Episode 8 - The Monaco Grand Prix

They call it the jewel in the crown of the Formula One calendar. And they're right. There's nowhere else like it. No circuit more glamorous, no backdrop more iconic. But don't let the luxury fool you. This place can be brutal. Narrow streets mean zero margin for error. One lapse in focus and you're in the wall. Or worse, in the harbour. It's as tough on the cars as it is on the drivers' minds. And the pressure? It all comes down to Saturday. Nail qualifying and your name might

just end up etched into history. But it's not always a procession. Sometimes Monaco delivers magic. From anonymous first winners to the rise of future champions. And wars of attrition where simply getting your car to the finish can mean triumph. Sure, the cars hate it. But the drivers, they love it. Because winning here, it means more. This can make a career. This can forge a legend. This... is the Sporting Almanac Podcast.

afternoon ben hello jack how are you today yeah yeah i'm good mate great fa cup final can i just say yes lived up to the expectations Yeah, I mean, the FA Cup is magic. The FA Cup is a unique sort of magic. And after the fact, it's always easy to point to and say, oh, it always felt like that was going to happen. Oh, the magic of the Cup or whatever. But it just always delivers. And for those who don't know, Crystal Palace beat Manchester City. It was the first ever trophy.

They qualified for Europe for the first time. Massive achievement. Obviously the underdogs on the day. Lovely stuff. Yeah, very good. But let's not dwell. Let's get to the heat of the action for this week. We're in Monaco. We are in Monaco, and I'm very excited by that. Though there may be two or three mentions of the Indy 500 as well, which is taking place on the same

day as it usually does in Indianapolis. Between that, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is in a few weeks' time we're going to be doing a full episode on, they make up the triple crown of motorsport. So there might be a few mentions of the Indianapolis 500 as well today. Just maybe one or two. It's fair to say, isn't it, that you and I have a love -hate relationship with the sport of Formula

One. Not always the most successful and not always the slickest of run sports either, Formula One.

No, that's true. Often influenced by politics, often influenced by off -track issues, which you perhaps, you know... get exposure to in more diluted uh ways in other sports whereas in formula one it seems to be very in your face yeah very entrenched with the way in which the sport is governed the way the sport is run so formula one is a sport that um if you fall in love with it too hard it's very easy to then fall out of love with it when things go against your sporting

expectations shall we say And 2021 was a good example of that for me particularly, because for those of you who haven't realised yet, I'm a big fan of rules and regulations and sticking to them. And we won't go into details on 2021 today. It's one of the great sporting injustices and it was manipulated with abandon and utter disregard for the rules in a way that was unprecedented and will probably never be seen again. Yeah,

so COVID. 2020 COVID was a hard time for everyone of course it was and one of the things that really helped get me through it was a couple of sports particularly that I fell in love with I was already in love with but I fell in love even harder with them and one of them was Formula One that coming back that season going on and the other one was the NFL as well with that going on and 2021 having had obviously it was probably the greatest season of Formula One in my lifetime 2021 up there with

2008 2009 2010 all cracking seasons and some others but that was a brilliant season and for it to end the way it did burst my bubble as i said i fell in love so hard with it it was a long way down from there and i guess that leads us on to sort of the burning question because monaco is a sport well not sport an event rather that encapsulates perhaps some of the um paradoxical yeah the paradoxical aspects of like formula one um very neatly uh and i think i think you

had posed the question to me prior to this jack is it even good it's a simple question is is monaco even a good event if you were shortening the formula one calendar would you put it in an eight race season would you put it in a race season for example at what point do you bring Monaco in given that the vast majority of races there are very processional very much if you qualify on the front row certainly first on the grid on Saturday you are more than likely going

to win on the Sunday especially in modern cars in the past Monaco used to be a war of attrition the amount of gear changes you go through obviously affects your gearbox the suspension is badly affected by the hills and the camber obviously your brakes because you're braking a lot during the race and old formula one cars used to be very unreliable and obviously the concentration levels required for the drivers there is no room for error if you brake late if you lock up you're

probably going into a barrier so it used to be the case that you would get someone qualifying lower down the grid finishing near the front because people would retire people would crash out but in modern formula one with the cars being as wide as they are as big as they are and as reliable as they are Yeah, there's been Monaco Grand Prix's, there's been two Monaco Grand Prix's, 2003 and 2021, where there's not been a single

overtake during the entire race. And that's only ever happened five times in Formula One history. Two of those were farcical races, 2005 US Grand Prix, where only six drivers started. In Indianapolis, ironically. In Indianapolis, yeah. And Spa 2021, which was farcical, where it's just a procession round behind the safety car. And the other one was Sochi 2017. And that's the only time this happened, twice at Monaco. And Monaco doesn't have the excuse of things influencing the race

to cause that. You've just described circumstances in which the weather was so poor that there was a procession around with a safety car, or there was a farce with the tyres, as was the case in Indianapolis. Whereas Monaco was an authentic race distance event that just did not allow for overtaking. And yeah, I think you've summed it

up perfectly, mate. The only thing I would add is the sport is so professional, as is the case with most sports now, that the standards required in order to even get into Formula 1 are so high that the guys are so talented and so damn good, even the ones that you would question are not even necessarily there on pure merit, that when you combine that with such sophisticated machinery, the likelihood of them binning it... in a way that made Monaco so attractive in the past, with

it being so narrow, with no runoff areas, with just limited room for error, that's all been negated now. And so what you effectively have is a series of talented dudes driving around in very, very sophisticated machinery, not making mistakes, and it doesn't always make for a great spectacle. It's very intriguing nonetheless, if you are aware of that context and the skill that's still involved and the engineering that goes into it. You can still admire it, but...

It's not a good spectacle, necessarily. If the Monaco Grand Prix didn't exist nowadays and someone proposed it, they would get laughed out of the room immediately. It's just not a practical place to drive Formula One cars around. It's not a practical place to drive Formula One cars around in the 1960s when the cars were half as wide as they are now. All the cars now are 50 % wider than they used to be, so half again, the whiff on top. It's a race that really only exists because

of its history. But it is a brilliant history. And every so often, it throws up a magnificent race that just makes you realize, my words, maybe this is a place where you can race Formula 1 cars. Like, incredible races. Some of the greatest races in Formula 1 history have been there. Yeah, exactly. And I think, yeah, I mean, the succinct answer is, is it good? I think we come down on yes. It is good. I think you've got a perfect summary, mate. You've got a one -line summary

of it. Do you want to just say what you said to me? Because I think it's spot on and then we can delve into the event itself. It's a paradox. It's deeply flawed, yet it's emotionally irresistible. Yeah, I think that's nice. I think that's so well put. And with that in mind, like, allow us, indulge us whilst we try and explain to you why, despite all the shortcomings that we've just summarized existing, it is nonetheless good and worthy of its place on the sporting calendar.

Well, its history is incredible. Its history is so deep. so linked to Formula 1. There's good things and there's bad things. Obviously, you've got the opulence, you've got the wealth, you've got flaunting of wealth, the yachts by the side of the bay, the champagne being popped left, right and centre, $20 ,000 hotel rooms throughout the weekend. It's not accessible for the common man. But yet, the sporting history alone is incredible.

You can take that, put all that to one side and just talk about the heroes that have driven there and the fact that it does separate, the cream rises to the top, it separates the... the rookies from the heroes of the sport because the margins are so fine and the amount of bravery and the amount of control and the amount of discipline, mental concentration you need to win there is so vast and it is notable that the drivers that have won it multiple times are the gods of the

sport. I mean, like, the ones particularly, and we'll probably indulge in some of these stories, but, like, in the 70s, the 60s, the 70s, the 50s, 60s, 70s, probably, actually, it's probably the golden era where it was a super dangerous sport. Incredibly dangerous. And, as you say, like, some of the greats really came out of that period of time, ones that have gone down in folklore. But, yeah, I mean, having said all of that, and we've given it a big, that's a big intro, but

having said all of that, you know, it's... Its origins are not as glamorous as it is now, and it's a fairly average origin story, so to speak. It's so mundane. To think of where it is now, to think of the glitz and the glamour and everything connected to it, it basically came about because, this is in the years before Formula One, this is in the late 1920s, there was the Automobile Club de Monaco. who were most famous for organizing the Monte Carlo Rally. The Monte Carlo Rally

went all around Europe. It just finished in Monaco. So it was obviously not contained entirely within the principality. At that time, the ACM, Automobile Club de Monaco, applied to the AIACR, the Association Internationale d 'Automobile Club Reconus. Rolls off the top. Call it the FIA. It became the FIA

after the war. But what is now the... uh federation international automobile and the fia as in the governing body of all of all motorsport um so the the acm applied to them for full international recognition but were rejected because monaco had no race that took part in its own soil so in order to be accepted uh anthony knows she was the president of the acm just basically saw the solution which was creating a grand prix within the city itself which again not quite

as bonkers as it would seem today but It is not a place that you would naturally think to race motorcars around. Nevertheless, we're backing from Prince Louis II, the ruling prince of Monaco. A course was designed around the hills and the city streets, and the first Monaco Grand Prix was held as a result of that in 1929. All that just because the ACM wanted to be recognised as an international body, just like the Automobile Club of Britain of France. That's all it came

down to. There is a lovely symbiosis to this all still, which is... Politics were at play from the off. Always. And I think that, you know, you just summarized it nicely, which is just, it was rich people wanting a playground of their own, having to jump through some administrative bureaucracy in order to get their fun. Yeah. And it led to one of the most iconic racing events in history. Probably the most iconic, I would say. Le Mans or Monaco. Yeah, yeah, yeah. One

or the other. Yeah, just very quickly on Monaco as well, because you mentioned it. Most people probably obviously heard of Monaco. I don't know how many people have been, because it is very rich, and it's not the most accessible, I think. Nice is probably the nearest biggest town or city in France. You can get there on the train fairly easily. You can obviously fly into Monaco, but I don't know if it's got its own airport.

