MONACO TRADITION
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History shows that pole position is not nearly as important as you might imagine in Monaco — the race has only been won by the poleman 28 times in 61 races .
of the most eligible bachelors of Formula 1 . Lewis Hamilton seems to race through the field of starlets as nimbly as he carves his way through competitors on the racetrack . Press reports describe a revolving door of models and singing stars , linking his name to Rihanna , Nicole Scherzinger , Winnie Harlow , Barbara Palvin ( also reportedly seen with Neymar ) and of late the beautiful model Sofia Ritchie , daughter of Lionel Ritchie . The Grand Prix also attracts football VIPs including Gareth Bale , Neymar , Ronaldo ( reportedly escorting Cara Delevingne — or was it Georgina Rodriguez ?) and infamous manager Jose Mourinho .
The most Grand Prix wins
Ayrton Senna famously burst onto the F1 scene with a storming performance in the rain-soaked 1984 race and holds the record for most Monaco Grand Prix wins , totalling six . The smallest winning margin came in 1992 , when Ayrton Senna beat Nigel Mansell by just 0.215 seconds . Graham Hill , known as « Mr . Monaco », took five wins of his fourteen races on the streets of Monaco between 1963 – 1969 . Perhaps the most famous Grand Prix champion is Michael Schumacher , who also took five victories in the Principality between 1994 – 2001 .
2018 contenders
Lewis Hamilton comes into the 2018 season as the Formula 1 world champion . Lewis is known to enjoy partying hard and winning the World Championship was the perfect excuse to sow his wild oats . A slump in the last 5 races of Lewis ’ 2017 season did give us a chance to see who might come through in 2018 and challenge Hamilton ’ s world title . Formula 1 is abuzz over Max Verstappen , the new young hopeful for the Red Bull team . He stacked up an incredible two wins at Malaysia and Mexico while Hamilton was possibly party weary . Ferrari will give their all to win at Monaco again in 2018 . Would Hamilton have won the World Championship in 2017 if Vettel had not been relegated down the pack in Azerbaijan for antics that the stewards considered were worthy of heavy penalties ? You can be sure that Sebastian Vettel has had time to reflect . Sergio Marchionne , the Ferrari team head , will be expecting his number one driver to avoid « giveaways » in 2018 . Bets are on Vettel for Ferrari versus Hamilton for Mercedes in Monaco this year . Vettel won here for Ferrari in 2017 , ending Ferrari ’ s 16-year drought at Monaco . Their last win was with Schumacher in 2001 . Hamilton is reported as saying that Schumacher ’ s seven World Сhampionship titles are not in his cross hairs . We may hear a change in tune if he chalks up his third win at Monaco and the 2018 season is good to him .
The wild card in the pack is Fernando Alonzo . 2017 was a year he will want to forget . Don ’ t expect the same again — Alonzo will rise to the challenge in 2018 . Remember , Alonso ’ s 2007 win was achieved at an average speed of 155.551 km / h — the fastest winning speed in Monaco history . Eyes will also be on Charles Leclerc , driving for Sauber , who has come up from Formula 2 . At Monaco when eyes are not on the beautiful people they are on the beautiful cars as they fly round the track qualifying . Pole position , awarded to the fastest qualifier , is regarded as critical to winning because it is so hard to overtake during the race . Does history bear this out ? One theory says yes based on the statistic that nine of the past ten races have been won from pole position . On the other hand , Lewis Hamilton won from third place on the grid in 2008 . But emphasis on winning pole position in a way produces extra excitement as the drivers push themselves to the limit to qualify the fastest — creating spectacle and controversy when they also are judged to have blocked their competitors from qualifying for pole . There have been some ungentlemanly incidents where the stewards have sent the culprits to the back of the pack . But , history shows that pole position is not nearly as important as you might imagine in Monaco — the race has only been won by the pole driver 28 times in 61 races . Olivier Panis won the race from 14th on the grid in 1996 — the lowest any winning driver has started . And just a little drizzle , or safety cars interrupting the race is enough to throw all predictability out of the window .
As history proves , anything can happen in the Monaco Grand Prix . Join in the melee , the race and the parties , 24 – 27 May 2018 .
58 / Hello Monaco Spring – Summer 2018