The first win of the 14^th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, Sunday morning in the A2-Series, went to Claudia Hürtgen, who had already won in 2022. In addition to a laurel wreath and an original “Antoine le Pilote” figurine representing Juan Manuel Fangio, the highly experienced German driver was welcome on the podium by Ruben Fangio, son of the five-time Argentine world champion.

It was a race for front-engined Grand Prix cars built before 1961, and at the wheel of her 1960 Ferrari 246 Dino, entered by Methusalem Racing, the former F3 and GT driver gave no chance or hope to the big guys following her. “I got off to a very good start and then focused on not making any mistake”, she explained. After nine laps, Claudia Hürtgen finished 20 seconds ahead of Marino Franchitti (brother of three-time Indy 500 winner Dario), in a Maserati 250F, and Anthony Wood (Tec-Mec). Belgian actor Stéphane de Groodt took an excellent 6^th place and the other female driver in the race, Niamh Wood, finished mid-table in 14^th place.

The line-up for this 14th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique is made up of extremely varied profile. There are, of course, the former professional drivers, those who entered some races in Formula 1, Endurance, IndyCar or other categories. And then there are the public figures, whom spectators have already seen in other circumstances. The versatile Stéphane de Groodt is one of them as he is rekindling an old passion this weekend by driving a 1958 Maserati 250F. Competing in the A2 Series named after Juan-Manuel Fangio, the Belgian actor, film-maker and comedian will be taking eighth place on Sunday’s grid.

Our second guest is not entered in any series, but took to the track to open the weekend in style, on Friday, in a Porsche 911 as part of a promotional operation. Patrick Dempsey is no stranger to the racetrack, having finished 2nd in the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GT category and 3rd in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LME GT Am category. The American actor swapped his Doctor Shepherd white coat for the steering wheel of the German beauty wearing the famous colours of TAG Heuer, partner of the event, for a few laps with Eddie Irvine in the passenger seat. “It’s just so great to see these cars you grew up watching, you’ve read about or you’ve seen in classic films to be out on the track”, enthused Patrick Dempsey on Saturday from the terrace of the fabulous Garage 1. “It’s a great way to honour the legacy.” There’s no doubt about it, on the Circuit de Monaco, they are not acting it, they are true passionate.

On Saturday, the Circuit de Monaco hosted a very special parade in honour of the great Brazilian champion. A spectacular line-up recalling the major stages that led him to his greatest successes, at the pinnacle of Formula 1. 

One go-kart and four single-seaters that have gone down in legend. What they all have in common is that they all passed through the hands of the master driver, Ayrton Senna. This parade in tribute to his career was made possible thanks to the work of teams from the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), in close liaison with the Instituto Ayrton Senna, Lotus Héritage and the McLaren Academy.

At the wheel of these machines from another era, renowned and up-and-coming drivers took to the track for a few laps, much to the delight of the many spectators who stayed in the grandstands at lunchtime so as not to miss a crumb of this exceptional spectacle. Young people were also involved in this tribute, as two members of the McLaren Drivers Academy, Gabriele Bortoleto and Cristina Gutiérrez, were invited to drive the Brazilian legend’s 1977 go-kart and a Formula Ford Van Diemen RF82.

Moved to tears, Eddie Irvine savoured every moment of his few minutes in the Ralt RT3 of the 1983 Macau Grand Prix. Then came the F1 years! Starting with the Toleman TG184 in which Ayrton Senna made his debut in the sport, driven by Stefan Johansson, while Thierry Boutsen flourished in the 1985 Lotus 97T in which Ayrton Senna won his first two Grands Prix, in Portugal and Belgium.

And how could you organise a parade in tribute to this ace driver without lining up a McLaren on the track? Wearing an evocative helmet in the colours of Brazil, Bruno Senna, the nephew with 46 F1 starts to his name, revved up the engine of this MP4/5B from 1990, at a time when Ayrton Senna shared the McLaren garage with Gerhard Berger. “It’s an incredible car, I had a lot of fun driving it, and with the noise of its Honda V10 engine, I think the spectators were very happy,” said Bruno Senna in the pits after the parade.

