The Circuit de Monaco is simply the best place on the current Formula 1 calendar for historic motorsport. On modern racetracks, the classic racing cars always look out of place - the older the car, the more noticeable the effect. The Grand Prix Monaco Historique, which is actually only held every two years, took place again from May 13 to 15, 2022. A well-known cause had led to the minor irregularity and the postponement of the 2020 edition. This year, everything went back to normal and the world's fastest harbor tour was once again able to enjoy its 90-year tradition. The field of historic racing cars was divided into eight classes:
A1: Pre-war Grand Prix cars and Voiturettes
The second race of the day ended with the second victory for an American. Mark Gillies won the "Louis Chiron Trophy" for pre-war Grand Prix cars with the 1934 ERA R3A. Starting from pole position, however, he was overtaken on the first bend by Englishman Nicholas Topliss in the 1935 ERA R4A. From then on, the Englishman was on his way to a secure victory when he had to park his ERA at the casino two laps before the end with a left rear puncture, which he picked up when lapping Thierry Chanoine's Riley. Second place went to the Swiss Anthony Sinopoli in the 1936 Maserati 6CM/4CM, and third to Patrick Blakeney-Edwards in the 1935 Frazer-Nash.
A2: Front-engined Grand Prix cars before 1961
The A2 class was won by the German Claudia Hürtgen in the Ferrari Dino 246 S. She put the car on pole position in practice and drove to a relatively unchallenged start-finish victory. Only Tony Wood's Tec-Mec F415 was able to match the Ferrari's pace. Third place went to the Spaniard Guillermo Fierro-Eleta in the Maserati 250F. The race had to be stopped one lap before the end following an accident involving a Lotus in the Antony Noghès corner.
B: Mid-engined Grand Prix cars in the 1500 cc class (1961-65) and Formula 2 cars (1956-60)
The race was characterized by a fierce duel between the Ferrari 1512 (once driven by Surtees and Bandini) of Joe Colasacco and the Lotus 21 of Mark Shaw. Joe Colasacco took the lead at the start with the Ferrari, but was immediately and fiercely put under pressure by Mark Shaw and lost the lead to the Briton on the eighth lap. Unfortunately, the 1961 Lotus crashed on the first corner of the last lap, paving the way for victory for the red 1964 car from Maranello. Second place went to the Cooper T71/73 of Christopher Drake ahead of the Lotus 24 of Andrew Beaumont.
C: Front-engined racing sports cars 1952-57
In the sports car category, Frederic Wakeman's Cooper-Jaguar T38 MKll, which started from pole position, won ahead of the two Maserati 300S cars driven by Austrian Lukas Halusa and Spaniard Guillermo Fierro-Eleta. Lukas' brother Niklas Halusa took fourth place in the '54 Jaguar D-Type ahead of fifth-placed Claudia Hürtgen, who shone here in another Maserati 300S after her victory in the A2 class.
D: Formula 1 racing cars 1966-72
The McLaren M19A had already won on the streets of the Principality in 2016, also in the hands of Stuart Hall. It hasn't aged a bit and was only beaten on the first corner by Jordon Grogor's Matra MS 120C. But the Dubai-based South African was then demoted with a ten-second penalty for an early start, which did not prevent him from climbing the podium in third place. The main beneficiary was Michael Lyons, fourth on the grid, who finished second in his Surtees TS9 after also benefiting from the gearbox failure of Esteban Gutierrez's BRM P153. The Mexican former Formula 1 driver in the car of his predecessor Pedro Rodriguez put in an excellent driving performance, but was already a victim of defects in practice.
E: Formula 1 racing cars 1973-76
Stuart Hall's second victory of the day followed just a few hours later in Jody Scheckter's McLaren M23, relegating three-time German Le Mans winner Marco Werner in Ronnie Peterson's Lotus 76 to second place. Roberto Moreno in the Embassy Hill Lola T370 from 1974 was ousted from the podium as a result of a ten-second penalty for a jump start. Marco Werner: "I had no chance against the McLaren in the Lotus. I was only able to drive a few laps on four-year-old tires during the test. What's more, Ronnie Peterson was already having problems back then, switched back to the Type 72 and won the 1974 Monaco Grand Prix with it. Under these circumstances, second place is more than okay!"
Q: Formula 1 racing cars 1977-80
Michael Lyons created a monument for himself in the Principality with another first place as a seven-time Historic Monaco winner. He had already won in 2012, 2014 and 2021 with the Hesketh 308E from Rupert Keegan in the colors of Penthouse magazine. He was certainly helped by pole man Miles Griffiths, who had to park his yellow Fittipaldi in the pits after the formation lap with technical problems.
G: Formula 1 racing cars 1981-85
The last race of the 1981-85 three-liter cars was entirely in German-British hands. Marco Werner in the 1982 Lotus 87 won ahead of Michael Lyons in the 1983 Lotus Type 92 and Nick Padmore in the 1981 Lotus 88B. The 88B, which never competed in a Formula 1 race, was as radical and innovative as its designer. The whole weekend was dedicated to honoring Lotus founder and chief designer Colin Chapman. He must have felt like he was in the paradise of team bosses when his cars celebrated a triple success at the end of the 13th Grand Prix Monaco Historique. In fact, there have probably never been so many Lotus racing cars to admire at one venue as last weekend in the Principality.
The unlucky man of Monaco
Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc became a tragic figure. The current leader in the current Formula 1 season has simply had no luck on his home circuit. In all three previous appearances in the premier class, the local hero has not made it to the finish line even once. Now his bad luck has also caught up with him outside of his "official drives". This year, Leclerc had the honor of completing a few demo laps in a Ferrari 312 B3 - Niki Lauda's former race car from the 1974 season. However, his show run did not quite end according to plan when a broken brake disk on the front left led to a spin and a backwards impact into the crash barriers of the Rascasse corner. According to Leclerc himself, he has dreamed of winning the Monaco Grand Prix since he was four years old. He will get his next chance to do so in just over a week's time. Then again in a modern Ferrari.