I think it's just outside. I think most people fly into Nice and then get the train to Monaco, unless your first name is Sheikh. You probably can't afford to get in any other way. It's tiny. It's hilly. It's in a mountainous region. It's

pretty. Yes, very pretty. It's southwest. um sorry southeast france uh not too far from the italian border and um on the mediterranean with a big harbor very very narrow streets undulating um topography yeah like not the place you would set up a grand prix no you and i went there once when we were poor students we did we couldn't even afford an ice cream we just went there and basically walked a lap of the Grand Prix circuit, because, of course, what else do you do when

you're poor students in Monaco? Yeah, exactly. Nice to have gone, though. Well, before we get into the Grand Prixs proper, is it worth, therefore, just going, explaining a bit about the circuit itself, then, since we've just said we've been there? Yeah. It's not changed, so... Well, it's changed a little bit, but barely changed. I mean, the most significant thing that's changed since the early days is they now actually put barriers

down. Whereas before, if you missed a turn, if you missed some of the turns, you were in the drink, you were in the harbour, which did happen a couple of times. Or someone's house. Or someone's house, yeah. I mean, if you look at old videos of it, or some people have done mock -ups on racing simulators of how it used to be, it is terrifying. I don't believe people used to drive around there. It's bad enough now with the barriers. Without the barriers, my word, these men were

brave. If you play it on a simulation game, I know this is completely absurd because it's clearly never going to be as good. It's still so hard. Yeah. Like, really hard to play on the computer. I remember the old Formula One, I think Formula One 97 I used to play quite a lot when I was a kid, so I'd been like 10 years old, and I just used to skip it. I'd start seasons and I'd just skip Monaco. Same, DNF it. Just crash out. Just

DNF it, yeah, exactly. What's the point? I'm not as good as some of these drivers, to be fair. Well, yeah, that is probably the key element. We'll take you around the circuit itself anyway. So it's just over two miles long, 3 .337 kilometres. So just over two miles. Features 19 turns, incredibly tight confines. It was described by Nelson Piquet as like cycling through your living room, which I think is a really good description. How dangerous it feels. There's been 81 editions so far. It'll

be the 82nd this weekend. Obviously it's glamorous. Obviously it's dangerous. Or difficult, I'd say. Relatively speaking, not that dangerous compared to other circuits in terms of driver injuries and death. But still. one moment of poor concentration and you were in the wall and it happens a lot to the best. Literally, I've got a couple of stories where just casually mentioned, oh, and Alan Cross went into the wall and oh, Ayrton Senna went into the wall. It's just, it happens

to the best. Yeah. Very difficult. It's an unforgiving place. It's like one error and you're out. Effectively, there are no... Exactly. Yeah. But yeah. Yeah, it can be a procession, but add a little bit of weather or... a bit of someone being out of position on the grid, and it can become one of the greatest racetracks in the world. There's been some incredible races there. But the drivers, generally speaking, they love it. They speak

so highly of it. They love the attention to detail it needs, the concentration and skill that's required, the challenge. And it is so heavily focused on the Saturday. Qualifying is so important that it makes it the biggest Saturday of the year, by far. Yeah, by far, exactly. Yeah, and a lot of drivers have described it being almost a spiritual experience, like having an out -of -body type feeling while driving around it. And non -drivers have too, when they've been lucky

enough to go around the circuit. I mean, I'd love to give it a go in real life, but I wouldn't like to have to pay for the car I'm driving.

I mean, like I know Senna is the most iconic of those, and he's said it a few times about various laps, but I think he's particularly, there was one lap in Monaco where... yeah he sort of talks about it like being an almost now a body experience um and i don't know close to god yeah and lewis hamilton has said similar things i think and yeah it's i imagine they still love it because uh they are as we were saying so good and it still poses a challenge despite

the fact that you know i sort of sought to undermine somewhat the credibility of the race by saying that the engineering is so good the cars are so good and the racing drivers are so good that it's um it's a bit of a dull watch like that's true but that doesn't mean that it's it's not extremely difficult and extremely challenging and these guys are probably seeking out that level of challenge because they are so talented and it remains that to this day yeah there's

still no room for error as we say and obviously You've got to be perfect on the Saturday, and to be perfect, you've got to be incredibly brave and have incredible car control, which is why, obviously, you say Ayrton Senna being an icon. Ayrton Senna was renowned for his attention to detail on his car control. I thought this story was from Monaco, but it's not. I think it was from a Dallas Grand Prix, but there's a famous

story about Ayrton Senna. uh crashing into a barrier yes during qualifying i know what you're gonna say and he came back to the pit and he was furious he was like someone's moved that barrier yeah that barrier wasn't where it's supposed to be and they're just like yeah calm down net and don't be ridiculous and then they check the footage or whatever else afterwards and they were like yep someone here hit it earlier and it was like three inches to the right of where

it was previously Yeah, and he clipped his wheel and caused him to retire. And they all thought he was making excuses. And in actual fact, he was spot on. Just that good. He just has such good feel for it. And we'll jump the gun a little bit. No one has won more races around Monaco than Ayrton Senna. His reputation in Formula

One and there generally is massive. to bear in mind as well that unfortunately he lost some of the best potential years of his racing when he lost his life in 1994 as well so could have been even more than the 61 well exactly he is widely considered as top three that have ever lived even though certainly the fastest yeah yeah so you can have a debate as to who the best is we me and you have our opinions on that maybe we'll do that another day but he will always

be in that conversation Always. Anyway. Should we try something novel? Yeah. Try and do an actual lap of the circuit. An actual flying lap of the circuit. This might not pay off, so apologies in advance, everyone. But if it does, it might be fun. All right. Do you want turn one or turn two? I'll go two. You lead us off the line. So off the line, it's a slight right -hand bend until the first proper turn, which is Sandovot.

which is a right -hander prone to lock -ups and early race incidents, mostly due to how it acts as a bottleneck early on, especially with the width of the cars now. Two don't go into one through there. There are a lot of incidents early in the race there. It's named after the 11th century chapel dedicated to Monaco's patron saint, Sainte -Devote. Nice. And then that'll lead you into turn two, Beau Ravage. More of a bend in the road rather than a conventional turn. Lovely

viewpoint of Monaco from here, though. And that is where its name comes from. It basically means beautiful shore. Turn three is Massonet, which is a sweeping left -hand corner near the Opera House. This is one of the great things about Monaco. Near the Opera House, just casually mentioning that. And that is one of the highest points on the circuit there. Yeah, and turn four needs virtually no introduction. Casino Square, very glitzy backdrop of the Monte Carlo Casino, famously

featured in the movie Goldeneye. James Bond throwing a bone there to our film lovers. And it's emblematic, really. It's just, yeah, Monaco's opulence in a single building, a single location. Turn five is Mirabeau Hot, which means Mirabeau High. It's just the high part of the Mirabeau turn. named after the old Mirabeau Hotel which was torn down for apartment blocks as much as Monaco has been.

