainly looked that way after qualifying, when Mansell lined up on pole position – 1.2s faster than Ayrton Senna’s McLaren-Honda in third place.

Mansell converted pole position into a convincing lead during the early laps, but Senna lay second and started to apply some pressure on the leader during the middle of the race. His perseverance paid off when Mansell was forced to pit with a loose wheelnut on lap 71 of 78, giving Senna the lead.

For the last five laps of the race Senna and Mansell ran as one, but Mansell couldn’t find a way past the Brazilian. They crossed the line separated by just 0.2s, giving Senna the fifth of his six wins in the Principality.

#14 Fernando Alonso

“Monaco is one of those circuits that’s in its own league. Although it’s almost impossible to overtake there, it still produces one of the most impressive and exciting shows on the Formula 1 calendar. As a circuit and as a place, it’s completely unique, and this is what makes it so special. There are three areas you have to focus on for this grand prix – qualifying, concentration, and strategy. Saturday is where you can increase your chances of getting a good result from the weekend, so this will be our first objective, and I’m hopeful we can continue to strengthen our qualifying performance and improve our starting position.

“On Sunday, the most important thing is concentration – the streets are so narrow and twisty that there is no margin for error – so if you can do this and also maximise your strategy, you have the best chance of moving up the order by the end of the race. My home race in Barcelona was obviously a frustrating weekend for the whole team; we were unlucky with how my race ended and we firmly believed we could’ve achieved a positive result there. Our fighting spirit is still strong though, and we’re determined to take that to Monaco and see how much progress we can make there. I’m hopeful our car will perform better there than in Spain, and we’ll be pushing again to get into the points.

“Monaco is a tough challenge, mentally, but that’s what makes it even more rewarding when you hook up a perfect lap. I’ve always enjoyed racing there and I’ve enjoyed victory there twice – in 2006 with Renault, and the year after with McLaren. Winning there is an unforgettable experience. It’s also a truly unforgiving circuit, so making mistakes comes at a high price. But Monaco is Monaco, one of the best races of the year, and the reason that the drivers love going back there each season.”

#22 Jenson Button

“It’s true what they say – Monaco is the jewel in the crown of the Formula 1 calendar in every sense. It’s a real test of man and machine working in harmony to hook up the best lap, and maintain that consistency lap after lap. It’s very easy to make mistakes there, and you need complete confidence in the car and incredible control and accuracy to get the most out of a lap. Qualifying is so important because overtaking is famously tricky; we’ve been steadily improving our starting positions since the beginning of the season, so I’m hopeful we’ll see further progress on Saturday.

“Monaco is a low-speed circuit that doesn’t rely that much on aerodynamic performance, but you do need good balance and driveability. I’m hopeful we can sort out the balance issues we had on my car in the last race, so Monaco should see an improvement. After a disappointing race in Barcelona, naturally it’s easy to be frustrated when you step out of the car, especially when you feel you deserved more. I firmly believe that we’re making solid progress, which is why having a difficult race is hard to take. However, we’ve put that race behind us and I think we’ve a decent chance of continuing our upward trend in Monaco.

“I love Monaco; I won there in 2009 and the feeling you get driving there is absolutely mega. While nothing beats the feeling of racing at your home grand prix, Monaco has become an adopted home race for me, so driving around these famous streets so close to where I live makes it even more special. Racing at Monaco is an incredible challenge – being precise on turn-in, hitting the apex and balancing the throttle, while being as patient as possible to get the best exit, is a real art. The flow of corners in the middle sector – from Mirabeau, into the Hairpin and on to Portier – is particularly tricky, as it’s so easy to go a foot off the racing line and end up in the wall. Monaco always produces great drama, which just adds to its legendary status as one of the best grands prix on the calendar.”

Eric Boullier – Racing director, McLaren-Honda

“After the disappointment of Barcelona, the whole team is looking forward to Monaco, to put the last race behind us and keep working on improving our package. Barcelona is a gruelling track for a Formula 1 car, so our relative performance was encouraging until we discovered the problem with Fernando’s brake overheating. We were certainly unlucky, but we’re still able to take with us some positives and focus our attention on our next challenge – Monaco. It’s a tough, demanding street circuit that requires teams to take a totally different approach, but that’s what makes it even more special.