This commemorative moment was punctuated by the presence on the starting grid of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. A souvenir photo taken for the occasion will live long in the memory. Other big names in the sport, such as Zak Brown and Monegasque Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, also attended this moment suspended in time.

In the “Gilles Villeneuve” F-Series, contested by F1 cars from 1977 to 1981, Michael Lyons once again put his Hesketh 308E through its paces, as he had done in free practice on Friday. With a time of 1:32.079, he got the better of his compatriots Miles Griffiths, in a yellow Fittipaldi, and Stephen Shanly, in a 1980 Tyrrell 010 entered by the French AGS Racing team. It was a 1-2-3 for British drivers, ahead of an excellent Jonathan Cochet in another Fittipaldi “100% made in Brazil”. That means two pole position starts on Sunday for Michael Lyons, as well as Stuart Hall, who also doubled up in the G-Series.

This G-Series carries the “Ayrton Senna” label throughout the weekend, with single-seaters built between 1981 and 1985, all powered by naturally-aspirated 3-litre engines. As a supreme privilege, these 28 cars can stay permanently in the F1 pits all weekend long. And just like Saturday morning, Stuart Hall made his presence felt in a March 821. With a time of 1:30.762, he pushed Marco Werner (Lotus 87B) one second and a half back, and Michael Lyons (Lotus 92) almost two seconds back. He too will start from pole position twice on Sunday.

Saturday also saw a number of F1 stars visit the paddock, starting with Charles Leclerc, the driver from Monaco, and Lando Norris, who won his first F1 Grand Prix in Miami last Sunday in a McLaren. On Friday, Fernando Alonso was spotted on Quai Antoine 1er, visiting his former boss at McLaren, Zak Brown, entered in a Williams FW07 of the F-Series. Other famous Monegasque residents may be there on Sunday, as F1 takes a break this weekend. One thing is for sure: there will be 8 top-class races between 8am and 6pm, in glorious sunshine.

The C-Series of the 14^th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique is the only one devoted to two-seater sports cars, provided they have a front engine and were built between 1952 and 1957.

There were 38 competitors at the start on Friday, and it was hard to make any predictions about pole position or the race, given the strength of the field: a dozen Maseratis, several Ferraris, Jaguars, Aston Martins and Lotuses, as well as Listers, Frazer-Nashes and Connaughts, a Kieft, an Osca and an Allard. Brands that have now disappeared, but that are still very much alive in the Principality, every two years. They are all in a perfect state of preservation, because their owners, mostly gentlemen drivers, are deeply in love with them, and ready to make any sacrifice to give them eternal youth.

There was a short break in the session, after 7 minutes, then the dance resumed and the match between Italy and Great Britain was won by the British Belles: Fréderic Wakeman’s Cooper-Jaguar T38, who broke the 2-minute per lap barrier (1:59.770), will be on pole position on Sunday, same as in 2022, with the superb Jaguar D-Type of Austrian Niklas Halusa on his side. Behind them, in the hunt for a podium or more, will be the Maserati 250S of Richard Wilson and the Lotus MKX of Max Smith-Hilliard.

The end of Saturday morning was rather noisy in the streets of the Principality, with the “Jackie Stewart” D-Series and the “Niki Lauda” E-Series, contested by F1 cars from the 1966 to 1972, then 1973 to 1976 seasons. These are perfectly preserved single-seaters, equipped with 3-litre engines that are particularly pleasing to nostalgic fans, because they make a lot of noise. One of the favourites was the insatiable Michael Lyons, entered in all four series of the most recent cars. In the D-Series, the Englishman posted a very fast lap (1:34.006) in a 1971 Surtees TS9. This was enough to relegate his main rival, Japan’s Katsuaki Kubota (Lotus 72), to one and a half second, just ahead of another Briton, Matthew Wrigley (March 721), in 3rd place. In a slightly older Lotus, a 49B in superb red livery, dating back to 1968, Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s star engineer, took an excellent 8th place.