Drivers used to take the tight inside line there but it's down the hill and modern cars are too large for that and will probably end up on three wheels if they tried that now. And then I hand over to you Ben for probably the most famous turn in all of Formula One. Yeah, the hairpin, turn six, the slowest corner in F1 as well. Coming down the hill, you're going to be hard on the

brakes here. Known originally as the station hairpin, later as the Lowe's hairpin, after another hotel, and then... variously at different times uh the grand the sun casino and now the fair mont hairpin as the hotel continued to change hands and therefore names name changes belie the fact that it's probably the most recognizable corner on the circuit and arguably in all of f1 as you said uh you go get down to speeds of 40 miles an hour which illustrates just how fast

this sport is if it's the slowest corner um in formula one 40 40 mile an hour is still pretty quick extreme steering lock and precision usually a bad place to overtake yes then you're into turn seven which is mirabeau bass which is the base of mirabeau and that's all that needs to be said about it and then turn eight portier another famous another famous turn some of these names are probably resonating with any conventional f1 fans we have near the sea it's a right -hand

turn that goes into the tunnel I've seen some major incidents, including Ayrton Senna's 1988 crash and the 2017 collision between Jenson Button and Pascal Wehrlein, whose head reportedly touched the barrier, which is terrifying considering how fast they go through that tunnel. Sergio Perez also crashed out there during the 2022 qualifying. And last season's coming together.

of the alpines when ocon tried to overtake gasly um and uh yeah like a lot of these corners also has a very nice view if you've got time to take it in and it used to be a place where if you got it wrong you'd end up in the sea not anymore though portier leads into turn nine which is the tunnel which is a gentle right -hander within the tunnel you'll all have seen the tunnel you'll know it it sounds incredible in there uh the change of lighting and the change of aerodynamics

when you're in there because obviously you don't have the wind the air pressure is slightly different in there, can make an effect when you're going into the tunnel and when you're coming out of it. And speaking of coming out of it, Ben? Yeah, you come out of it into turn 10 and 11, and this is also another one of the most iconic parts of the Monaco track, the Nouvelle Chicane. It's probably the best, if not the only, overtaking spot in the circuit. Would you agree with that?

It's certainly the only one anyone really ever tries it at nowadays. Or at least if they're sensible, unlike Esteban Ocon. Yeah, it gets very tasty in the wet as well in this area, but it was reprofiled in the 1980s and renamed in 1986, having previously been the Chicane du Port. And yeah, it's a very high stakes braking zone. It's the fastest part of the track, decelerating and downhill, as we say, into a chicane. And yeah. The light change is coming out of the tunnel,

as you said, about going in. It is unsurprisingly one of the most dangerous parts of the course. And it's the only place on the circuit where there's ever been a fatality as well, which we'll come to. So turn 12 is Tobacco, which is named after a tobacco shop. In 1950, a wave flooded the corner, which caused a mail pileup. But generally, other than that, it's fairly unmemorable, save for the random cigarette shop that happens to be there. Oh, that is random. I'm getting very

lucky here with some of the iconic turns. I was going to say, you're getting the best ones, yeah? Another good one now. Didn't even mean to. Turns 13 and 16, the swimming pool section. Again, iconic. A tight technical series, including the Louis Chiron and the Piscine Chicanes. Piscine meaning swimming pool. in French, of course. Drivers risk suspension damage if they clip turn 15. Mick Schumacher split his car in two here

in 2022. The second time a Haas has been split in two in 18 months, but obviously the less dramatic of the pair by far. Yes. Mr Grosjean basically turning himself into a fireball by accident. Yes. Miraculously surviving, which is a story for another day. Definitely, and still the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my time watching Formula One live. So into Turn 17, Rascasse, named after a local restaurant. I love the naming of some of these, just like restaurants and hotels.

Rascasse is most famous for 2006, where Michael Schumacher decided to park his car there during qualifying, which he didn't get away with. He got a penalty for that and got sent to the back of the grid. I remember that. Yeah, yeah. The old deliberate runoff. Yeah, and that leads you into Turn... 18 and 19, Virage Anthony Noges,

named for the GP founders. The final corner of the race, basically, used to be another hairpin named Gazza Mitra until the 1970s when it was redesigned into a right -hander, which kinks slightly to the left into the pit and then straight to the end of the lap. And then you are back to turn one. There you go, Monaco, everyone. I hope you enjoyed that. But yeah, I guess we've got Monaco, we've intro'd it. I guess the opportunity is to just take us down memory lane, Jack. As

we like to do in the beginning. So the very first Monaco Grand Prix was held in 1929. This is obviously before the Formula One World Championship. The Formula One World Championship came along in 1950, but the Grand Prix had been going on a few years intermittently before that. It stopped for a few reasons. Obviously, the Second World War and some financial reasons as well skipped a few years, but most years between 1929 and 1950, it was run barring those war years. The

inaugural Grand Prix was in 1929. The idea came from Anthony Nose, as we said, president of the... automobile club de monaco who proposed a race through the winding streets of principality just for the basis of earning monaco international recognition so it was approved in late 1928 and the event was first run in on april the 14th 1929 over 100 laps of a 3 .18 kilometer street circuit twisted through the harbor casino and hairpins of monaco one of the most picturesque

and treacherous courses ever designed as it remains to this day it was designed by charles and cars had to navigate tight corners, tram tracks, tunnels, and sheer cliffside drops, which is incredible. That is incredible. All protected with, and I'm sure you'll agree these are suitable protections, sandbags and wooden barriers to stop you falling into the sea. God, it's come a long way, hasn't it? Like, that is absolutely insane. I mean, obviously the cars were very different too, and

blah, blah, blah. They were still quick. They were slower, but they were still quick. Yeah. There's a reason that this sport has a... A long history with death. But yes, sorry. And we will come into that more later. So the reward for taking the risk were a prize of 100 ,000 francs, which was a lot back in the day, and obviously prestige as well. And as a result, it drew top talent from across Europe. So participation was

invitation only. So it was 20 cars who entered and 16 who ultimately started due to withdrawals from crashes, logistical issues. And the battle on the day was between the nimble 2 .3 litre Bugattis and the fearsome 7 .1 litre Mercedes -Benz SSKs. How is that that different? It's incredible. Exactly. So Formula One, as regulations, has been around since just after the war, which obviously specifies the size of the engines or limits on the size of the engines, the weight

of the cars, various other things. Very strict regulations nowadays. Very strict. Prescriptive almost, but yeah. At this point, none of that. So you've got, as I say, 2 .3 litre Bugattis and 7 .1 litre Mercedes, which are massive. So that was the head -to -head belt. The main Mercedes was driven by a man called Rudolf Caracciola. Well tried. But I did my best. Apologies in advance. There's a lot of French and Italian names in this, and I'm probably going to butcher some

of them, but I'll do my best. Here's one I can get right, though. A British driver officially named only Williams arrived late, but managed to practice on the eve of the race and was given special permission to compete. When Sunday arrived with clear skies and warm sunshine, tens of thousands flocked to the circuit, lining rooftops, balconies and hillsides to watch racing thunder through their town. The race itself was an instant classic.

Williams, as he was known, driving a British racing green Bugatti with full factory backing, took an early lead and dueled fiercely with Caracciola's powerful Mercedes. Though the German briefly snatched the lead on laps 30 and 50, a lengthy pit stop for fuel and tyres pushed him down to fourth. Williams seized the opportunity, pulling ahead and ultimately maintaining his lead to

claim victory in front of a roaring crowd. Second place went to his teammate, a Belgian driver called Georges Buriano, also in a Bugatti, with Caracciola recovering to finish third. The remaining finishers were all in Bugattis, highlighting the car's dominance on the tight technical circuits. The heavy Alphas, Maseratis and others just couldn't

keep up with the pace. Though some other less well -known races had already taken place in that year, the Monaco Grand Prix was immediately hailed as a spiritual start to the 1929 season. Its daring layout, high -stakes glamour and thrilling competition establishes it as one of the sports crown jewels, a status it would maintain for nearly a century to come. That's a cool first story. It is a cool, that's a good way of which, you know, like it enters the fray, so to speak.

Yeah. And like Formula One, like you've already alluded to, it didn't really exist until like post -war. Yeah. Like in its modern framework, I guess, for want of a better phrase. So yeah, like the pre -war is just very much dotted races.

fairly dysfunctional very disorganized like the sport playboys yeah boys yeah in their big cars some very talented drivers still though some legends yeah whose careers started before the war but ended up racing in formula one after the war yeah and like i mean since we're on the war indeed you know what we like to do jack and i'm hoping you've come i'm hoping you've come prepared there's there's two things we like to do on this podcast firstly we like to go back

to the beginning and tell you about how an event started which we've just done and secondly we love to unearth a cracking world war ii story now normally you have to work through the years to find a competitor whose story needs to be told because i mean what are the odds that the guy who won the very first monaco grand prix would turn out to be a complete freaking madman of a war hero Oh, really? What are the odds, Ben? This chap Williams? So the year's 1942.

