During the Maserati parade that opened the Monaco E-Prix in early May, L’Equipe had the opportunity to slip into the cockpit of a race car and experience a lap around the legendary Monaco circuit in its race configuration, just minutes before the red lights went out. It was an enlightening experience.
No matter the speed, a lap around the “real” circuit in Monaco is an opportunity not to be missed. This chance was offered by Maserati, on the sidelines of the Monaco E-Prix in early May. Just before the Formula E race, the Italian manufacturer, which is approaching the hundredth anniversary of its racing debut (next year), had organized a parade – thus at a reduced speed – consisting of eight significant cars from its history. These included the latest Formula E Tipo Folgore, driven by Daniil Kvyat with his 110 F1 starts; a model of the legendary 250F, winner in Monaco with Stirling Moss (1956) and then Juan-Manuel Fangio (1957); and a GT12 in the road version of the queen of GT races from the 2000s.
We were given a seat in the passenger position of an MCXtrema, a 730 horsepower beast not approved for the road but not present in competition, simply built in 62 copies for the pleasure of a few dozen gentlemen drivers. This was a perfect situation to soak up what Monaco is like in race configuration with generously filled stands and to better understand what the drivers can (or could if they allowed themselves to be a little distracted) see from their cockpit along the 3.3 km of the track.
“I don’t want any hotheads”: we attended the free practice of the Monaco Grand Prix with the track marshals
The descent is steep at the exit of the casino
With the FE already on the grid, the start is directly at Sainte-Dévote with the climb of Beaurivage as an appetizer. The MCExtrema having struggled to extract itself from the parking lot where it was parked, Andrea Bertolini, the former GT champion and brand tuner, indulges in the pleasure of engaging a few gears, since he must catch up with the rest of the parade!
This acceleration reveals all the beauty and madness of Monaco in an instant. The road, which seemed rather wide and comfortable at the start, gives the impression of narrowing as the speed increases, even moderately. The first moments with a helmet and strapped in also illustrate how the eye then focuses on everything close to the track and no longer “sees” the rest. Between Massenet and the Casino, the three levels of safety barriers do not seem very high, as if the slightest mistake could throw you onto the small sidewalk on the left or the Casino square on the right. But for F1 drivers, at the level of the tarmac, these same barriers are real visual walls.
Before you even have time to realize that a grandstand is there – and it will be the only one visible for two-thirds of the lap – the plunge towards Mirabeau draws you in. This is probably the place where the difference between television images (even though the new camera placement shows it a bit more) and the feeling on the track is the greatest. The descent is steep right after leaving the casino. At the end, the run-off area where Nico Rosberg went off in qualifying in 2014 to preserve his pole seems tiny, making you wonder how anyone could think of sending their car there.
The Tunnel Captures All Attention
Mirabeau high, the hairpin, Mirabeau low and then the Portier are all part of this initial descent. Even at 26 km/h in front of the Fairmont, things don’t seem as slow as they might. At the Portier, one could let their gaze wander to the left, outside the circuit, where the Mareterra district is located, a recent development reclaimed from the sea at a cost of 2 billion euros, but it’s the tunnel that captures all attention and raises questions about what one will be able to see inside and at the exit. Surprisingly, the lighting inside the tunnel is quite good! But the sound is incredible as soon as an engine revs up. A little help from the weather, very grey at that moment, limits the glare when exiting the tunnel.
While it’s one of the few (the only?) places where overtaking is possible, the approach to the new chicane is anything but straightforward, blind until 150 meters from the turn and with a very steep descent. Barely time to wonder how to pull off a maneuver here and the scenery has completely changed: the track is flat this time, and large grandstands are finally visible! It’s a kind of return to humanity, a total change of atmosphere after experiencing a thousand sensations “alone” in this strange Monegasque urban jungle.
On the harbor, it’s as if the passion is pouring directly from the stands with this audience much closer than elsewhere, alert, their eyes lit up and often, phone in hand, even for a “simple” parade. This new atmosphere accompanies almost the entire end of the lap even if after the two chicanes of the Swimming Pool – where the presence of the statue of the Olympic swimmer overlooking the track is almost surprising – the gaze is more drawn to the paddock and its garages, on the right, than the stands, on the left.
Approaching the Rascasse, the track seems wider, not necessarily because it is, but the sensation helps to better understand some of the crazy attacks – like the masterful one by Jules Bianchi with his Marussia in 2014, – that have been launched there. At the exit, there’s a strong desire to break protocol and make a hard right turn in front of the Fangio statue to go for another lap, at a really sustained pace this time! But it’s already time to exit and return this unique playground to the drivers.
