The seventies and early eighties saw a variety of winners and the arrival of turbos in Formula 1.
1975 saw the first appearance of a staggered grid at Monaco, one of several safety measures taken in the aftermath of Rolf Stommelen’s catastrophic accident at the previous Spanish Grand Prix. Niki Lauda took pole with Tom Pryce qualifying second. The Welsh driver had been denied an entry for the race the previous year. He competed in the supporting Formula 3 event instead which he won comfortably. In the Grand Prix Lauda won from Emerson Fittipaldi, while Pryce collided with Vittorio Brambilla.
Lauda won again in 1976, followed home by the six-wheeled Tyrrells of Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler. The Austrian had to settle for second place in 1977 behind Scheckter’s Wolf, enjoying an impressive debut season.
John Watson led the early part of the 1978 Grand Prix but it was eventually won by Patrick Depailler in a Tyrrell, while Lauda again finished second. In 1979 Scheckter led every lap in his Ferrari 312T4 to take his second Monaco win.
Irish driver Derek Daly was not popular with his Tyrrell team after the 1980 race. Involved in a first corner accident he managed to eliminate, among others, his own team-mate. The race itself was won by Carlos Reutemann in a Williams.
Gilles Villeneuve had perhaps the car most ill-suited to the Monaco circuit for the 1981 race. His Ferrari 126C had plenty of power but the delivery wasn’t conducive to the tight street circuit. Allied to a cumbersome chassis the car was a real handful. It says much for the French-Canadian’s ability that he managed to haul it around to victory ahead of far nimbler machines.
1982 saw an extraordinary race in which several drivers could have won. Late in the race Alain Prost was leading comfortably for Renault when he spun into the barriers. Riccardo Patrese assumed the lead but spun shortly after, letting Didier Pironi’s Ferrari through into first position. On the penultimate lap Pironi’s car ground to a halt in the tunnel, out of fuel. The lead passed to Andrea de Cesaris but the luckless Italian also ran out of fuel. Derek Daly also had a chance to win the race but crashed out. At the end it was Patrese who crossed the line first, despite his spin, to score his maiden Grand Prix victory.
In 1983 Keke Rosberg won in a Williams with a normally aspirated Ford engine. Although turbo engines were beginning to dominate Formula 1 they were not so desirable at Monaco. Top speed and ultimate power were not such an issue around the tight circuit and the normally aspirated engines with their smooth power delivery often performed well there.