A British spy operating deep in occupied France under the code name Sebastian has helped set up a spy network within the country, helped rejuvenate the French resistance, and made a real name for himself. Wouldn't you know it, that spy Sebastian was none other than the man who'd once danced through Monaco's most elusive clubs, raced Bugatti's first street, and won the inaugural Grand Prix. under the name Williams. His real name was Willie Grover Williams. And honestly, that scratches

the surface of this story. But hold on a second. Is this geezer just like, is he using like effectively like a code name so that his real identity isn't known? I'll go through it. But yeah, essentially. So his name, his name was Charles Frederick William Grover, known as Willie. He was born to a French mother and an English horse breeder father who settled in Paris. He was raised mostly in Monte Carlo. He got his first motorbike for his 15th birthday, learned to drive in his sister's boyfriend's

Rolls Royce. So far, all very Monaco. Yes. In his early 20s, he was competing and winning in motorcycle races and rallies, lying about his age and using W. Williams to keep his participation secret from his parents, who did not approve. Okay. So a slightly more benign reason for... It is, yeah. But nonetheless, he ends up being... Carry on. He was fast, stylish, and already turning heads. In between races, he worked as a chauffeur in Paris for the famous artist Sir William Orpen.

Through that job, he fell in love with a woman called Yvonne Aubic, who was actually Orpen's mistress, which is very south of France. Orpen seemed to approve, though, and gave the couple his blessing. And even more than that, he gave them a house on the Rue Weber in Paris and a luxury open -top Rolls -Royce as a wedding gift.

Grover at that point also changed his name to Grover Williams due to the recognisability of his pseudonym and presumably by this point the fact his parents probably didn't care so much now he's in his late 20s. So as his driving career took off he was known for his mechanical genius and his fearless racing style. In 1927 he made headlines by keeping pace with world champion Robert Benoit in an underpowered Talbot at the French Grand Prix winning the crowd over as he

did. By 1928, he was winning the same race outright, behind the wheel of a second -hand Bugatti. He talked Ettore Bugatti himself into selling him at a discount, the founder of Bugatti. Monaco, 1929, the first Grand Prix held in the Principality, as we mentioned, winning that. He carried on racing until 1936, winning multiple Grand Prixs, befriending his old rival Robert Benoit in doing so. More on him later. Honestly, this story.

On his racing retirement, he and Yvonne split their time between Brittany and Monaco and were famed for often driving two cars around the principality at high speeds, William leading Yvonne. Whenever Yvonne was inevitably the one who was stopped by the police for speeding, she'd ask them why they'd let her husband off. He's Williams, they said. We don't stop Williams. That must be slightly embellished, but I'm going to buy in so hard.

Who cares? It's a story. If the glamour of pre -war motorsports shaped his legend, it was wartime courage that made him a hero, though. When the war broke out, Grover Williams answered Britain's call. Despite living most of his life in France, he was a patriotic Britishman. Initially serving as a driver for a general, as you'd expect, he pulled off a daring escape with the general from Brittany in 1940 after they were cut off from

Dunkirk. But more than that was to come. When on the general's recommendation, his cool head, his fluent French, and his intimate knowledge of the country, earned him a place in Churchill's shadowy Special Operations Executive, the SOE, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare himself,

as a spy. Nice. So, after brutal training, at 01 .30 on the 31st of May 1942, Grover Williams, co -named Vladimir at that point, later Sebastian, parachuted into France to help rebuild the shattered resistance network, after the previous one had been compromised and annihilated by the Gestapo. The job was simple. The job was simple to describe anyway, but it was nearly impossible to execute. Build an underground army under the noses of the Nazis. As you do. Nice and easy. There's

your briefing. Off you go. Here's where it gets even more extraordinary, Ben. The first people he contacted when he landed in France, his wife Yvonne and Robert Benoit, the same driver he'd once pushed the limit on racetracks. Benoit, who was codenamed Lionel, had been a First World War pilot, so naturally didn't hesitate. with a call, nor did another old rival whose name was Jean -Pierre Wimille. So three former race drivers now attached to the French Resistance

and building a network. I mean, this could be a Hollywood movie, honestly. I was about to say, why has no one made a movie out of this? These guys are absolutely bonkers. And also, for anyone who's not familiar with World War II, the people in the French Resistance were seriously hardcore, brave people. But anyway, carry on. So obviously it was their job to arm train and coordinate resistance fighters. in preparation for D -Day.

Benoit's cover was working in a Bugatti showroom in Paris, with Ettore Bugatti himself providing the documentation that allowed him to freely travel around France. That also allowed him to borrow trucks from Bugatti to move weapons around as they coordinated the resistance. They carried out sabotage missions, most notably at the Citroën factory, and ran entire underground networks

of intelligence and logistics. They were the reception committee for new agents parachuted in, and their lives were in constant danger. Yeah, this is probably the thing that's a good place to take. Sorry, I didn't emphasise this clearly enough. If you're in the French Resistance in your court, you're dead. You're dead. You're not being imprisoned. Probably tortured first. Yeah, but you are dead. It's very dangerous.

But anyway, sorry, go on. Speaking of torture, operatives were captured and one of them was Benoit's own brother, Maurice, who unfortunately under torture betrayed them to the Gestapo, something that none of them ever blamed him for. in the situation. The net closed on them and Robert Benoit himself managed to enact two hair -raising escapes, once by hurling himself and a Gestapo guard from a moving car, another time slipping through a building surrounded by eight armed

men again. Why is this not a movie? Before he eventually made his way back to Britain for now. Benoit returned to France twice before eventually being captured in Paris in June 1944. was sent to Buchenwald, and unfortunately he was executed there. Wimiel survived the war, but died in a ball of flames during a practice run for the 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, unfortunately. That's insane that you'd survive all of that

and then that happened to you. It's a very dangerous sport, so it's not actually that surprising. What I mean is it's just weird the way... It feels like the more dangerous part of your life is over with. And then you go back and race cars in the 1940s. But there we go. Some people are made for adventure. Our hero, Grover Williams. War records show he never made it back to Blighty. He was captured, tortured and sent to Saxon housing

concentration camp. Starved and beaten, he is said to have been executed by firing squad alongside legendary British agent Francis Sutil. just weeks before the war's end. Except, that's not the only version of events that people say. Rumours persist to this day that Grover Williams survived, that the British staged his death, that MI6 exfiltrated him from Berlin to the United States in 1947, that he continued to work in espionage after

the war. One theory claims he reappeared eventually in France once his duties were done under the name Georges Tambal. a man who shared Grover Williams' birthday, mechanical skills, and even his injuries, and quietly moved in with Yvonne in Evero. They lived like husband and wife. When Tambal was asked to register officially with the mayor, the police intervened, and the requirement was mysteriously waived. Yvonne lived until 1973, and in 1983, that man, Georges Tambal, was killed

in a cycling accident in the town of Agen. He was struck, ironically, by a German tourist driving a Mercedes. Some say fate is a sense of humour. However, again, going back, a research done by a group of historians by the Bugatti Trust and by William's own brother Frederick have upheld the official story. They were shot in Sachsenhausen as a spy. Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on the part of racing fans, or on our part for that matter, that make the alternate story persist.

Or maybe there's more to it. Either way, an incredible man amongst incredible men and women in the French Resistance. And an incredible story. I'm going to choose to believe that he survived and disregard the facts. It's a nice story. It would be the ending of the movie, wouldn't it? Put it that way. How is that not a film? There's so many layers to that. I'm not even going to try and deconstruct it. I just think that was cool. I don't know where you found that, Jack, but thank

you. I literally found it because I was like... Well, let's see if these guys have any stories. Let's click on this Mysterious Williams fellow. Oh my God, he was in the SOE. This is ridiculous. Because I texted you in the week and I was like, this shouldn't be this easy to find a story like this. Yeah. This is the first time I told you the story, but I'd given you a heads up that there was a good story and it was incredible.

The very first winner. Yeah, very first winner and just generally just a really interesting

bloke regardless of his links to Monaco. So how is that guy's life not... more documented um it was it is it is a well -known story like within um motorsport circles but a lot of the articles i found on him were quite it's it's not like i was looking at the guardian or any major newspaper to get these stories it was sort of i think autosport perhaps maybe had a story on him but um yeah generally speaking yeah it's it's a little bit underground this story more than you'd expect

it to be because that's that's a i mean given the modern age of like These long -form series and stuff. Obviously, you've got SAS Rogue Heroes, things like that. I mean, this is everything. It's right up there. Yeah, that's a really good story. I guess we should try and get back on track to the Monaco Grand Prix specifically. But that is a wonderful little tangent and rabbit

hole to have ventured down. So it's really post -war where it really establishes itself in the Formula One calendar and in motorsport generally. Yeah, it was after the war that motorsport went global, essentially. There was motorsport in America, there was motorsport in Europe. The FIA, as it was renamed after the war, really their aim was to go global. Their aim was to incorporate every continent or all the continents under a single world championship. which they

did. They formed the first Drivers' World Championship in 1950 under, as I mentioned, Formula One regulations that were agreed upon in 1946 and the F1 World Championship was born, which Monaco was a part of, in 1950 and then not in 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954 because they couldn't agree on the regulations or couldn't settle on the regulations relative to Monaco compared to the rest of the Formula One season. But the first Monaco Grand Prix, as part of the World Championship, was won by

Juan Manuel Fangio, a legend of the sport. Quite famous. Went on to win five Formula One World Championships, which was a record until Michael Schumacher overtook him with seven. Lewis Hamilton also overtaking him later, also on seven. The inclusion of Monaco originally was a recognition of prestige, but that prestige grew exponentially after 1952. Sorry, after 1955. So 1952 was the only time, 1951 to 1954, the event was held.

