Circuit de Monaco is a 3.337 km (2.074 miles) street circuit threaded through the streets of Monte Carlo, with 19 corners across a 78-lap race distance of 260.286 km. It is the shortest, slowest, and most famous circuit on the calendar, part of F1 since the championship’s inaugural season in 1950, with the Grand Prix dating back to 1929. Lewis Hamilton holds the lap record at 1:12.909, set in 2021.
The layout winds through public roads barely wide enough for two cars side by side. The climb to Casino Square through Massenet leads to the iconic right-hander at Casino, followed by the plunge down to Mirabeau and the tight Loews hairpin, the slowest corner in F1 at approximately 50 km/h. The tunnel section plunges drivers from bright sunlight into darkness and back out at over 250 km/h before the chicane at the swimming pool complex. Overtaking is extremely difficult, with the chicane after the tunnel and Turn 1 being the only realistic passing spots, and a single DRS zone on the pit straight.
Ayrton Senna won here six times, a record that defines Monaco’s history. His first victory came on 31 May 1987. Graham Hill earned five wins and the nickname “Mr. Monaco.” On 29 May 2022, Sergio Perez won a rain-affected race that saw multiple lead changes and strategic gambles. Charles Leclerc, a Monaco native, finally won his home race on 26 May 2024 after years of heartbreak, including mechanical failures and team strategy errors that denied him in 2021 and 2022.
The timezone is Europe/Monaco at CEST (UTC+2). A 14:00 local start translates to 12:00 GMT and 08:00 EDT, making it one of the most accessible races for a global audience. European fans get an afternoon race, North American viewers get a morning start, and Asian fans can watch in the evening at 20:00 CST and 21:00 JST. Check Monaco time and Monte Carlo time for conversions.
June in Monaco is warm, dry, and reliably sunny, with temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius. Rain is rare but transformative when it arrives. The Principality transforms for race weekend, with yachts filling the harbour and the circuit becoming a stage for one of sport’s most glamorous events. Getting to Monaco is straightforward via Nice airport, just 30 km away, with helicopter transfers and train connections available.
See the full race schedule and session times at the Monaco Grand Prix page.