P1 with Matt and Tommy - BONUS: Monaco's Greatest Moments

Episode Date: June 4, 2024

This episode is sponsored by MoneyGram.  Join us for a bonus episode recorded live in partnership with MoneyGram, hosted at F1 Arcade in Birmingham, all about some of the greatest Monaco GP moments from down the years. From Mansell vs Senna to a race where only three cars finished, there's loads for us to get stuck into. Enjoy! Enter MoneyGram's 'Dream Weekend' competition where you can win the ultimate Silverstone experience, travel and accommodation & loads of MoneyGram Haas F1 team prizes right here!You can sign up to our Patreon here! You'll get access to exclusive episodes you won't hear anywhere else, every P1 episode ad-free, full driver interview videos, early access to merch, tickets & more!Follow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey guys, this bonus episode is sponsored by MoneyGram, title partner of MoneyGram Has F1 team. I'm sure you'll have seen MoneyGram recently invited us to F1 Arcade in Birmingham, where we got to watch the Monaco Grand Prix, didn't we, Tommy? And it was really fun. We did a little live show. We talked about the, as you're about to hear in this episode, some Monaco highlights across the years.

We, of course, enjoyed a Charlechle victory in person. And with lots of other like-minded Formula One fans, as well at F1 Arcade with Monagram. Exactly. It was, it's always fun to watch Formula One, isn't it? With a group of people and each other in person, which is quite novel for us. And of course, I got to chat about the good times in Monaco as well. So what's not to love? And we had some go on the Sims as well, didn't we?

We had a little go and I absolutely destroyed you on them. I did the greatest wheelie of all time down the main straight of Monta. You did, actually. You managed to hold a wheelie in an F1 car for a good eight seconds. I'm like, how have you even done that? But we had a lot of fun, and Moneygram aren't just putting on P1 live shows. They're also giving you the chance to win the ultimate dream weekend at Silverstone. As the Moneygram has F1 team title sponsor, MoneyGram's mission is to bring its customers and fans closer to the action

and help fans drive their dreams. With their dream weekend campaign, MoneyGram is giving its customers and F1 fans the opportunity to win a dream experience in selected F1 Grand Prix locations like Miami. Miami, Monaco, and in this particular instance, Silverstone. However, this isn't just any odd trip to Silverstone. We are talking two weekend Silverstone Hospitality tickets, round trip travel for two from the winner's home address to Silverstone, four-night standard hotel accommodation for two people, round-trip transportation to and from

the hotel to Silverstone, two Moneygram Hasse F-1 team polo shirts, two autographed Moneygram has F1 team caps and £1,000 cash via the Moneygram app. A very good prize indeed, I think you'll agree. And to take part, all you need to do is visit dreams.moneygram.com and answer the question, what drives your dreams in 10 words or less? And submit the online entry form. Open 26th of May to the 23rd of June 2024. Official rules can be found at dreams.moneygram.com.

Now, let's get to the main body of today's episode. At the recent monogram event at F1 Arcade in Birmingham, Tommy and I had a chat about some of the greatest Monaco moments from down the years. From wet weather chaos to absolutely amazing driving. There have been some truly magical moments. So let's get into it. Can I get a way of cheer if we're excited

for the Monaco Grand Prix later? Good. A very good cheer for midday. Thank you. Okay, yeah, and this is Tommy. Hello, I am the biggest Monaco fan ever, so I was cheering very loud. Exactly. You are a massive Monaco fan. I am being transitioned into one. Of course, we're here with MoneyGram and the Hassev 1 seems a big shout out to them and for F1 Arcade for hosting us. And yes, we're going to basically run through a bit of why is Monaco so special. We're then going to go into some of Monaco's greatest moments because there has been quite a few, surprisingly, even though it's not seen as the best race in the world.

Yeah, it says why is Monaco so special five to ten? minutes and that's going to be a struggle for me because we might miss the race. We might be going on and off. Hopefully not. So before we dive into that, of course we're here at F1 Arcade. You've never been before. I feel like this is my second home, not in Birmingham. I've never been to this one, but there is, of course, one in London, which I've been to many

times, but you've never been. So you've went on the sim earlier. Definitely didn't. You were upside down three times. You were upside to the side of you at Monza, but yeah. It's really cool. I like it a lot. I mean, just a place for Formula One fans to hang out with loads of Sims, so what's not to like? Exactly. I'm really excited to have a watch party here.