It was held as a sports car race, which is mainly notable because it allows classic car races now to take part at Monaco around the same time as the Formula 1 because it takes so many weeks to set up the Formula 1 track and so many weeks to put it away. It's like six weeks to set up, three weeks to put it away. So they pack a few races, like the E -Prix goes in there, the classic

cars race, and obviously Formula 1 as well. nice that's fun yeah that is fun i mean we've just sort of entered now that we've entered the modern era of f1 we are entering the era that me and you were talking about um earlier with respect of uh a relatively subpar i say relatively why am i qualifying that an extremely subpar safety record so so jackie stewart did some maths once And he worked out that if you were to start racing at the same time he did, so in the 1950s, you

had a 66 % chance of dying before the end of your career, which is staggering. And then the amount of legendary drivers killed in that period, such as Jim Clark, two -time Formula One world champion, who never won at Monaco, funnily enough. British drivers dominated the early years. It was Sterling Moss, Jackie Stewart, and obviously Graham Hill as well, who did that dominating. Amazingly, Jim Clark never won one. The closest he got was he came fourth in 1961, but his notoriously

unreliable Lotus 25 failed on him again. And unfortunately, he missed out on a chance of top spot on the podium, Graham Hill winning, as he often did at that point. So Graham Hill is known as Mr. Monaco, which is a good name. So Graham Hill, he won two Formula One world titles, but his links to Monaco are vast. He's known as a charismatic, witty, charming and immensely talented man, which obviously the era it was with the

rise of celebrity. Princess Grace, famously, Grace Kelly, the mixture of celebrity and racing at this time. Graham Hill won the Monaco Grand Prix five times, 1963, 64, 65, 68, 69. Quite a few times. His driving style was smooth, precise and daring, which is exactly what you need to succeed at Monaco. And his signature moustache, cut glass British accent, witty personality made him the embodiment of 1960s British charm. Just think James Bond, but driving a racing car. And

that's Graham Hill. He's probably the inspiration for the likes of James Hunt and people that came

after him. He was. the original the original poster boy like playboy charming bastard basically yeah he's almost a stereotype because of himself like he's he's formed this sort of stereotype of the the british gentleman racer um he was a former he was a former rower as well his helmet was famously in the colors of the london rowing club which is a helmet he shared with his son damon hill who was also a formula one world champion who won in 1996 and they were the first father

and son to both win the world championship followed by uh nico and kk rossberg after nico won in 2016 damon hill probably only a world champion because of an untimely demise event in senna arguably yeah yeah i i think that's that's fair i think we'll come to that a bit more when we talk about senna but um i think damon hill definitely deserved to win his championship when he did he had michael schumacher who was up against as well as his teammate and he He drove superbly

to get there in the end. Oh, yeah, sorry. He was obviously benefited. Yeah, a moment. Senna died, therefore he became Williams. Oh, yes. Senna would have been the team leader, absolutely, at Williams, and probably would have added to his championships significantly had he stayed. So Graham Hill famously is the only driver to win the Triple Crown in motorsports. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1966, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972, and as mentioned, he won five Monaco

Grands Prix and two World Championships. And to some people, the triple crown of motorsport is the Formula One World Championship, not the Monaco Grand Prix, depending on who you ask. So it doesn't matter. He's won it. Although he would not be the only one, right, if it was the World Championship. Is that right? No, no, he'd be the only one in either case. Everyone's got a gap in their CV except him. I thought Jim Clark got close, but I don't, maybe that's... He never

won Monaco. Oh, for the championship, yeah. He didn't win Le Mans, maybe. I don't think he won Le Mans. Yeah, Le Mans. Sorry, not Le Mans. I'm mispronouncing it. My girlfriend will be unhappy with me if I mispronounce it. Your French girlfriend. Unfortunately, in 1975, while piloting a private plane, returning from a testing session at Paul Ricard, Hill crashed near Arklay in London, killing

himself and five team members. Devastating blow to the sport, 46 years old, cut short, a post -racing career where he'd built his own team, Embassy Hill, which was beginning to show some promise. And as I said, yeah, his son Damon went on to become Formula World World Champion. Funnily enough, Damon never actually won the Monaco Grand Prix. He missed a good opportunity in 1996, which we'll go over briefly soon. But equally, his dad never won the Silverstone Grand Prix, which

Damon did. So, you know, swings and roundabouts. But yeah, that's Graham Hill. Yeah, that's really cool. He's an iconic name, an iconic figure. I think we probably summed him up as best as we can in an introductory episode to the Monaco Grand Prix, but if anybody's interested, just Google him, Wikipedia him, you'll find an awful lot more information. We'll probably talk about him a bit more in two weeks' time. at Le Mans as well, speaking probably a bit more about the

Triple Crown then. I think we were going to talk a little bit about the safety record in Formula 1, and it's linked to Monaco, really. So in Monaco, there's only ever been one death, as I mentioned, which was Lorenzo Bandini in 1967. Funnily enough, he was the 1963 Le Mans winner, and he was going for the second leg of the Triple Crown at this point. He was actually leading, but he crashed at what is now the Nouveau Chicane. His car overturned

and it burst into flames. The accident was televised as well and was marred by, as was so often the case at this point, a slow response and inadequate firefighting capabilities. So there was a famous and infamous accident in 1973 at Zandvoort. This is six years after Bandini's death, bear in mind, where a driver named Roger Williamson was trapped. It's horrible. He was trapped inside his car.

There have been incidents in the past where cars are burnt up with drivers inside, but most of the time the impact was so hard that, fortunately, if you can call it that, the driver probably didn't feel a thing. Roger Williamson. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Another driver tried to get him out, failed to do so. The reason another driver had to intervene to try and help was because none of the marshals, and bear in mind, this was six years after Bandini's incident. None

of the Marshalls had fireproof gear. So the other driver had to take the fire extinguisher off a Marshall. He didn't know how to use it. He had to get shown by the Marshall, wasting time, wasting effort. And this was six years after Bandini's death. I think this just goes to show the problem with Formula One at the time. It was so slow to change anything. Drivers weren't mandated to wear fireproof clothing until I think

1963, somewhere around there. um for marshalls not to have i think it was 1975 um in the in the wake of roger williamson um that's that caused that from that point marshalls had to wear fireproof gear but it's just it is incredible and horrible that it had to come to this um so it was david pearly was the other driver um try try to get him out you got you got the george cross yeah the highest civilian award that can be given by the british government and thoroughly deserved

it it's a horrible video And he did everything he could possibly do. Which the FIA or Formula One, whoever was running it, making the safe decisions, didn't. Six years after it happened to Bandini. It was horrible. I mean, Bandini died three days later from his severe burns. There were some safety reform discussions, but they clearly came to nothing significant because six years later, it happened again. So it just sums up. It was a horrendously dangerous sport.

not helped by the governing bodies who were just unprepared to help it took drivers most notably jackie stewart who is a legend in formula one safety terms a three -time world champion but he is his very last race ever jackie stewart he saw his teammate killed horribly again quickly at least in this case but but horribly and he just walked away from the sport at that point and has spent his life from there because he's still going, campaigning for safety. He is an

excellent orator. He's excellent at speaking about it. And his input, as well as other drivers, Ayrton Senna being a notable example, and many other drivers, have made a huge difference. And the sport today is so safe. I mean, we talked briefly about Romain Grosjean going through a barrier in Bahrain. there is zero chance that he would have survived that even 10 years ago. The modern technology. The halo saved his life. Yeah, no halo, no head in that case. It saved

his life. The fact that he survived the explosion and the inferno that followed as well is indicative of how advanced things are compared to what you're describing in this instance. The car did what it's supposed to do. The monocoque protecting the driver separated. Took him somewhat to safety. He was able to extract himself from the car because

of the fireproof clothing he was wearing. He got some burns on his hands, but honestly, for the level of accident, at the time, I didn't think he was going to survive it when I watched it live. To see him climb from the wreckage and to see him back racing a year later, albeit in IndyCar, because that was his last race ever in Formula 1. Not because of what happened, but just because of... Yeah, the contracts. Haas

wanted to go a different direction. so incredible yeah i mean like on that on the point of safety it's uh like after senna's death in 94 uh and ratzenberger on the same weekend which is often not mentioned they were you know there's only been one death since isn't there which is jules bianchi and that was that led to quite significant changes in safety that was another oversight yeah yeah um where he hit the back of a one for a better phrase a tractor it was a recovery vehicle

that was picking up another car that had been that slid off in wet conditions and bianchi slid off and hit hit the back of it and that was pre halo as well um yeah and so the halo came in as a as in part as a result of that as well as obviously recovery vehicles now cannot be on the track either unless there's a safety car in place um yeah yeah basically like it's uh Completely different to the attitude. The changes have been exponential in safety since the early