“The nature of Monaco’s narrow streets means there’s less focus on outright power and more on driveability and balance. On this circuit there are even more factors at play than elsewhere – traffic, Safety Cars, unusual strategies – so our first target is to maximise our performance on Saturday. Qualifying positions can often dictate the outcome of a race there as overtaking is so difficult, so it’s important we focus our efforts there first and foremost. 

“The Monaco circuit evokes so many good memories for McLaren: 15 wins, 11 poles and 10 fastest laps. It’s a special place for us in every sense. The combination of legendary corners – Tabac, Rascasse, Casino Square, the Swimming Pool, and of course the Tunnel – and the unique challenge it presents, makes it the circuit every team wants to win at. We’ll approach the weekend in the same way we always do, with maximum effort and determination to progress.”

Yasuhisa Arai – Chief Officer of Motorsport, Honda R&D Co Ltd

“Monaco has multiple low- to mid-speed turns, braking and acceleration, with a unique street circuit layout. The fine line between success and failure on this track will be the driveability of the car.

“Honda will do our utmost to fine-tune the driveability of the power unit to match each turn during all 78 laps of the race, the highest numbers of laps of the season.”

Surrounded by the thousands of people going about their business in the glass and steel edifice of the McLaren Technology Campus, it’s hard to imagine the team in its earliest incarnation – when a handful of quick-witted and hard-working individuals came together in a tiny shed in New Malden.

One man who does remember those days is Ray ‘Tex’ Rowe – the company’s longest serving employee and our closest link to the days when Bruce McLaren not only designed and drove the cars, but also swept the floor!

Indeed, Ray, who now works two days a week in McLaren Racing’s gearbox shop, recently celebrated his 50^th year with McLaren, having become one of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd’s earliest employees when he crossed the threshold for the first time on April 1^st 1965.

Back then, McLaren was yet to build its first Formula 1 car, and its construction – ahead of its grand prix debut in 1966 – immediately became one of young Ray’s priorities.

“I can still remember my first day at McLaren,” he recalls. “We were getting ready for Formula 1, and building our first grand prix car. That was our main project: the chassis started off as a test car, and was all done in secret, and was still in the preparatory stages when I went there. Robin Herd was the chief designer, and Eddie Strait had joined us from Cooper – he was in the drawing office.

“I worked on the milling machine while we were preparing the prototype. I remember Bruce coming up with a new design for the brake calipers, and I had to make some modifications, making them wider so they fitted the discs.

“Those garagiste days were my favourite time with the team – we all worked together in one unit, and we had to do everything. It’s not like today, where everything is more specialised.

Ray also has fond memories of McLaren’s ultra-dominant period in the 1980s, although still has one reservation: “In 1981, we had a chap called de Cesaris – and he was smashing things up left, right and centre! He did cause us a fair bit of aggro, yeah…”

Perhaps the toughest moment for the young workforce came in the summer of 1970, when Bruce lost his life in a testing crash at Goodwood. For many, it was unthinkable that the team could continue without its lynchpin, but Ray recalls the grim stoicism that held the team together during those darkest of days.

“Bruce just knew how it all worked; he was able to try different things with the cars because he knew from driving them what the changes were doing. There’s still no substitute for feel – and a computer can’t give you that sensation.

“When Bruce died, I don’t think there was even a question mark – nobody mentioned anything, we just carried on. We knew that Denny – who’d had an accident at Indy – was in a bad way, but I don’t think he even mentioned anything, either. We didn’t have to talk about it – we just kept at it and came through.”

Perhaps most incredibly, Ray reckons that he’s barely had time to look back over the past 50 years because he’s just been too busy to get a chance for any true reflection:

“I’ve done a 100-hour week before,” he smiles. “And you don’t want to do one of those too often! But I’ve never thought about the past until now, really. You’re so busy looking at the next bit – you’re always occupied. I’ve been very busy for my whole time here.”

Finally, when asked for a few words of wisdom for any new starters looking to potentially start a half-century career (!) at McLaren, he reminds us that, despite 50 years of progress, the company’s outlook remains remarkably similar to the day it first began:

“This company is unique – and always has been,” he says proudly. “It requires good management to keep everybody working together; but, most importantly, it relies completely on the individual – it’s the people, and their attitude to working together, that keeps this company going.”