Monaco Prixview

Motorhomes, milestones and much more...

Monaco. It needs no introduction.

I’ve already covered the history of the

Monaco Grand Prix and why I think it belongs in F1, so I won’t spend too much time going over old ground. We all know what makes this race special.

The harbour full of yachts. The cars brushing the barriers around the two-mile circuit. The casino, hotels and balconies overlooking the action. For one weekend each year, Monaco becomes the centre of the Formula 1 world.

This year, being the first European race of the season, the motorhomes are back. Always a strange comfort for those working in the sport. One of my favourite Monaco-isms is the Red Bull/Racing Bulls motorhome, known as the Energy Station. Most of you will know that it floats in the harbour rather than sit in the paddock, which is already cramped.

Red Bull assembles the entire complex on a barge in Italy, traditionally around Imperia on the Ligurian coast, before towing it several hours along the Mediterranean into Monaco’s harbour.

The numbers are absurd. Hundreds of tonnes of steel, timber and equipment. Dozens of trucks. Weeks of construction. One report described an 800-tonne structure built by 70 people over 21 days before making the six-hour voyage to Monaco.

When it finally arrives, it moors beside the paddock like a luxury apartment block that has drifted in from another reality. Red Bull adds sprawling terraces, bars, DJ decks and, most famously, a rooftop swimming pool overlooking the harbour.

For one week each year, the Energy Station becomes a floating village of engineers, drivers, celebrities, journalists and sponsors. Monaco already feels slightly detached from reality; the sight of an entire building arriving by sea somehow makes it feel even more so.

As the championship heads back to Monte Carlo, a few storylines stand out.

The first is the idea of a home race.

For Charles Leclerc, this really is home. No flights. No hotels. No unfamiliar surroundings. He grew up here, knows these streets better than anyone and carries the expectations that come with being Monaco’s own Formula 1 driver.

“These are the streets that I’ve been taking the bus on as a kid. There’s just something about Monaco. On the track, whichever corner I’m in, I’ve got a story from my childhood or from when I started racing. There’s a bit of a personal story everywhere around the track and that’s why it makes it so special for me.”