90s, really. But yeah, on the more light -hearted side of safety, want to tell us about some of these dudes that ended up in the water? Yeah. So Monaco, as I mentioned, there's a possibility that you can end up in the harbour in the olden days because there weren't any barriers in place. And it's happened twice in the history of the

race. The first time was 1955. It was Alberto Ascari, who was actually a two -time Formula One champion, which again goes to show that even the best people can be caught out by this circuit. He was the, I think, 1952, 1953 world champion. He was leading the race at the time. He crashed in the chicane and ended up in the harbour. He survived the plunge with a broken nose and a concussion, but was able to extract himself from the car because they simply didn't wear safety

harnesses in those days. It was safer to be thrown from the car than it was to be trapped inside. a car being flung around and potentially set on fire. So the drivers took their chances and said, I would rather be thrown out of this car. And in this case, going into the water, that actually was a good thing because I think in a modern Formula One car, they would really struggle to extract themselves. They used to have divers. They used to have divers for the purpose of potentially

extracting the drivers if needed. They don't anymore. They do have divers, but they're, strictly speaking, for drunk people falling off yachts now, not for extracting drivers. I think if a modern Formula One car was to go in and there was no one to help, I don't think the driver would be able to get themselves out. But fortunately, they've mitigated that with better barriers nowadays. So yeah, the other driver was 1965. Same situation without harnesses on. It was Paul Hawkins. So

Ascari, 1955. He got himself out. But unfortunately, he actually died four days later after that. And he was a very superstitious man and a very careful man. He would never drive on the 26th of the month because that was the day his dad died on. His dad was also a Grand Prix racer. And he got out of this car four days later. It was the 26th of May, 1955. And he went against all his normal behaviour. He borrowed someone's

helmet, which he never did. He went out without wearing racing clothes on the 26th of the month and he died in a test crash at Monza. And they reckon, in my opinion, his concussion that he got during this crash at Monaco that caused his... poor decision making on that case. That's interesting. That is interesting. Sad. Yeah, the first Formula One champion to lose his life, I believe. I think Mike Hawthorne was the next, but yeah, sad. That

is sad. but yeah i mean like also completely insane that they used to do this circuit with like without harnesses incredible so like without barriers without harnesses and then the weird thing about both of those things is that the absence of safety features was actually a blessing if you ended up in the sea in this one in this one specific case yeah and the addition of um the safety features in a modern car could be the death of you now but fortunately of course

they've mitigated it in other ways which is what you absolutely should do because not wearing harnesses was a crazy time. The amount of drivers who died was incredible. Someone like Jackie Stewart, getting to the end of his career, winning world championships, walking away when he did was rare. Really rare. There was a posthumous world champion in 1970, Joachim Rindt, who died with a couple of races to go and had enough points to win the title, but it was given to his wife,

I believe, not him, his widow. I think Joachim Rindt had nearly... Nearly completed the Triple Crown. Had he? Yeah. Hold on. I'd be very surprised if he hadn't won at Le Mans. He might have. He might be the guy I was thinking of when I said about somebody who might have nearly completed it. Joachim Rindt won. He didn't win the Indianapolis. But he won the Monaco Grand Prix in 70. He was a Formula One world champion, posthumously, as you say. And he won Le Mans in 1965. So he would

have been a contender, but for his death. Yeah, he wasn't that old either. I think he was in his late 20s when he died. So, I mean, I bet you anything he'd have gone for it. He was 28,

yeah. Good knowledge. Graham Hill. obviously Graham Hill died relatively young he was in his 40s but there's a lot of people who probably could have done what Graham Hill did in terms of winning the Triple Crown but just didn't live long enough sadly such as obviously Jim Clark being one example of that yeah Jim Clark was a very good example of that incredible dangerous time Jim Clark having won Indianapolis in 65 and world champion in 63 and 65 but didn't win

as you say at Monaco and didn't win Le Mans yeah but He would have done, eventually. It was too good not to. As I said, he would have won, but for the fact that lotuses were made of cheese and just fell apart at the slightest breath of wind. They were small, they were nimble, they were quick, but they just fell apart. Famously unreliable. Do you want to know a fun one? I know these things have a strict criteria, so we cannot just unilaterally decide that it applies.

Bruce McLaren... Of fame. Of McLaren fame, yeah. Of McLaren fame, and McLaren being the only constructor to have completed the Triple Crown. That's true. Thanks for that. I forgot that. You're welcome. He himself, as a racing driver, won Monaco in 62, Le Mans in 66, and just didn't win the Indianapolis 500. Did he not die young as well? I think he died in a Can -Am accident. He died aged 32. And he did die in a Cam Allen accident. Mate,

that is quite wonderful knowledge. He crashed on the Levant Strait just before Woodcock Corner at the Goodwood Circuit in England in 1970. Been testing his McLaren M8D when it fell apart at high speed. Yeah. Jesus. Yeah, that is sad. He probably would have completed it in his personal capacity as well as obviously his team going on to do so. Yeah. Was that again? Yeah. It's a crazy time. And obviously, drivers nowadays don't really go for the Triple Crown because

they tend to focus on a single event. Like a Formula One driver doesn't go off and drive Indy anymore unless they're Fernando Alonso that one time. Whereas back in the day, they'd just drive Mulder and you could probably do it in one year if you were mad enough and good enough. Yeah. Anyway, I think we need to plough on because

we could natter. about this all day i was gonna say do you want to tell us any uplifting stories i've got a funny story actually i'll go through this quickly 1982 i did mention at the beginning obviously um there's been some of the most bonkers fun races in formula one history 1982 is known as the race that no one wanted to win so i'll try my best to go through this because so it took place just after gilles villeneuve's death so ferrari only entered one car they hadn't replaced

villeneuve yet And the entirety of Formula 1 was in mourning for the legend that was Gilles Villeneuve, father of Jacques Villeneuve, of course, 1997 world champion, and probably a future champion himself had he not lost his life. So, let me do my best here. René Arnoux took the lead, took the pole, and then built an early lead, but crashed out after lap 14 at the Swimpool

Chicane. Alan Prost inherited the lead, pulled away despite increasing rain in the final 15 laps, and looked like he was strolled to the

win. Other drivers around him crashed out. uh derek daly um williams was leaking oil um and then with three laps to go alan pross crashed heavily as i mentioned even the best drivers can lose concentration at monaco so in crashing he handed the leave to ricardo petraezi there was only a few drivers left in the race at this point as well petraezi then spun on daly's oil he dropped at the lowes hairpin which was on the penultimate lap of the race and stole this

car ended up facing backwards up the hill excellent which meant the Peroni and De Cesaris overtook him to take first and second place. Peroni then ran out of fuel on the last lap and retired. De Cesaris then ran out of fuel moments after him at Casino Square, which then handed the lead technically back to Patrese, who'd remained in his car. But had stalled it, obviously. So he's leading. So Petraeus is leading. Technically.

James Hunt famously said in his commentary, we've got this ridiculous situation where we're all sitting by the start -finish line waiting for a winner to come past and we don't seem to be getting one. With the help of the stewards, Petraeus had just barely managed to get his car going and he nursed it to the finish to take the record flag. But when he crossed the line, he had no idea that he'd won because there weren't any team radios in the day. So he got out of his

car and then got told he'd won the race. So he had this bizarre podium where Patrese obviously won it. And then he had Peroni and De Cesaris who hadn't even finished the race, but had because they'd lapped the people behind them who'd crashed out or who had finished the race, but they finished a lap behind where they were. They were still technically second and third in the race, bizarrely. Nigel, even though they didn't finish, but because the checkered flag is taken. Nigel Mansell finished

fourth, but he was a couple of laps down. So they had already crossed the line for the next lap. So they were ahead of him, technically. So only one car finished the allotted laps. So only five cars finished, but most of them were so many laps down. Only one car finished the allotted laps. Barely. Because he got pushed off on the marshals to start again. But it's just a crazy, unpredictable race when it wants

to. I don't think you are right. Did Senna not get disqualified for that once for getting a push start? I'm going to say I don't think that's allowed anymore. I'm sure back in the days where... It's allowed in MotoGP. They're allowed to help the drivers back on their motorbikes, but I didn't think... So I'm sure this is... I'm sure this is a controversial one. I won't say it's 1989, Prost versus Senna time. Senna got a push start and then got later disqualified from a race.

