Monaco Grand Prix – A look back at three memorable moments

The Impossible Victory of Mansell in 1992

It is in 1992 that Nigel Mansell’s dream finally comes true. He finally wears the coveted and well-deserved world crown. His season begins with five consecutive successes. However, the British driver approaches the Monaco round with a lot of humility.

He has never made his mark there, and this route still inspires as much suspicion in him. No mistakes are forgiven.

Which doesn’t prevent him from securing a convincing pole position.

His Williams-Renault is the car to beat this year, and he is determined to finally turn this pole position into a victory.

Author of a good start, Mansell was able to maintain his first place until the 71st lap. Behind, Senna was resigned to “only” getting a second place.

But the British driver is not serene. He feels that his car is unbalanced. He manages to recover from a loss of control under the tunnel, but misses the next braking point and decides to return to the pit for an inspection.

The mechanics, not detecting anything particular, change his tires, but when Mansell rejoins the track, Senna has moved into the lead.

The following eight laps will not allow Mansell to conquer the long-awaited trophy. He was clearly faster than his Brazilian rival, but in Monaco, it is very difficult to overtake another car. He finishes behind the McLaren.

David Coulthard remains stuck in 2001.

Enrique Bernoldi, this name surely rings a bell. No, he is not a world champion or a Grand Prix winner. This driver is known for getting under the skin of David Coulthard.

In 2001, the Scottish driver is the reigning winner of the Monaco round. And his weekend is off to a good start as he has just secured the pole position.

However, he stalls on the starting grid which forces him to start all over again in last place.

He will finish fifth after a great comeback, but the images that remain in our minds are those of his duel with Enrique Bernoldi’s Arrows for 37 laps!

From the eighth lap until the 45th lap, which is when the Brazilian, David Coulthard, stopped, he attempted every imaginable maneuver to overtake the orange car, but in vain.

Juan Pablo Montoya becomes a legend in 2003.

That year, there’s nothing particular to mention about the progress of the race. Indeed, even though the arrival between Juan-Pablo Montoya, the winner, and Kimi Räikkönen, his runner-up, was decided by six tenths of a second. We have to lament that there were no overtakes during the race.

Apart from Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s accident on Sauber and five other retirements, the Grand Prix took place without any incident.

However, the Colombian who signs his second victory in F1 that day also enters history by being the second driver to have won both the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. The first being Graham Hill.

Moreover, Graham Hill is the only one to have also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and thus the trophy called the Triple Crown.

Indeed, these three races are the most prestigious in motorsport.