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The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the events which made up the original F1 calendar in 1950 and its history stretches back even further, all the way back to the 1920s. It's a throwback to the origins of Grand Prix racing and is totally unique in Formula 1, there's just no place like Monaco.
The race has been on the F1 calendar almost every year since the World Championship was devised and the drivers who conquer the streets of Monaco go down in history as completing the ultimate challenge in motorsport. Who has won the most races in Monte Carlo, though?
There's been some which have stood above the rest in the principality and here are the most successful.
#5 - Nico Rosberg (3)
It's a three-way tie for fifth place on this list, as two other drivers have also won three Monaco Grands Prix, with the most recent being Nico Rosberg. Rosberg emulated his father by winning around the streets of the principality for the first time in 2013, beating the all-conquering Red Bulls thanks to the Mercedes' lightning pace in qualifying.
Monaco was one of the few circuits where Rosberg regularly beat Lewis Hamilton during their time as teammates, and he did so again the following year to end the Brit's run of four wins in a row.
2014 was relatively straightforward, but 2015 was anything but. Hamilton had qualified on pole and was well clear of the chasing pack in the closing stages. The Safety Car was brought out thanks to Max Verstappen's spectacular crash with Romain Grosjean.
Mercedes believed that they had enough time to make a precautionary stop for Hamilton, but they were mistaken. Both Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel overtook the defending champion, despite Lewis' fresher tyres. Rosberg went on to be a very unpopular winner, his final in Monaco.
#5 - Sir Jackie Stewart (3)
The glitz and glamour of Monaco in unmatched on the motorsport calendar and the swinging sixties epitomised this further. Sir Jackie Stewart is one of the Formula 1 icons of this era and won three times in Monte Carlo to go along with his three world championships. The first came in 1966, just his second season in F1, one of only four finishers of that race.
Stewart suited the Monaco circuit perfectly, his smooth driving style being ideal for the cars of those years around the tight streets. There was even a film made around Stewart at Monaco, 1972s "Weekend of a Champion" followed the Scot's exploits at the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix, his second win in Monte Carlo. His final win in the principality came in what would be his final season of racing, a classic duel between himself and Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus.
#5 - Sir Stirling Moss (3)
Like his fellow Brit, Sir Stirling Moss had a real knack around Monaco. The Circuit de Monaco was very different in the 1950s, but the same skill set was required to be faster than the competition. Moss had competed in Formula 1 since 1951, but only became a full-time driver in 1955, a year before he took his first winner's trophy in Monaco.
Moss' three wins may not seem too impressive compared to some of the other names on this list, but he competed in 7 and finished in just four, thanks to the poor reliability of the era. These were also the days when the Monaco Grand Prix was a gruelling 100 laps and took almost three hours to complete.
Sir Stirling also won with three different constructors - Maserati, Rob Walker and Lotus - which is still a record and includes back to back wins in 1960 and '61. Had Moss not had the accident which caused him to retire at the end of 1961, he could've easily won a world championship and perhaps extended his record of Monaco wins.
#4 - Alain Prost (4)
McLaren dominated the 80s and the early 90s in Formula 1 and this advantage was showcased more in Monaco. Ron Dennis' team still holds the record for the most wins in the principality with 15 and 9 of those came between 1984 and 1993 with Alain Prost responsible for four.
Prost won three of his championships with the Woking team and all of his Monaco Grand Prix, the first coming in a controversial circumstance in 1984, but more on that later. Prost was the first man to win three Monaco GPs in a row, as he had further success in 1985 and '86, this time much more routine victories.
The Frenchman's final win around the streets came in 1988, but it wouldn't have seemed like he had a chance of reaching the top step at the time. Ayrton Senna was leading the race by over 40 seconds but ironically crashed when told to slow down by his team and handed the victory to his bitter rival.
#2 - Michael Schumacher (5)
Michael Schumacher has more F1 wins than anybody else in the history of the sport, and five of his 91 came at Monaco. The first came in 1994 when he continued his perfect start to the season by crossing the line a full 37 seconds ahead of Martin Brundle.
It was a similar story in 1995, although he had to get past Damon Hill at the start for victory. Schumacher fell victim to the crazy conditions in 1996 by crashing out on the opening lap after qualifying on pole, but he got his first Monaco win for Ferrari the following season. The win in '97 was by a mammoth 57 seconds, when Schumacher won in Monaco, he often won by a big gap.
Schumacher's win in 1999 was his final before breaking his leg at Silverstone and ending his championship challenge, but 2001 contributed towards one of his typically dominant season displays, this being the fourth of nine victories that year.
Despite Schumacher's continued success through the early 2000s, he never won another race around Monaco, coming closest in 2004 before being taken out by Juan Pablo Montoya behind the Safety Car.
#2 - Graham Hill (5)
Stewart and Moss were both incredible around Monaco, but Graham Hill takes the title of the Greatest Brit in Monte Carlo. Hill won fourteen races during his eighteen years in the sport as a driver and five of them came at Monaco.
The first came in 1963 for BRM, which kicked off a hat-trick of principality wins for the British team. This run included the 1964 victory where he won by over a lap, something which is unheard of these days. G Hill was untouchable in Monaco, he even won his final race there in 1969 and had he not had his injury in the same year, he could've extended this record further. Monaco also formed part of motorsport's "Triple Crown" which Hill Sr. is the only man to have achieved.
At the time, it would've seemed as though this record would never be broken, but it eventually was in the 1990s...
#1 - Ayrton Senna (6)
This is one of the few most successful F1 driver lists where you won't find Lewis Hamilton, but his idol tops it. Ayrton Senna was arguably the best Formula 1 driver ever and he had a real knack for street circuits, in particular, Monaco.
He finished runner-up in the first Monaco GP he competed in, in 1984, despite driving for the struggling Toleman team and horrific wet weather. '84 was disappointing because of the red flag controversy, but Senna would win the race for the first time in his final season at Lotus in 1987. He won that Grand Prix by a whopping 33 seconds ahead of the champion that year, Nelson Piquet and was leading by an even bigger margin in 1988 before the Brazilian incredibly crashed out at the Portier.
The image of Senna's white and red McLaren tearing around Monte Carlo is an iconic image of not just F1 and motorsport, but sport in general and it was cemented in our memories from 1989. Senna won five in a row between 1989 and 1993, despite not always having the fastest car.
The most notable of these victories was 1992 when Ayrton produced one of the most impressive defensive displays ever by holding off Nigel Mansell's Williams in the closing stages, despite driving a car around 5 seconds a lap slower. Senna's relentlessly aggressive driving style and attention to detail gave him an advantage over his competition and there's no doubt he would've won more races in Monte Carlo had he lived past San Marino 1994.
That's the drivers ranked in terms of wins, but who is the best around Monaco in your mind? Senna, G Hill, M Schumacher or someone else? Let us know in the comments below!
