The Life Monaco Grand Prix

by Stuart Codling

Overview

Go behind the scenes to explore the history, racing, celebrity fans, and after hours of racing's most glamorous and prestigious round in the F1 championship with The Life Monaco Grand Prix.

Monaco sponsored its first race in 1929 and the circuit has been part of the Formula 1 series since 1950. Conducted with the patronage of Monaco’s royal family, its beautiful street-circuit has made Monaco the most glamorous setting of any F1 race. But the classic architecture and high-profile spectators belie a course notorious for its complexity and challenges. With no safety barriers until 1969, drivers have twice plunged into the harbor among the spectating yachts.

Off the circuit, Monaco is a 24-hour spectacle of expensive boats, high-profile parties, celebrity F1 fans, penthouse spectating, and high-roller lifestyle. From the Monte Carlo casino (integral to numerous James Bond films) to top clubs like Amber Lounge, Jimmy’z, and The Black Lounge to F1 racers’ luxury homes to the takeoffs and landings of countless private jets, Monaco represents the epitome of the jet-setting lifestyle long associated with the F1 circus.

From the first Grand Prix in 1929 to today's star-studded event, The Life Monaco Grand Prix takes the reader on a full lap of this prestigious race. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760397381
Publisher:	Motorbooks
Publication date:	10/01/2024
Series:	Life Series
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 8.86(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Stuart Codling is a respected motorsport journalist and broadcaster who covered sports car racing in the United States before joining F1 Racing, the world’s biggest-selling Formula 1 magazine, in 2001. He has appeared as an F1 expert on TV and radio, hosted for Renault F1, and contributes to F1 Racing, Autosport, Autocar, and the Red Bulletin. Codling is the author of several Motorbooks titles, including Formula 1 Drive to Survive The Unofficial Companion, Real Racers: Formula 1 Racing in the 1950s and 1960s, Art of the Formula 1 Race Car, Art of the Classic Sports Car, and The Life Monaco. Stuart lives in Farnham, Surrey, England.

Table of Contents

Preface: Monaco 6

Chapter 1 The Making of Monaco 14

Chapter 2 The Prince Sanctions a Race 22

Chapter 3 Dancer, Racer, Soldier, Spy 46

Chapter 4 Racing Against the Reich 62

Chapter 5 Back on Track 84

Chapter 6 Drivers and Duels 106

Chapter 7 Stars and Cars 162

Chapter 8 Goodbye to the Gasworks 174

Chapter 9 Monaco After Dark 192

Chapter 10 In the Presence of God 198

Chapter 11 Racers Who Ride 202

Chapter 12 All the Pretty People 208

Captions 232

Index 236

Photo Credits 240