Formula 1: Monaco Grand Prix Trivia

Monaco is the island of the ultra-rich. Every second person is a millionaire and because it is also a tax haven, lots of F1 drivers have shifted their residence to the warm sunshine of the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur). Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez have their homes set up on the isle. The Monaco real estate is one the priciest in the world, but they can afford it and it is a small price for the privacy they get here, as it has a zero-tolerance policy towards paparazzi.

Circuit de Monaco Details

Track Length 3.340km (16 turns) | Race Distance 78 laps (260.520 km)

Lap Record 1:14.439, Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2004

The race in the principality is rich in history, with the narrow track providing a very different challenge compared to any other circuit on the F1 calendar. It is glamorous and grueling. Here's looking at 20 trivia facts about the Grand Prix that every driver desperately wants to win and is 1/3rd of the Motorsport Triple Crown along with the races of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500.

#20 Monaco's first race in F1 was its inaugural year -1950, won by Juan Manuel Fangio in an Alfa Romeo.

#19 Overall, Monaco (64) is second behind Monza (67) in terms of races hosted.

#18 The Monaco Grand Prix has remained on the F1 calendar since 1955 - which is the record for the longest consecutive races hosted by a venue.

#17 It is the only Grand Prix that does not adhere to the FIA's mandated 305-kilometer minimum race distance.

#16 Drivers have to shift gears more than 4,000 times in the 78-lap race.

#15 McLaren is the most successful constructor in the principality having won 15 times.

#14 This dominance is due to the fact that from 1984 to 1993, the race was won by only two drivers: Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost for McLaren except in 1987 when Senna won with Lotus-Honda.

#13 Ayrton Senna has the most wins (6) in the streets of Monaco, taking the checkered flag for the first time in 1987 and then 5 years in succession (1989-1993).

The Fairmont Hairpin in Monaco

#12 It's hard to overtake and easy to crash at Circuit de Monaco which has both the slowest corner - Fairmont Hairpin (48 km/h) and one of the quickest - the flat-out kink in the tunnel,(260 km/h) in F1.

#11 It is the only race in which the practice sessions are held on Thursdays instead of Fridays.

Turning a city into a full-fledged race circuit requires 6 weeks of preparation

#10 Each year, a whopping 33 kilometres of safety rails, 20,000 square metres of wire catch fencing, 3600 tyres for tyre barriers and 1100 tonnes of seating have to erected.

#9 Monaco has produced only 3 native Formula One drivers, Louis Chiron, Olivier Beretta, and Charles Leclerc - who will be racing in his first home race in 2018.

#8 The oldest F1 driver to race in the Monaco Grand Prix was Louis Chiron, who was 55 when he raced in 1955.

Olivier Panis after a surprise win from 14th in 1996

#7 Olivier Panis won from 14th on the grid in 1996 - the lowest position from which the race has been won. It was the first French victory in a French car (Ligier) at Monaco in 66 years.

#6 The same race featured the lowest number of cars running at the flag - just four.

Red Bull pit crew dressed as Star Wars characters

# 5 Red Bull is known to be an uber-geeky team. In 2005 when Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was about to release, the pit crew dressed up as clones, complete with cool new helmets. Special guest George Lucas was delighted, to say the least.

# 4 Next year, Red Bull tied up to promote the WB film Superman Returns (2006). David Coulthard pulled a surprise maiden podium finish for the bulls and cheekily received his trophy draped in a Superman cape. Of course, he had to ask for Prince Albert's permission to wear it.

#3 Fernando Alonso is the only driver to win back-to-back races with different constructors - with Renault in 2006 and McLaren-Mercedes in 2007.

#2 Winner of the 2009 race, Jenson Button drove his Brawn GP car back to the pits instead of on the main straight with the other two podium finishers Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Raikkonen. He had to run around 600 meters to meet Prince Albert II at the rostrum.

#1 Mark Webber celebrated his victory in 2010 with a somersault into the pool becoming the first Aussie to win in the principality since his idol Jack Brabham in 1959. He repeated the act in 2012.