I've never watched Formula One in a place like this before with so many people, so very excited for that. So let's dive into why Monaco is so special. Well. We'll try and keep it brief, because I know you are here, Tommy. Why is the race so iconic? I think that first and foremost, it's around the streets of Monte Carlo, which will never, ever get boring. I think qualifying in particular is the best session of the year, full stop. Like, what we saw, and I'm not saying it just because Charlotte-Clau was on pole position,

but it was, and always is, an amazing session to watch. Yeah, it's so good. I mean, the track, in a way, is absolutely ridiculous. If you proposed it as a modern Formula One track, you would just get completely laughed at, But it's the fact that it's the only circuit that hasn't essentially, like, changed in, well, years and years and years and years, basically. So the novelty of it is something really special because you're still watching them on the same track nowadays, you know, runoff and all the circuits have changed so much, even your classics like Spar and Silverstone, but Monaco is still Monaco. It certainly is, even though after every single year, lots of people will question, what can we change about Monaco?

Because we've just had another boring race. No rain expected for this weekend. Of course, people listening will have already seen the Monaco Grand Prix, so I probably shouldn't say that. But yes, it is an iconic location. There's a lot of drama. Usually, if there is someone in the lead, they stay there. And that's what has created some amazing moments over the years.

true but then you can argue that sometimes it all goes wrong for that person that's what's made it quite just say say it with your chest are you about to say charler leclair i was going to say other people as well but also charl leclair of course but it happened to lewis hamilton it's happened to danio ricardo and you are vulnerable in first and while it's not a track that has a lot of overtaking it is one of those circuits that has produced so many dramatic moments in formula one through you know people losing the lead it's the one that every driver wants to win as well um so you know there's been so many iconic moments on the track yes it is a is a really cool place qualifying is amazing the race you kind of have to try and make the best of what you can with it um we well i for the first

time ever got to experience monaco in the flesh last year which was one of the most incredible experiences ever and i would highly recommend if you can to go to monaco um because just seeing the cars going there is just utterly phenomenal. You went as a kid, didn't you? And you stole a sign. I did. I stole a pit sign. This was back in the day where the pit lane was just sheds, basically.

They've updated the pit lane now. But yeah, I went as a kid. That's probably why I'm so biased and think it's so amazingly special. But we went last year as well, like you say. And it is one of those things that if you can get there, You really get to sort of experience, it's like no other race track because you're watching the cars so close to the wall and just visually, Formula One, you know, there's always the problem with Formula One sometimes that people say is when they go to a race, they don't really know what's going on sometimes. But with Monaco, it's such a small condensed track and it is like visually spectacular to watch.

so you're just kind of glued to watching them on the circuit as well as rather than just, you know, watching a big screen to find out what's going on. All right, you've sold it. Well done. Monaco's amazing. Let's go into some of Monaco's greatest moments then, because there has been quite a few since its inception in 1929. You would have been about, what, 15 years old then? Yeah. First and foremost, let's start with 1992, because I don't think that actually gets probably. as many props as it should do as one of the classic Monaco races. And this was, of course, where Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna battled it out famously. Well, I say battled it out. It's Monaco.

So they didn't actually battle, but it was a battle. Yeah, it's kind of no surprise that a classic Monaco race is the fact that two drivers essentially you're stuck behind and you're doing everything to get past. but two legendary drivers going, you know, at it for the final laps. And the best thing about F1 to me is always when you get that battle for the lead. And that is why this race is so iconic. So some key highlights from it, Nigel Mansell pulled out a huge 30-second lead by lap 60. And he had won the previous five races.

And he was very much in a dominant Williams car at that point, wasn't he? That was when Williams had done the active suspension, wasn't it? Yes, and Adrian Nue was there, I believe. So it was a very good car. But he'd famously never won Monaco as well. So he really wanted to, you know, carry on winning because, again, like I said earlier, it is that race that every driver kind of,

you want to win a world championship, and then you want to win the Monaco Grand Prix as like a secondary thing as well when you kind of retire from Formula One. So Mansell really wants it. win it and this was arguably well definitely his best chance because he was in a very dominant car and was leading by such a huge margin so mansell was dominating senna who of course was part of this battle narrowly avoided a crash with macaille alboretto and lost a further 10 seconds doing so

so you're thinking it is absolutely curtains in this particular battle in 92 but then Nigel Mansell, he suffered a loose wheelnut and was forced to box emerging seven seconds behind Senna. And he was of course much, much quicker. And that's where we got the iconic battle between the two of them unfolding. Mansell was so much, so much visibly quicker than Sena was. And you've been trying to convince me that Monaco's amazing. And he could not get past to save his life.

