NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix

Formula 1 travels from Imola to Monte Carlo for Round 8 of the 2025 season this weekend: the Monaco Grand Prix. Ahead of the event, Need to Know is your all-in-one guide with statistics, driving pointers, strategy tips and plenty more...

The action will begin with Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 on Friday, May 23, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying on Saturday, May 24, and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, May 25.

THIS WEEK IN F1: 10 quiz questions on the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and F1 history at Monaco

Vital statistics

First Grand Prix – 1950
Track Length – 3.337km
Lap record – 1m 12.909s, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2021
Most pole positions – Ayrton Senna (5)
Most wins – Ayrton Senna (6)
Trivia – Monaco was one of seven venues on the inaugural F1 World Championship calendar back in 1950
Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 142 metres
Overtakes completed in 2024 – 17
Safety Car probability – 43%
Virtual Safety Car probability – 29%
Pit stop time loss – 19.4 seconds (including 2.5s stop)

The driver’s verdict

Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: Monaco is a beautiful circuit and a true driver’s track. It feels like madness in an F1 car; even in comparison to other street circuits it’s so narrow, the roads are cambered, it’s tight and twisty and there are challenges everywhere…

I love coming out of Sainte Devote, Turn 1, which is a challenge in its own right. It’s so steep at the exit, you’re looking at the sky going to Massenet and Casino. You’ve got to hug the inside line at Massenet, otherwise you skittle into the barriers on the outside.

ANATOMY OF AN OVERTAKE: Ex-F1 racer Jolyon Palmer breaks down three key moves at Tamburello in Sunday’s Grand Prix

The hairpin is a little bit more straightforward, but you feel like you’re in there for an eternity, bouncing your way through as it’s all really bumpy.

You flash out of the tunnel and pick a braking point for the chicane, where you’ve got to get as close as you can to the armco on the left-hand side. Occasionally you see people getting too greedy and just nibbling it, causing a puncture and a bit of damage.

You also see so many people going straight through the chicane, especially early on in practice, just trying to find the right braking point. It’s one of the few places where you have a little bit of room for error, so people will take it the fastest.

Last five Monaco GP polesitters

2024 - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2022 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2021 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2019 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Last five Monaco GP winners

2024 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2022 – Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2019 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Home hero Leclerc claimed an emotional pole and victory double in Monaco last year

Tyre and strategy insight

“For a second consecutive race, Pirelli has selected the three softest compounds from the 2025 range,” reads the tyre supplier’s event preview. “As in Imola last week, the C4 will be the hard, the C5 the medium and the C6 the soft, with the first two being the mandatory compounds for the race.

“This weekend will see an important change to the regulations, specifically for this event. During the race, two pit stops will be mandatory. The aim of the FIA and F1 is to inject more excitement into a race that has often been very linear and predictable, as was very much the case last year.

“As part of this rule change, each driver will also be allocated an additional set of full wets, on top of the usual two, so that the two-stop rule can be applied even if conditions require the use of extreme wet tyres.

“It will be interesting to see how this affects teams’ race strategies. For example, with no clear pit stop windows, it could present opportunities for drivers starting from further back to move up the order by making the most of running in clean air.

“Having two stops should also rule out concerns about tyre degradation, even if it is in any case very low at this track. It could even lead to the use of the soft compound, especially for those making a late second stop or in the case of a Safety Car period in the closing stages.”

Current form

Oscar Piastri retained his championship lead with a podium finish at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, but winner Max Verstappen and second-placed Lando Norris are hot on his heels arriving in Monaco.

Indeed, while the Australian increased his tally to 146 points, his team mate is close behind on 133 and the reigning four-time World Champion is now on 124, meaning any one of them could leave Monaco at the top of the Drivers’ Standings.

It’s not such a close affair in the Teams’ battle, where McLaren hold 279 points to nearest rival Mercedes’ 147, having won five of the seven Grands Prix staged so far this season and taken double podiums in the others.

The streets of Monte Carlo bring yet another new challenge for the drivers and teams as the campaign develops, a venue where bravery can be rewarded but also so easily punished given the fine margins between nailing a lap and ending up in the wall.

McLaren will be many observers’ favourites heading into the weekend given their competitiveness at every track so far in 2025, with Red Bull also appearing to gain some momentum after positive updates and set-up changes on Verstappen’s side in Miami and Imola.

Mercedes and Ferrari are two teams who will be eager to come back fighting after their challenging experiences last time out, though Leclerc fears “a very difficult weekend” for the Scuderia given the characteristics of the SF-25 and the ongoing battle to get the most out of it.

Should one of those top-four outfits miss the mark, there will be a host of midfield challengers looking to take advantage, none more so than Williams, who are now a comfortable P5 in the standings after their stellar Emilia-Romagna performance.

Iconic moment

Unsurprisingly, with Monaco appearing on the very first F1 calendar back in 1950, there are plenty of iconic moments to choose from over the years...

However, at a track that Ayrton Senna delivered some of his finest Grand Prix performances, we have gone back to 1992 and the Brazilian’s defence against Nigel Mansell in the closing laps.

Mansell had been leading the race when a suspected puncture brought him into the pits for fresh tyres, releasing Senna into a lead he would not relinquish via some on-the-limit car placement.

Check out the best moments from their scrap in the video player below, along with some other standout Monaco memories.