I need to look up the details of that, but anyway. Maybe the circumstances were different, but... Speaking of 1 -8 and Senna. Yeah. He's quite good. Yes. So it seems rude not to talk about him. He's the undisputed king of Monaco. Not to doff a cab. Obviously, even anyone listening who doesn't know anything about Formula 1 will probably have heard of Ayrton Senna. He is a legend. As with many of his races at Monaco, a lot of his wins followed a similar format.

Loewe won away on the Saturday and then reaped the rewards on the Sunday. His precision was legendary. I mentioned that story from Dallas. I think it was Dallas earlier. So, I mean, his six wins as well that he ended up with could easily have been eight as well. But for a couple of unfortunate incidents, he put in in 1988 what was the most famous qualifying lap in Monaco history. Back in those days, you used to do two

days of qualifying at the end of day one. He was two seconds ahead of his nearest rival, which was his teammate, Alan Prost. So, A, not a slouch. Yes. A three -time world champion, Alan Prost, wasn't it? Four -time world champion, yeah. At this point, twice world champion, I believe. And he'd win again the following year. So, not a slouch. And after day two, he was still 1 .4 seconds ahead of him. So, in the same car as

well. So, his teammate, a multiple -time world champion, in the same car, 1 .4 seconds faster. That is an eon faster. Yes, light years. However, during the race, he had an uncharacteristic loss of concentration at Portier and crashed, as mentioned earlier. Happened to the best of them. And that was the only race between 1987 and 1993, the only Monaco Grand Prix, that Senna didn't win. He won all the rest. However, I am going to talk about the other time he didn't win it that he

could have done. Of course we are. Because I love this story because it's not just Senna. There's another driver as well who's an absolute legend here. So 1984. Tell us his name. Introduce him. I will do. Let me tell my story. So 1984, Monaco Grand Prix. It was Senna's debut year in the sport, driving an unfancied Toleman. And it was famous not just for what happened, but

what was prevented from happening. It was a day of torrential rain and the emergence of two potential greats who mastered the conditions where far more experienced drivers failed to. and at the centre of it all, a red -flagged wave far too soon, suspicions of favouritism, and the dawning of a bitter rivalry between two titans of the sport. So, at this time, before it even got to Monte Carlo, Alan Pross and McLaren were the

dominant force in Formula One. Alan Pross and Nicky Lauda at McLaren, so that's a heck of a team, spanning two generations worth of multiple Formula One world titles. No one gave a second glance to this little team called Tolman. Yet under the grey skies, that script began to unravel. The heavens opened and it was in this chaos that Ayrton Senna was able to introduce himself to the world, but not just him. There was another driver called Stefan Belov as well on that day.

And Stefan Belov was starting back of the grid in a naturally aspirated Tyrrell. So every other car was turbocharged. The only naturally aspirated car who qualified that day was Belov in his Tyrrell, but he qualified last, as I say. So you've got Senna starting 13th in the Toleman, and Belov in the Tyrrell starting, I think, 20th in the last. So when the lights went out, Monaco delivered its usual drama whenever the rain starts pouring.

So accidents to Sainte -Devote eliminated nearly a quarter of the field by lap two, and Prost inherited an early lead after Mansell spun out from the front. Meanwhile, Senna sliced through the chaos with alarming ease, dispatching drivers in vastly superior machinery, including world champions like Keke Rosberg, Ferrari aces on his way, en route to taking second place. As draw -dropping as Senna's progress was, Beloff's

was arguably even more astonishing. The German rookie, in an underpowered Tyrell, started from last and picked his way up the order with raw bravery, overtaken with flair and confidence in appalling visibility on the day. By lap 29, both Senna and Beloff were closing rapidly on Prost. Senna in second, Beloff in third. Senna gained 4 .4 seconds in a single lap on a guy in the best car, in the best car on the grid.

And Belov was nearly matching that as well as he danced past René Arnoux's Ferrari into third place. Only nine cars still racing in the rain in test and firing. A showdown was brewing. Senna was just seven seconds behind Prost and closing like a missile. And Belov was about 10 seconds

behind Senna at this point. The rain had equalized anything and for a few glorious minutes it looked like... formula one was teetering on the edge of history but then came the twist on lap 31 race director jackie ix himself a former formula one driver and a very experienced racer waved the red flag due to the rain bringing the race to a halt simultaneously michelle burry the head of the automobile club de monaco ordered the checkered flag be shown as soon as the checkered

flag was waved the race was over this was despite rules allowing a race if red -flagged with less than 75 % of the laps completed, could be restarted. And more than that, at the French Grand Prix just three years earlier, the race had been stopped and restarted, which on that day allowed Alan Prost to gain his first victory in Formula 1. The precedent was there, so why was it followed differently at Monaco? Well, the reaction was immediate and explosive. To observers, the timing

looked suspiciously convenient. Prost was driving a McLaren powered by a tag -badged Porsche engine. The Porsche engine... And he was spared from the relentless charge of Senna and Beloff by Jackie X, who was famously a Porsche sports car driver at that point. The fact he didn't consult race officials before stopping the race led to a $6 ,000 fine and a suspension of his license, which was even then a punitive action against a race official, which doesn't happen very often,

as we know. And so, yeah, in hindsight, the questions multiply. Would Senna have caught Prost? Almost certainly. He was gaining three to five seconds per lap. He had half the race ahead of him. There was a cruel irony to that. Senna had damaged his suspension when muscling past Rosberg and hitting the kerbs. So the question of whether the car would have lasted another 46 laps? Maybe. If it had been red flagged, though, they'd have

been able to repair it and start again. And then the question goes, would Belov therefore have caught both of them? Possibly. Here's Pace with the... His pace in the latter laps before the red flag was sensational. His light and nimble Tyrell, with no turbo lag as well, was thriving in the wet conditions. He wasn't just keeping up, he was attacking. Had the race been red flagged and then restarted, Tolman might have got the

chance to repair Senna's car. Belaf would have started higher up on the restart and it might have been a three -way battle for victory. But we'll never know, unfortunately. The chequered flag was waved too soon and history took a different path. Senna was understandably furious. His fury was immediate. He didn't even return to the pits. Carried flat out and crossed the line ahead of Prost. Just seconds after the red flag had been shown, so he effectively overtook him, albeit

after the red flag. But the result was taken on count back to the previous lap, so obviously Prost was the winner. It marked the start of Senna and Prost's legendary rivalry, the biggest rivalry in the sport. I mean, forget Hamilton and Rosberg. Schumacher, Hakkinen. Hamilton, Verstappen, probably. It's really only one season, though. Really. But what a season. Let's not go into that again. Can I add some flavour to the Tolman experience? Tolman only ran in 70

races with 57 starts. They only ever achieved three podiums. A certain Ayrton Senna is responsible for all three. Yeah, they only ever achieved one pole position and two fastest laps in their entire history. But as a wonderful little link to the next generation of drivers, which might lead us on to someone else that you might want to mention in the context of Monaco, they were bought out by one Benetton, who went on to give another extremely successful and famous Formula

One driver his debut. Michael Schumacher, which is... Well, his first championship. He made his debut with Jordan. Yeah, true. Yeah, with another legend, actually. Yeah, wrestling piece Eddie Jordan. Yeah, the recently departed. Sorry, yes, that was an error. Not debut, but their first championship. But that's lovely because it's giving Senna his debut and Schumacher the first

championship. And then I was just going to very quickly mention, just because we were doing little links between this and the Indy, the Indy never runs in the wet. oh really it's not allowed to run in the wet probably for the best that yeah yeah it's because it's because it's so damn dangerous um because it averages like 220 mile an hour so if you crash in the india in the wet like you are you are fucked um In the nicest terms, yeah. Yeah. And basically they just postpone

it. They postpone it until the showers cease and or the track is dry. If it can't be finished, they go to another day sometimes. And this is kind of fun because it's kind of what you were talking about with the beneficiary being Alain Prost on this occasion. Americans don't abide dud endings very well. So they have a procedure

called the green -white checkered finish. which is a racing restart procedure in which the race is always restarted from a caution period with two laps remaining okay so that you don't get races finishing under what they would call caution or what we would call a safety car um so no safety car finishes yeah uh except you can have that at the indie but what the indie for some reason it's just the exception to the rule um But what they tend to do at the Indy 500, if they think

that is going to happen, is they just red flag it. Fair enough. And then restart it as if you're resuming a race after a red flag. But yeah, it just basically means green, restart the race. White, last lap of the race, check flag. I see. Okay, cool. Sorry, tangents. Michael Schumacher. Just finish this story quickly and then we'll try and get this done before the two -hour mark.