No, he couldn't. I mean, you do wonder if you could speak to Mansell now and say, have just stayed in hindsight knowing what happens would you have just stayed out and if the wheel fell off the wheel fell off and and maybe on three wheels we could see if you can overtake at monaco or he could have kept him behind um but yeah senna was so much quicker senna of course being like the most amazing driver at monaco won there so many times uh and it was a a gift for him really um because it wasn't looking like he was going to win the race and uh yeah that's the last thing want when you're about to win the Monaco Grand Prix, it's having to pit because since you

stuck behind someone, it's all but game over. Yeah, we'll get on to 2022. Not that I want to reflect on it. So Mansell was incredibly quick. As we mentioned, he caught up, I think it was about a second and half, two seconds a lap, easy-peasy, got on the back of Senna for the last three laps, but could not find a way past. And that allowed Senna to win. And it was his fourth consecutive win at Monaco. said the last few laps were like driving on ice. His tires were so cooked. And I'm not sure if he actually said that particular phrase. But it certainly was, it was visibly amazing. You know, you look back to other races where Gasly won at Monza, Ricardo won at Monza. We didn't actually get any overtaking, but it didn't make it any less thrilling.

Of course, we all want to see overtaking. But in this incident, Mantle Pitts, drives straight past Semmelk, because there's no way he can defend. when he's going two seconds to lap quicker. And you don't have this legendary battle that has basically lived on in the memory of Formula One forever. So in that sense, it kind of makes the battle last until the very end

and keeps you kind of nervous and Senna obviously doing everything he can to keep his car as wide as possible and hope the mantle didn't get through because other circuits he would have just breezed past him. But instead, you got this kind of legendary battle between two drivers. Yeah, it's a very good point. Very good point indeed. Let's move on to 1996 then, where three drivers finished the race. So this is where Monaco did very much come into its own as a race of just pure attrition.

This is the first Monaco race I ever watched, and I think it is... Oh, I wonder why you love Monaco then. This just, like, made me bias towards Monaco forever because I was like, oh, started watching Formula One in this very year. and we sat down and it's like oh Monaco's this crazy race and it was like yes it is and then been hoping for that ever since but yeah this race is a mad one

so Olivier Pannis was the eventual winner and he was driving for Ligier who were absolute what would you what team would you call them Tommy if you could nowadays maybe like a Williams or something

they weren't yeah it was kind of they were driving very much like a midfield car completely no one would have expected them to win at all you know you had uh ironically williams were the dominant team they were the red bulls of uh this this era you had michael schumacher and a Ferrari um so they were the you know the dominant team so no one even even if he'd started on pole or second or third it would have been like well you know, Elishie is not going to win. And he was 14th on the grid. Yes, he was 14th on the grid.

And then this was when in Formula One they had warm-up sessions before... Before the race. The race, which is wild to think. You hate practice sessions, so you would have been absolutely fuming in 1996. Well, just imagine this today, that I think we had this discussion when we were talking about free practice and we've seen drivers like Max O'Sappo and Charleclair, Fernando Alonzo, crash in FB3 and it ruins their qualifying because they need to get the car repaired. So imagine nowadays them going, go on, you can throw the car around Monaco before the race.

Everyone would just sit in the garage and go, no, you're all right. I think I'll keep my car in one piece. Exactly, especially nowadays when they're trying to save every set of tyre and every mileage on the clock and all that sort of stuff. So there was rain in this warm-up session and loads of drivers were just crashing but still 21 of the 22 managed to start the race which is obviously great

but then that wasn't the end of the chaos we then started the race and after five laps so bearing in mind 21 cars started this race after the fifth lap 13 were remaining so this I don't want to talk about it because Michael Schumack is my childhood hero but he crashed on the first lap yeah that was that was probably maybe the only race where normally in the rain

Michael Schumacher was obviously the best the best he was he was the best he proved it the year after completely dominated the race I think he lapsed almost the entire field but in this just one moment of misjudgment and yeah he was he was on pole position looking like he could could win and binned it in the wall just before the tunnel and he crashed on the first lap he wasn't even the first driver to go out because Yosh Verstappen