At the end of this session, interrupted by a red flag with a minute to go, Lyons jumped into the seat of a McLaren M26 (ex-James Hunt) in famous red and white livery. But another car from Woking, a 1973 M23 driven by Stuart Hall in the colours of Yardley cosmetics, dominated this E-Series qualifier. In the end, it topped the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) results sheet with a time of 1:31.629. Enough to start from pole position on Sunday, with Nicholas Padmore’s Lotus 77 alongside him. On the second row, there will be another Lotus, the 76 from the 1974 season (ex-Ronnie Peterson), driven by Marco Werner, and the M26 of Lyons, who then took the time to rest a little. He will be back in the afternoon for qualifying in Series F and G. As for local hero Frédéric Lajoux (Surtees TS19), an excellent driver turned honourable family man, he took an excellent 8th place on the grid.

The first three qualifying sessions (25 minutes each) for the 14^th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, on Saturday morning, began with a woman driver, last year’s winner Claudia Hürtgen from Germany, securing a fine pole position. It was in the A2-Series, labelled ‘Juan Manuel Fangio’ and reserved to front-engined Grand Prix cars built before 1961. In her superb 1960 Ferrari 246 Dino, entered by Methusalem Racing, experts in beautiful red vintage cars, Claudia, the former F3 and GT driver, set a time of 1:54.429. That was three tenths quicker than Marino Franchitti, brother of three-time Indy 500 winner Dario, in a Maserati 250F. As for Max Smith-Hilliard (Lotus 16), he will start from the second row on Sunday on a very full grid: 26 competitors including just one woman… in pole position!

A little later, in the ‘Louis Chiron’ A1 Series, which includes pre-war Grand Prix cars and voiturettes, the battle for pole position pitted Irishman Paddins Dowling, who had set the fastest time in free practice on Friday in a 1936 ERA R5B, against two British drivers, Michael Birch (Maserati 4CM) and Jonathan Bailey (Bugatti 35C). Except that Canadian Brad Baker (ERA R10B) came out to spoil the party and eventually took 2nd place in this very lively session. So there will be two ERAs on the front row on Sunday, driven by Dowling and Baker.

In the trio of oldest cars at this 14^th Historic Monaco Grand Prix, there is also the ‘Graham Hill’ B-Series, exclusive to single-seaters with 1500cc engines from 1961 to 1965. This session was interrupted twice by a red flag, for a couple of non-serious incidents. And eventually, in honour of the late Graham who won five times on the streets of Monaco, including twice in a Lotus (1968, 1969), there will be two British drivers in Lotuses on the front row on Sunday: Andy Middlehurst in a 1962 Type-25, and Mark Shaw in a 1961 Type-21. Behind them, in search of a treble, will be American ‘Joe’ Colasacco, winner in 2004 and 2022, in a formidable 1964 Ferrari 1512 (ex-John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini). That’s a promise!

After a short one-hour break, action was back on track to life at 2:30pm with the D-Series, featuring Grand Prix cars from 1966 to 1972. In this class, the public couldn’t miss the Lotus 49B driven by Adrian Newey! The 65-year-old British engineer, who will be leaving the Red Bull Racing team at the end of the year, put in a good showing in the middle of this wild field, finishing in 8th place. Building on his success of two years ago, Michael Lyons set a blistering pace at the wheel of a 1971 Surtees TS9, completing the 3.337km-track 2 seconds faster than his closest rival, Katsuaki Kubota driving Lotus 72. A decent warm-up for the Briton, who won three times in the Principality in 2021, as he will also be lining up in the E-, F- and G-Series!

This first day of the 14th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique also trapped drivers in the E-Series, which brings together Grand Prix cars from 1973 to 1976. On the winding Avenue d’Ostende, just a few minutes after the start of this unique free practice session, the Tyrrell 007 of Roald Goethe and the Shadow DN5 of Marco Bianchini collided, causing the 3rd red flag of the day to allow the intervention of the Automobile Club de Monaco’s track Marshals, who are always very efficient! Extended by 3 minutes, the session was finally dominated by the event’s regulars, who put their experience to good use. Marco Werner and his Lotus 76 were the fastest, ahead of Michael Lyons (McLaren M26) and Nicholas Padmore (Lotus 77). Among the 24 entries in the series, Monaco was proudly represented by Frédéric Lajoux (Surtees TS19) in 10th place!

