Track name: Circuit de Monaco
Times the race has been held here: 66
First GP: 1950, won by
Total number of race laps: 78
Complete race distance: 520 kilometers (161.880 miles)
Pit lane speed limit: 60 kph (37 mph)
Pitlane length: 301m/0.187 miles, estimated time loss 22s
2016 winner: Lewis Hamilton, 78 laps, 1:59:29.133
2016 pole position: Daniel Ricciardo - 1:13.622
2016 fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, 1:17.939.
Most wins (driver): Ayrton Senna – 6
Most wins (team): McLaren - 15
Lap record: Michael Schumacher – Ferrari – 2004 – 1:14.439
Smallest winning margin:Â 215s, in 1992.
Circuit Length: 3.337km/2.074 miles (the shortest track of the year)
Direction: Clockwise
Turns: 19
Distance to Turn 1: 210m/0.130 miles (the shortest of the season)
Longest straight: 510m/0.317 miles, on the approach to Turn One
Fastest corner: 260km/h (162mph), Turn Nine
Slowest corner: 45km/h (30mph), Turn Six
Top Speed: 295km/h/183mph, on the approach to Turn One
Full throttle: 50%
DRS Zones: One on the approach to Turn One
Key Corner: Turn Eight, a second-gear right-hander. A clean exit is vital because a very fast section of track follows, at the end of which is the best – and arguably, only – overtaking opportunity on the lap
Fuel consumption: 1.5kg per lap, making it the lowest fuel consumption race of the year
ERS Demands: Medium
Brake wear: Medium. There are 13 braking events around the 19-corner lap
Gear changes: 48 per lap/3744 per race
Safety car likelihood: 80 per cent. Due to the lack of run-off, an accident usually results in the appearance of the Safety Car while debris is cleared away.
Tyre choices: Soft, SuperSoft, Ultrasoft
Weather: Warm and sunny
Chance of rain: 30%
Grip levels: Poor. The track is made up entirely of public roads
Run off: Minimal. Three layers of Armco line both sides of the racetrack
A lap around Monaco
So you start on the straight, where it’s very bumpy hitting the brakes into turn one at Sainte Devote. It’s easy to make a mistake here, but then you need to make a good exit for the run up to Casino Corner. Up the hill, blind corner, braking just after the bump, fourth gear, and then third gear for the next one.
Going down then you want to avoid the bus stop, which is bumpy, then you head to turn five. There’s always a bit of front-locking, the front inside wheel is in the air. Then the hairpin is a very slow-speed corner. You turn the steering wheel with one hand. After that it’s the two Portier corners. The second one is important because it brings you to the tunnel, which is a straight line on the track. The tunnel is flat out before you have to brake big for the chicane, where there’s another bump.
Then you have Tabac, which is quite a high-speed corner, followed by the swimming pool complex, also very high speed. The braking for La Rascasse is tricky, again easy to front-lock.
Then there’s a tricky exit for the last corner – it’s not so easy as it’s up a small crest. When you then go down, you can get wheel-spin, and then you’re back on the start-finish straight.