Max's dad decided he'd start a wet race on slicks and there was all this like oh this could be a genius move and he just plowed into the barrier at turn one oh dearie me you said about Michael Schumack

obviously of course starting on pole expecting him to win I can't remember what that reminds me of but we won't get into that one So Olivier Pannis was gradually barging his way through the field and took the lead. Yeah, and took the lead on lap 60. And the drivers knew that the race wouldn't be finished

and instead were, there was a two-hour time limits. Of course, they had to cut it off there. And they were still worried, yet despite the race ending prematurely, Panis's team were worried that they were going to run out of fuel. Yeah, they were. Damon Hill was leading the race for quite a lot of it. and then ended up having an engine blow out,

then Jean-Lacey ended up in the lead. He had a problem, and then somehow Pannis, yeah, had ended up in the lead, which was incredible, really. And it's amazing that he didn't get a penalty because he just punted Eddie Irvine straight off at the hairpin. And nowadays, that's a 10-second penalty all day long, but they're just like, nah, you're all right, and found himself in the lead.

So Pannis being worried about his fuel started to lift and coast around the corners and somehow managed to hold off David Coulthard behind him and Pannis said that the last lap felt like it lasted an age. So the three podium finishers which were the only three to actually finish the race was Pannis Coulthard and Johnny Herbert and that is still an F1 record today.

Yeah exactly. I mean three drivers finishing is absolutely insane. One of my favourite moments of F1 and just summing up how ridiculous this race was was you had seven cars running towards the end of the race and Eddie Irvine went off, did a spin turn to try and get back on and as he did his spin turn two cars were coming around the corner and plowed into the back of him so that took another three out the race

and then Frensen retired towards the end so imagine nowadays like in Formula One now so many finishes it's rare that you get retirements imagine a race where we only have three cars running at the end it would be unthinkable really. Absolutely. Let's go more modern day now. 2016, where Lewis Hamilton held off a desperate Daniel Ricardo.

So how well do you remember this race, Tommy? Fairly well. I was at a wedding, so I didn't actually watch it live. Oh. I know. So you didn't have my phone down there. I did actually. I was actually, because it's Monaco.

I had to make sure I sort of kept an eye on it. But yeah, this. race again another one where misfortune for the pole sitter oh beautifully beautifully teed up so heavy lunchtime rain meant that the race started behind the safety cars the track dried out

ricardo was on pole with rosberg and hamilton behind of course this was the era where Mercedes were rather good very good to say the least yeah they were very good but it was always interesting when you got to monaco because it was like red bull's chance to almost

be on a level playing field with them or a bit quicker because the track suited them so much. Not anymore. Well, yeah, exactly. It's now flipped the other way where Red Bull are dominating and then you get to Monaco and they're struggling. So we've seen that in the past with Monaco that because it is such a unique track,

it throws up something completely different and that's what happened with Ricardo. He was very, very quick. So, as we said, Ricardo was on pole, Rosberg and Hamilton behind. Rosberg struggled and let Hamilton past, who then managed to stay on his wet tires, because of course this was a rainy race,

for another seven laps while Ricardo put on the intermediates. And then Red Bull, very sadly, messed up his pit stop. His second pit stop, that was, which then allowed Hamilton to get in front of Ricardo, and it was a Ricardo onslaught from there on. But to no avail, because it's Monaco. But Monaco's great, right? There's a theme in this race, isn't it?

there where basically someone gets screwed over and then they're stuck behind everyone else doing everything they can to get passed. And Ricardo, to be fair, he did have a great chance because it was slippery conditions, which is normally where you do see a bit of passing at Monaco because it's a lot slower. These were the smaller cars from 2016, which when you look back now, they look like little toy cars because they've got the really high rear wings and it looks so much smaller than the cars we have today. And yeah, Daniel Ricardo did manage a, uh, and, uh, out of the chicane after the tunnel to get a little bit of a run. And Hamilton, which maybe a little bit naughty, kind of squeezed him, like, close the gap.

And there was a lot of talk of whether that should have been a penalty or not. I'm still not sure on it because it's like he was alongside, but then Hamilton had the right for the corner. It's a bit of a controversial one, that one, because, yeah, Ricardo felt like that was his opportunity. Thankfully for him, he did manage to get his opportunity a few years later. And Hamilton ended up holding off, despite it starting to rain with five laps to go. And it was Hamilton's second Monaco Grand Prix win. So now, our final one that we have to reflect on, apparently, is 2022. Now, for those of you that don't know who myself and Tommy are,

because of course we are live here at F1 Arcade in Birmingham, big thanks to Money Graham for hosting us. course F1 Arcade. I'm a massive Charles LeCler fan. And this did not go too well for Charles LeCler. He got pole, didn't he? Qualifying specialist.

