Olivier Panis won his only Grand Prix in Monte Carlo while Michael Schumacher provided controversy.
Olivier Panis scored his one and only Formula 1 Grand Prix victory in 1996 at Monaco. In a wet race the Frenchman drove superbly from 14th on the grid in his unfancied Ligier. Michael Schumacher had started from pole but crashed on the first lap. At the end of the race only seven cars were classified.
Michael Schumacher was back on form in 1997, dominating another wet race in his Ferrari. The Stewart team, in their first Formula 1 season, celebrated an emotional podium as Rubens Barrichello drove superbly to finish second. Mika Hakkinen took victory in 1998 while his main rival Michael Schumacher was hampered by a collision with Alexander Wurz. Wurz later had a considerable accident exiting the tunnel.
Michael Schumacher won in 1999 and a year later looked favourite to do it again, only to be forced into retirement by a suspension failure. David Coulthard won the race followed by Barrichello. Schumacher made up for the disappointment by winning in 2001, a race which saw Eddie Irvine score Jaguar’s first podium in Formula 1.
Coulthard won his second Monaco Grand Prix in 2002, narrowly beating Michael Schumacher. They finished over a minute ahead of third placed Ralf Schumacher. The 2003 event was a closely fought affair. Juan-Pablo Montoya eventually emerged victorious for Williams but Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher were both within two seconds of the Colombian at the finish.
Montoya was again among the action during the 2004 race but for all the wrong reasons. While circulating behind the safety car he collided with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari in the tunnel, eliminating the German from the race. Jarno Trulli had taken pole and went on to win the Grand Prix for Renault.
In 2005 Raikkonen became the third Finnish driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix, finishing comfortably ahead of the two Williams. It was Michael Schumacher who made the headlines in 2006, but not for winning the race. During qualifying he was deemed to have deliberately parked his Ferrari to bring out a yellow flag and prevent his title rival Fernando Alonso from beating his time. Schumacher was relegated to the back of the grid and Alonso won the race. The 2007 Monaco Grand Prix was once again won by Alonso, driving for McLaren. His team-mate Lewis Hamilton put in an impressive debut drive to finish second.
Despite the vast differences between the cars of 1929 and the current Formula 1 cars the circuit at Monaco has changed very little. Many of the features evident during that first race can still be seen. In an increasingly modern sport Monaco remains an evocative reminder of motor racing’s past.
