Giorgio Piola's F1 technical analysis
Monaco's craziest ever Formula 1 tech ideas
The Monaco Grand Prix is Formula 1’s most glamorous event – and is the one that is at the extreme when it comes to piling on the downforce levels.
Maximum mechanical grip and high downforce are the order of the day, and the unique demands of the Monte Carlo street circuit have prompted some fairly outlandish solutions over the years.
Here, we trawl through Giorgio Piola’s archive to dig out some of the best and wackiest solutions that have cropped up over the years – including several that got pretty quickly declared illegal.
McLaren 1974
At the 1974 Monaco GP, McLaren opted to run a narrower nose on its car, which had had its first outing at the earlier Spanish GP. Emerson Fittipaldi's M23 was fitted with a narrowed 'winklepicker' section, which allowed for wider wings.
There were also two narrow upstands that could be seen stood proud of the endplates. These were not for performance reasons but were instead put there to help act as a visual cue – so the drivers could tell easier where the edges of the front wing were.
Ferrari 1979
Ferrari arrived at the 1979 Monaco GP with a specially commissioned pair of front and rear wings, both designed to improve the car's agility around the streets of the Principality.
The wings were mounted closer to the main bodywork for two reasons. First of all, this allowed a greater depth to the rear wing so it could still comply with the maximum dimensions of the rules – but also less bodywork overhang meant there was a smaller change of collisions with barriers in the event of the drivers getting it wrong.
Ferrari 1980
A year later and Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve were presented with a similar arrangement, a shorter car designed to improve the car's downforce and balance. However, the designers had gone one step further this time around, adjusting the T5's suspension and wheelbase (highlighted in yellow).
Jordan 1986
In 1996 Jordan followed in McLaren's footsteps when it introduced its version of the 'mid-wing' for Monaco. Mounted astride the engine cover, this imposing winglet took advantage of the wording in the regulations to produce a reasonable amount of downforce in its own right.
Tyrrell 1997
When you think of crazy winglets that have appeared at Monaco, Tyrrell's 'X-Wings' have to be toward the top of that list. The oft cash-strapped outfit had found numerous innovative ways of increasing downforce down the years but the X-Wings took things to an all new level, mounted high up away from the sidepods they helped to produce downforce in their own right.
The X-Wings appeared at several races other than Monaco and even started to appear on many of the other cars up and down the grid, before being banned by the FIA on safety grounds.
Meanwhile, the '025' featured other novel features, including their single central front wing pillar, nose winglets and sidepod shovels and winglets.
Ferrari 1999
Ferrari's F399, designed by Rory Byrne, helped the team take a 1-2 finish at the Monaco GP as it deployed a high downforce rear wing. The wing featured many more flaps than ordinarily would be the case, all of which were angled aggressively too, sacrificing straight line speed for downforce because efficiency is not so important in Monaco.
Williams 2000
Williams employed an airbox winglet at the Monaco GP in 2000 as it sought to improve the performance of its rear wing. The rather wide winglet, similar in design to the one used by Jordan in 1999, undoubtedly created some downforce in its own right but more importantly cleared the path for airflow heading for the rear wing. Looking for additional balance, the team also installed a winglet atop the sidepod for the weekend.
Arrows and Jordan 2001
Arrows and Jordan both rocked up to F1's 'Jewel in the Crown' with some rather ungainly winglets in 2001. Both teams used grey areas within the regulations to mount the appendages from the nose and chassis respectively. The unorthodox winglets, which bring to mind the crazy high wings used in the 60's, were immediately put under scrutiny by the FIA and banned before the teams could even qualify with them.
Ferrari 2017
Ever stricter aerodynamic regulations have made it difficult for teams to come up with wayward solutions just for Monaco in recent years. However, that doesn't mean that teams still don't need to make alterations, for example, the famous Monaco hairpin is an exceptionally slow corner that requires the cars to be adapted to suit its characteristics.
The teams change the ratio of the steering rack for this corner, in order that more lock can be applied, which also requires that the suspension shrouds be modified so that the wheel and tyre don't foul them.
Previous article
Gallery: All Monaco GP winners since 2000
Next article
Avoiding hypersoft would be "big advantage" in Monaco GP
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Author | Giorgio Piola |
Is Red Bull Hiding the Real RB16B? | F1 2021
Sergio Perez's First Drive With Red Bull Racing
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.
Eight things Red Bull must do to beat Mercedes in 2021
After seven years of defeat at the hands of Mercedes, Red Bull is as hungry as ever to secure a fifth world championship. But there are key challenges it must overcome in 2021 to switch from challenger to conqueror
How AlphaTauri has adapted to F1's new rules
AlphaTauri launched its AT02, complete with a new livery, as it bids to home in on an already-tight midfield battle. Although there were few outright new parts displayed on the launch render, there might be a few clues into further changes down the line…