And it was raining, which is the last thing you want when you're on pole position at Monaco, is anything other than a bone dry race and a very simple 78 or however many laps we have. Yeah, of course, you know, Charler Lecler, Monaco

specialist had been really quick in 2019, had the problem. 2021, where he was on pole, but then didn't get to start the race for his gearbox problem. Totally fan of that.

And then he was probably like, yeah, on pole again, thinking, right, this is a good chance. Oh, it's absolutely chucking it down. And it was you know, not just a bit of rain. It absolutely, you know, towards the start, threw it down. didn't it? It was complete chaos basically. They had a power failure and all sorts.

Now I'm really hoping that next time we do sort of classical Monaco races, we don't have to add 2024 to this list. For those listening, we are, yes, we are recording this before the Monaco Grafrey. I swear to you can laugh at this when you listen to it back. This has to be the most boring race of all time that we don't even don't remember it apart from for it being a Charlotte Clair victory. But back to 2020, as you say, absolute chaos. Ferrari were on the front row and the start was delayed by over an hour after a power failure which was very strange as well.

Yeah, yeah. But eventually we got underway and Carlos Seines was leading the race because Ferrari had decided to pit Shal early around Monaco. Yeah, it's a risky choice they were obviously on the full wets and it was drying and drying and drying. and I think it was Pierre Gassley who was on the intermediate tyre and started on it and after the initial sort of

you know difficult stage he was coming through the field and actually you know putting in some some moves so they had to to switch to this and poor Charle LeCler yeah it didn't go to plan

because it was a decent stop but then he's essentially like lost out to Sergio Perez as well. And then it gets worse because they realise then that it is essentially enough for dries. Yep, good times.

So yeah, Charlotte Pitt signs were staying out until he could go straight on to dries. And Ferrari then told Carlos Sines to Pitt and then told LeCler to Pitt on the same lap. Of course, the very famous

stay out, stay out, stay out. And then Charles bleat. thereafter. It went from bad to worse, didn't it, for Ferrari that day? It did. It was only about three laps before he essentially went from the intermediate tires to the drys. So, you know, you've got to think, why not just stay out, wait for that moment. You know, all these races that we've reflected on, it's about being in the lead and never sacrificing that lead. And even if a car is three or four seconds a lap quicker than you,

you're fine in Monaco. So for them to basically, they were somewhat unfortunate that they pitted two lair and it cost Charles the chance to win the Grand Prix because instead Perez inherited the lead

and yeah. And he didn't even get a podium. He wasn't even on the podium. I think that's even more gutting. Yeah, let's move on. It actually says here, funnily enough, I didn't add this note. Could have been worse. first ever Monaco Grand Prix in 1929, Mercedes driver Rudolf Karachiola, was in the lead,

but wasted four and a half minutes on a pit stop and lost the race. Okay, brilliant. So that pretty much sums up the beautiful, historic moments of Monaco, and this is where we're going to end the audio podcast side of things. So, Tommy, what are your final thoughts? Final thoughts? I love Monaco. I love Monaco.

All these moments, and there's so many to pick from, are incredibly memorable, even if it's not for your passing and things. It's drama and it's ones that we remember for, you know, if you're a fan of a certain driver, you know, good or bad moments. So the fact that Monaco means so much to the drivers makes it hurt more when Charler or Daniel Ricardo or whoever end up. Charler. Yeah.

That's more. Yeah. Okay, thank you everybody for listening and we will see you soon for another P1 pod. Goodbye. Thanks to much to all of you who joined us at F1 Arcade in Birmingham for the Monaco watchalong. And remember, MoneyGram is offering a chance to win the ultimate dream weekend at Silverstone. As the MoneyGram has F1 team's title sponsor, MoneyGram aims to bring fans closer to the action. Their dream weekend campaign offers a dream experience at selected F1 Grand Prix locations, including Silverstone. This trip includes two hospitality tickets, round trip travel, four nights at a hotel,

transportation to and from the race, two Moneygram HasseF1 team polo shirts, autographed caps and £1,000 cash via the Moneygram app. To take part, all you need to do is visit dreams.moneygram.com and answer the question, what drives your dreams in 10 words or less, and submit the online entry form. Open 26th of May to the 23rd of June 2024. Official rules can be found at dreams.manygram.com. Bye. P1 is a stack production and part of the ACAST created network.