There were plenty of people in the grandstands and on the track for the 6th session of the day! And with good reason, the C-Series is the most crowded, with 38 competitors authorised to race at the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. They all made the most of free practice to get to grips with the Principality’s legendary track without making any unforgivable mistakes. Even among the front-engined sports cars from 1952 to 1957, Lotus shone, thanks to Max Smith-Hilliard! The Briton drove his beautiful MK X to the top of the timesheets, overtaking Gregor Fisken’s Jaguar HWM and Richard Wilson’s Maserati 250S.

In the F-Series, named after Gilles Villeneuve and featuring F1 cars from 1977 to 1981, Michael Lyons again dominated proceedings! This time at the wheel of a Hesketh 308E bearing the number 24, the defending champion of the category displayed all his talent to get his weekend off to a perfect start. Several drivers were caught out, including Sam Hancock (Fittipaldi F6A) and Monegasque Nicolas Matile (March 771), who faulted at Sainte-Dévote and in the S de la Piscine. Interrupted by a red flag, the session resumed to give the competitors the opportunity to make one last attempt before tomorrow’s qualifying session.

Day one came to a close with the G-Series, whose name Ayrton Senna will echo throughout the weekend. 28 drivers took to the track shortly after 6pm for 30-minute free practice session. Overexcited by the idea of shining in the Principality, some of them were carried away by their enthusiasm and brought back to reality: the Circuit de Monaco is not a playground to be taken carelessly. Race HQ decided to wave the red flag twice to interrupt the session. The superb Ligier JS21, driven by Soheil Ayari who is a rookie in this event, was the last to go off at La Rascasse. Fortunately, no damage was done, much to the delight of the spectators who will see this fantastic car again on Saturday!

Lotus made its mark on the first morning of free practice for the 14th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, taking the first two spots in the “Graham Hill” B-Series reserved to single-seaters with 1500cc engines from 1961 to 1965. A B-Series packed with front-runners, in fact, with 33 very well-equipped competitors. Notably American Joseph Colasacco, the winner in 2004 and, more recently, in 2022, in his extremely rare 1964 Ferrari 1512 (ex-John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini). But the excellent ‘Joe’ had to be content with 3rd place in this first session, behind two wild Lotus drivers: Andy Middlehurst in a 1962 Type-25, ahead of Mark Shaw in a 1961 Type-21. These two Climax-powered Racing Green cars, sliding on all four-wheels at La Piscine and elsewhere, delighted the fans, who were already out in force for a Friday (free admission).

A little earlier, in the ‘Louis Chiron’ A1-Series, which includes pre-war Grand Prix cars and pre-war voiturettes, the battle raged for 30 minutes between several drivers from across the Channel. And it was Ireland’s Paddins Dowling, in a 1936 ERA R5B, who laid the foundations for an eventual pole position on Saturday, ahead of two Britons, Jonathan Bailey (Bugatti 35C) and Michael Birch (Maserati 4CM), thanks to a very respectable time of 2:15.184 for such old cars. The top five in this first session, contested by 16 competitors, also included a German, Mark Winter (Maserati 6CM), and a Canadian, Brad Baker (ERA R10B).

The ‘Juan Manuel Fangio’ A2-Series also featured a strong field: 25 front-engined Grand Prix cars built before 1961, including a dozen Maseratis, the blue Gordini of Jean-Jacques Bally, a regular at the Monegasque event, and of course the superb Ferrari 246 Dino of Claudia Hürtgen, the former German GT racing star and Monegasque resident. There was also a Franco-Belgian actor, Stéphane de Groodt, in a 1958 Maserati 250F, delighted to reconnect with his old passion, as when he raced in Formula 3 before becoming an actor. And Marino Franchitti, the brother of the three-time Indycar winner at Indianapolis, in a Maserati too. The two best times were posted by a couple of Lotus Type-16 dating back to 1958, ahead of three Maseratis.

Thierry Boutsen was very close to Ayrton Senna, who should have been his son’s godfather. The Belgian driver (163 GPs, 3 wins, 15 podiums) will have the honour and privilege, on Saturday during the Senna’s Career Parade, of driving through the streets of Monaco in the Lotus-Renault that enabled his Brazilian friend to win his first F1 race, at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix on the Estoril circuit. A first followed by many others: 41 victories in total, as well as 80 podiums and 65 pole positions!