A stunning qualifying lap in his Lotus put Mansell second on the grid, just behind Alain Prost’s McLaren and it looked to be the ideal launchpad when the Grand Prix began. As many drivers fell victim to the conditions, including the Renaults of Derek Warwick and Patrick Tambay, Mansell held his nerve and by lap 10 had passed Prost for the lead.
“It was the most extraordinary race,” Mansell recalled. “Many, many cars dropped out. I was in a great fight with Alain Prost. One time he almost lost the back end going through the tunnel, and he had to back off big-time. I managed to slip by at that point. So I got into the lead and was pulling away nicely.”
Now leading for the first time in his career, Mansell was entirely focused on staying stuck to the circuit and avoiding the barriers: “Every lap you came round there was another car off”. But after just five laps of leading the pack, disaster struck and Mansell’s Lotus snapped sideways up Beau Rivage.
The car was heavily damaged, with the rear wing clinging on for dear life and his right-rear at an awkward angle as he limped around Massenet and through to Casino Square. As he drove into Mirabeau the car spun again at slow speed and it was clear this was game over for the Brit.
1984 Monaco GP was first of many Mansell ‘what-if?’s
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“It was very early in my career,” Mansell added in his interview, “but I remember it very vividly.”
Prost went on to take his first of four victories around the principality that year, whereas Mansell would have to wait until the 1985 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch to stand on the top step of the podium.
2021 Monaco GP
The Monaco curse continued for Charles Leclerc
Until last season, there seemed to be a curse looming over Charles Leclerc at his home race. Whether that be suspension failures during his junior days or poor pit calls from Ferrari, an all-important home win had evaded Leclerc until his popular drive to victory in 2024.
The sweet taste of success could have come earlier, including three year’s before when the 2021 race looked to be Leclerc’s for the taking. After showing rapid pace during the free practice sessions, Leclerc converted it to provisional pole position in qualifying: top of the leaderboard in the final Q3 segment with enough time for just one more run.
Leclerc crashed his Ferrari with provisional pole in Monaco
Leclerc joined the rest in attempting a final flying lap but nudged a barrier heading into the swimming pool complex. It broke the steering, leaving him spearing into more armco.
A red flag ended the session there and then, preventing anybody else from bettering the time of Leclerc, who climbed out of his wrecked car as polesitter, and therefore hot favourite for the race.
As rivals rued a missed opportunity, Ferrari mechanics set about repairing the car for the race, while checking for any unseen damage.
But as Leclerc headed to the grid for the race start, he could sense something wasn’t right. “No, no, no, the gearbox guys,” he radioed as he slowly made his way around the circuit. In fact, it was a cracked driveshaft hub, on the side of the car that hadn’t appeared damaged after the crash. His race was over before it had really begun, continuing the jinx that meant he had never finished at his home grand prix.
“It’s happened in the past and many, many times I am harsh to myself. But if there was any time during the weekend I had to push [it was] Q3 in Monaco. It’s part of the game; you can always learn from it but I am not too harsh on myself for that one,” Leclerc was quoted.
2004 Monaco GP
Tunnel Vision for Montoya and Schumacher
It was a genuine shock to see Michael Schumacher‘s Ferrari emerge from the Monaco tunnel with its front-left wheel hanging off. Not least because it happened during a safety car period.
The 2004 race had been neutralised after Fernando Alonso clipped a barrier in the tunnel, sending his Renault spinning into the barriers and destroying the rear of the car.
Schumacher picked up damage to the front of his F2004 in the unusual shunt
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Schumacher didn’t pit, so inherited the lead. After hearing that racing was about to resume, the Ferrari driver braked whilst approaching the exit of the tunnel to warm up the pads and discs. However, the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya clearly didn’t anticipate this action and clipped Schumacher, sending him into the barriers.
“I don’t think anyone should accuse [Montoya] of anything intentional,” Schumacher told German television at the time, “but rather it was just a bit stupid of him to wrongly estimate the situation that led to a collision.”
Race stewards determined that there was no blame on either driver for the incident. The two had also clashed during that season’s San Marino Grand Prix, with Montoya saying the then-six-time World Champion was “blind or stupid”.
Schumacher and Montoya had several moments on and off track during the 2004 season
“No doubt I’m a bit angry, that’s logical, but in motor racing things happen that you can’t predict,” Schumacher added after losing out on another Monaco victory. “You’ve got to accept that. We’ve had a lot of good races in the recent past. And now it just went a bit bad for us today.”
The collision also ended Schumi’s run of five race wins at the start of the season, ending his hope of becoming the only driver in F1’s history to win the first six races of a season.
1955 Monaco GP
Ascari’s drop into the drink
He might have only been leading for a matter of corners, after respective retirements for both the Mercedes’ of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, but Alberto Ascari certainly qualifies for this list.
The Lancia driver was approaching the chicane near the harbour, after heading down the hill in the lead of the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix, but his car slipped on some oil left over from Moss’s Mercedes moments before. The brakes on the Lancia were notably patchy and failed to stop the two-time champion from sliding over the flimsy barriers made of straw and sand, dropping him right into the principality’s port.
Alberto Ascari driving his Lancia during the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix
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Ascari plunged into 15 feet of water and was left with just a cut on the nose after being retrieved from his car. He spent the night in hospital, but it would prove to be his last Formula 1 race. The double world champion lost his life during a testing accident around Monza a few days later.