Never mind. So Beloff never saw his third -place result unfortunately become official because Tyrrell would later controversially disqualify from the championship over a ballast issue, nullifying his incredible podium. A year later, he was fighting for the lead in the 1 ,000 kilometers of Spa. He was at this point the world endurance champion and he collided going up Eau Rouge with another car flat out. He crashed head -on into the barriers

without any chance to brake. The driver he hit ran over to desperately help the marshals in extracting Beloff. That man was Jackie X, funnily enough. And unfortunately, it took 10 minutes to extract him and Beloff was pronounced dead before he reached the hospital. He was 27 years old. World endurance champion and an up -and -comer in Formula 1. One can only speculate what the future held for such a clearly talented young driver. That accident has eerie hallmarks of

Antoine Hubert. Same location, collision with the driver. Not quite the same collision. It was two cars came together and went into the barriers as opposed to... One hit in the barriers and coming out and getting hit. Got hit, yeah. Which was awful. So the race should have continued that day. It could have continued. It could have gone down as one of the greatest duels in Formula 1 history. Instead, we have this controversy, but there is one side note to this. So Alan Pross

was the beneficiary of it on the day. The controversial red flag gave him the win, but it also cost him potentially more than he gained. Because half points were awarded for the race, Pross gained four and a half points for his win, rather than the usual nine points which were awarded at the time for a win. His teammate and closest rival for the championship, Niki Lauda, had already

retired from the race. Had the race gone to its normal finish, more than likely he'd have finished second behind Senna, as looked the most likely outcome at the time. If that had been the case, he'd have got six points instead of four and a half. He ended up losing the title to Lauda by half a point, which is the closest title race finish in history and was Niki Lauda's third and final world title. So what could have been all around in this case? Yeah, that is what could

have been for sure. That's a cool story, though, even if interrupted and intersected by the musings of my mind and tangents. That's fine. I just have to bank through some of these a little bit, but we'll get it done. Well, why don't we finish on Michael Schumacher then, and we can regale people's stories of Monaco another time in more detail. I'll very briefly mention 1996 was another race with a bit of rain about and only three

drivers ended up finishing that race. And the winner was Olivier Pannis for his only ever Formula One win. It was one of the most surprising wins in Formula One history. Almost every other driver on the track getting technical issues or crashing out, including Marcus Schumacher, who crashed out on the first lap of that one, having taken pole position. It was a brilliant lap. I can't

remember if I remember this or not. I don't know if it's like a memory that has been created because I've watched it so many times, like on YouTube or something, or whether I actually watched this, because I did watch Formula 1 in 1996, but probably wasn't aware anyway, even if I did watch it. Nevertheless, a very exciting race. We'll mention Michael Schumacher because, obviously, he's a

legend of the sport. To some people, the greatest man ever to drive, and I think there's a lot of... I think the one thing to say about Michael Schumacher, Well, he did push limits. He left a winning Benetton team in 1996 to join Ferrari, who at that time were not a winning team. He stayed with them through the project and he stuck with them for four seasons before they became a winning team and reaped the benefits of that by winning, obviously, five championships in

a row to win seven in total. I think that's an incredible achievement. And he was close to winning other titles too. But he wasn't far from controversy. Obviously, he got disqualified one season for... Essentially trying to take Jacques Villeneuve out the race in the last race of the season. He's not the only great, though. Our previous hero, Anne Senna, who we were discussing, he did the same to Prost in Suzuka. He did the same to Prost and later just flat out admitted to

it. Yeah, got away with it and then admitted it later. But yeah, Michael Schumacher. I would say if anyone wants to watch someone absolutely

bossing Monaco, just watch the first lap. particularly of the 1997 monaco grand prix so it was in in changeable conditions and ferrari gambled on an intermediate setup where other other teams went dry other teams went wet they went for an intermediate setup and that's what the conditions were like at the start and uh there were other drivers around him on similar setups even so his first lap you see him sliding around all over the place he's trying to find grip He finishes

the lap six and a half seconds clear of anyone else in the field. And by lap five, he was 22 seconds clear. And this wasn't the dominant Ferrari. This was fairly early days of him at Ferrari. This wasn't the 2004 Ferrari that won 12 out of 13 of the opening races. I think Jarno Trulli actually winning at Monaco was the only thing that broke that spell. But yeah, nevertheless, Monaco is a track for the masters. And that was a master on his day in that case. So yeah. I

think that's Monaco. I think we can probably just about leave it there. Unless you've got anything? No, I think we've covered most of the really important and fun stories and history just to give people a flavour of what it's all about if they decide to tune in and watch it this weekend. Which is good. Certainly on Saturday, certainly for qualifying. It's always a good qualifying session regardless of the race. You always get drama the weekend. You do always get

drama at some point in the weekend. I was only going to mention, just because it would be remiss not to talk about our hero, Lewis Hamilton's won it three times. 2008, 2016, 2019. Two different teams. Which arguably is probably less than he could or should have won it, really, when you think of his record and success elsewhere. But I should mention one of those times he didn't win it was the time that Rosberg parked his car down a side road, which... brought out the yellow

flags. Rosberg was not punished for that, whereas Schumacher was for parking on Rascasse. So maybe it would have been four wins if it wasn't for that. Yeah, yeah. But no, I think we've covered that very nicely. The Indy 500 is watchable on Fox Sports in America and on Sky in the UK. Yeah, and on the Sky Formula One channel after the Monaco Grand Prix. Yeah, and Sky also have the Micro Grand Prix, as you've just alluded to, and Channel 4 have the highlights. The Formula

1 has its own TV channel. For anybody who really loves Formula 1, probably be familiar with that, so you can watch it there as well. But that requires a subscription, although none of it is free to air, so apart from Channel 4. So yeah, good fun though. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I always am looking forward to it. As we say, even though I'm 90 % sure that Sunday will be processional,

as it often is, you never know. And even last year, when it was a procession, well, not too much of a procession, it was decent last year, but last year was notable because for the first time since 1931, when Louis Chiron won it. Last year's race was won by a monogast driver, Charles Leclerc. Yeah, that was cool. Which was awesome. Especially because Charles Leclerc has had horrible luck at that race. He hadn't finished it, had he? And made mistakes as well. Yeah. Maybe not.

He qualified on pole one year, but then crashed. Or he crashed, which made him qualify on pole, because obviously that brought out the red flag and the qualifying. But then he couldn't start the race because he crashed so hard. He broke his car, basically. And if they'd have changed it too badly, they'd have sent him to the back of the grid. So they gambled, and then he pulled out during the formation lap. And Ferrari's strategy,

as it does, had let him down as well. So it was nice to see him finally stand on the top step. And the crowds were obviously loving it as well. And then he walked home. That's the best part of that story. To be fair, I think most Formula One drivers probably can walk home from Monaco because they all live there. But most of them didn't grow up there. or get the bus to school there, or walk around the street as a child that he later went on. So, special story. That is

a nice one. That's a nice way to end, actually. So, I guess with that in mind, where are we off to next? So next week, we're back on football because one week off is far too long for us not to go back to football. Yes. And it's also the Champions League final. So we are there. Sore, but we'll be there nonetheless. Sorry, Ben. That will be Inter Milan versus Paris Saint -Germain, which is interesting. Probably the complete opposite

of the final anyway. Well, I wanted, you wanted, a lot of Arsenal fans certainly wanted, but nevertheless. It will still be an interesting one, and I imagine the neutrals will be into fans. Quite possibly, for similar reasons to why neutrals were Crystal Palace fans this weekend, or last weekend, for the FA Cup. Indeed. Cool. Well, yeah, join us then if you're interested in the Champions League. But until then, au revoir, Jack. Au revoir, Ben. Once again, thank you so much for listening to

the Sporting Almanac podcast. I cannot say that enough. If you enjoyed it, give a like, subscribe, rate, comment, trigger those algorithms wherever you get your podcasts from. More important than algorithms, though, is word of mouth. Please, please, please tell your friends. It means the world to us if you do. Our theme tune is Oh Yeah by Harmonia Productions. You can find us on BlueSky at the Sporting Almanac or drop us an email at

sportingalmanacpodcast at gmail .com. We'll see you next week in Munich for the Champions League final. But until then, stay curious. Sport is nothing without the stories that make it. Goodbye.