For a long time I had been thinking about the cycle of posts "Arenas", in which I would talk about the most interesting sports facilities, and now you have the first publication of this cycle. Some weekends I had to leave Minsk for a business trip to participate in the blockchain conference. Fortunately, the conference program had several points for free time, one of them I spent to walking through the Formula 1 track in Monte Carlo, known as the Monaco Grand Prix. The story below is about it, naturally, with photos)
Monaco Grand Prix is present in the calendar of races since the founding of Formula 1, that is, since 1950. The stage was not included in the calendar only in the period from 1951 to 1954. Currently, the stage held in Monte Carlo is the only street race. The greatest number of wins (6) on the track was won by Ayrton Senna, Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher have 5 victories.
Road map is above, an interactive map can also be studied in GoogleMaps by clicking on the link. The length of the lap is 3337 meters, the riders pass 78 laps, so the total length of the race is 260,286 km. The Monaco Grand Prix is the shortest and slowest race in the Formula 1 calendar. The main difficulty for the riders are narrow streets, which not only hard to maneuver, but also to overtake, so the place in the qualification plays almost a decisive role in the distribution of places in the results of the race.
Naturally, we began journey with the starting line, which it is difficult to call a straight line, since it has several curves.
There are many manholes and wells on the starting line, as well as along the entire route, that are welded for the grand prix time, otherwise, because of the low pressure formed under the cars, they can fly out and damage the cars.
The first turn on the track is called Saint Devote in honor of Saint Devote, considered the patroness of Monaco. The chapel of her name is located just opposite the turn.
After passing the first turn, the racers with the acceleration practically take off into the air, as they rise in a 5% gradient.
Along the track there are several race-reminders, for example, as on the next photo:
After Massenet, the pilots approach the famous turn Casino, located opposite the oldest casino in Europe - Casino Monte Carlo. By the way, this turn is the only place on the road, because of which it is impossible to drive by car completely along the race track, since the turn is a roundabout and the drivers go clockwise, that is, they move opposite the flow of cars in normal days.
After Casino, the racers pass the slowest part of the track, including the famous turn - Fairmont Hotel (previously - Grand Hotel), in which the cars slow down to a speed of 40 km/h. After it Mirabeau Bas and Portier follow, leading the racers to another famous location on the route - the Tunnel.
In 2004, diamonds with value 250 thousand dollars were installed on the nose of the Jaguar cars as an advertising campaign for the film "Ocean's Twelve." Christian Klien broke his car on the first lap in this turn, that was called Lowes that time. After the race, the organizators carefully examined the track, but the diamond was never found.
When you watch the race, the tunnel is perceived as something very short, because the drivers pass it at a very high speed. When you go on foot you can not believe that in fact it is quite extensive. Entrance to the tunnel:
There is a shop with the attributes of Formula 1 and the Grand Prix itself at the exit from the tunnel with high prices.
After exiting the tunnel, the pilots are forced to brake hard, since there is another attraction of the route - the famous chicane, which is called Chicane. In the ordinary life of the Monegasques this turn is absent, but there is a curb, which says that the chicane appears on this place.
After the chicane, the pilots pass a short "return curve", actually located in the Port of Monaco, followed by the turns of La Rascasse and Anthony Noghes, a turn named after the founder of the Monaco Grand Prix. In the last turn there is the sculpture of five-time champion of Formula 1 Juan Manuel Fangio in the form of a rider standing next to his car - you can try to fit yourself into the car and take a picture, that was done))
Then the racers go through the finish line and start next lap. By the way, the best lap in the race belongs to Max Verstappen - 1 minute, 14 seconds and 26 hundredths, and we managed to pass the track with a distraction on the photoes and conversations for one hour and 11 minutes)
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