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Monaco: Inside F1's Greatest Race
**THE ONLY DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST RACE - FULL OF EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH NIKI LAUDA, ROSS BRAWN, DAMON HILL, DAVID COULTHARD, SIR JACKIE STEWART, OLIVER PANIS AND 2016 WORLD CHAMPION NICO ROSBERG**
Circuit de Monaco. Monte Carlo. The ultimate race in the Formula One calendar.
When you think of Formula One, you think of Monaco. Once a year, yachts jam the harbour, celebrities fill the stands and luxury sports cars litter the streets as of thousands of people gather from across the world to watch the greatest, and one of the oldest, races in motorsport.
Monaco is glamorous, prestigious and seductive. But for the drivers, it is the most demanding race of the year. The narrow streets, tight corners and sharp elevations make it the ultimate test of driving skill. It is physically draining and mentally exhausting.
Proposed today, the race would not exist but it remains the jewel in the crown for every Formula One driver. There is simply no other race like it.
Win at Monaco and your name is etched in history. You will join the likes of Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.
With exclusive interviews and insight from drivers and a wealth of F1 insiders, award-winning sportswriter Malcolm Folley goes behind the scenes to discover what it's really like to drive and live and breathe this iconic circuit. He reveals along the way a unique and definitive portrait of the circuit, and recreates in thrilling detail its most extraordinary weekend, when only three cars finished.
Circuit de Monaco. Monte Carlo. The ultimate race in the Formula One calendar.
When you think of Formula One, you think of Monaco. Once a year, yachts jam the harbour, celebrities fill the stands and luxury sports cars litter the streets as of thousands of people gather from across the world to watch the greatest, and one of the oldest, races in motorsport.
Monaco is glamorous, prestigious and seductive. But for the drivers, it is the most demanding race of the year. The narrow streets, tight corners and sharp elevations make it the ultimate test of driving skill. It is physically draining and mentally exhausting.
Proposed today, the race would not exist but it remains the jewel in the crown for every Formula One driver. There is simply no other race like it.
Win at Monaco and your name is etched in history. You will join the likes of Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.
With exclusive interviews and insight from drivers and a wealth of F1 insiders, award-winning sportswriter Malcolm Folley goes behind the scenes to discover what it's really like to drive and live and breathe this iconic circuit. He reveals along the way a unique and definitive portrait of the circuit, and recreates in thrilling detail its most extraordinary weekend, when only three cars finished.
- GenresNonfictionSports
320 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2018
48 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 16, 2023
If you’re a big enough fan of Formula One to know that the great Stirling Moss never won an F1 Championship, you’ll love this book. If you know who said, “Britney’s in the wall,” and about whom the comment was made, you’ll probably love this as much as I did. And if you’re just a casual fan, or someone just getting into the sport, you’ll also love it. This book is not without its caveats, however, but I’ll get to that later on.
This is an enjoyable — and quick — read about the most glamorous and demanding of F1 races, a race some drivers dread, and the great ones embrace for the challenge. Those looking for a comprehensive recap of F1 history at Monaco, a race by race, or even decade by decade examination, however, will be severely disappointed. The author took a sort of informal style that made this work accessible and readable. You don’t have to be a huge fan of the late Ayrton Senna, Mario Andretti, or Fernando Alonso, as I am. It is heavily loaded with reminiscences of true greats like Nikki Lauda, and the spectacular Jackie Stewart. Their memories and thoughts — especially Stewart’s — on Monaco, those terribly dangerous years when drivers were tragically dropping like flies in pursuit of speed and triumph, are mesmerizing. There are poignant, moving moments, but fun ones too.
Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Martin Brundle, Ross Brawn and Nico Rosberg are also represented here in their thoughts and memories of Monaco. No memory — or recounting — is more joyous or uplifting than that of Olivier Panis, a good driver who through a miracle some felt was on par with God giving Moses the power to part the Red Sea, won his only race at the crown jewel of F1 races. Make no mistake, Panis was a talented driver, and he made it to the podium again, but never at the top spot. As this book makes note of, were you to pose the question to nearly any F1 driver, which race would they like to have won, if at the end of their career, they only had one, most would undoubtedly answer, Monaco. Olivier Panis lived that dream.
For film fans, Grace Kelly is represented here as the one who brought added glamor and attention to the greatest race in F1. When she invited Hollywood friends to the race, the resulting coverage increased, and a larger world began to familiarize themselves with the ornate spectacle requiring so much skill and talent — and sometimes luck — that only the finest drivers in the world were up to the challenge. And sometimes, even they failed.
I came away liking Brundle a bit more than I had before reading this. I’m still not always a fan of his style or comments behind the microphone as his career transitioned, but he comes off as a pretty nice guy. The same with Coulthard. Damon Hill? Well, he came of as Damon Hill, and I guess that’s all I need to say.
While the bottom line is that this is a great and enjoyable read for the average or casual fan, or those unfamiliar with the sport, for those who know something of its history and have some perspective, it’s tremendously enjoyable without being great. A good analogy would be the distinction the author properly makes between great drivers, and the truly greatest of drivers. It is the author himself who makes this a great read, to his credit, but for serious fans, those with strong opinions about drivers and their history, it fails to elevate beyond that due to the author as well.
Caveat #1 — I’m fine with the accessible, easy style and flow of this, and the author’s decision to not make this a deep dive into every race, but for the real F1 fan, his decision to spend so little time on the early years of Monaco, details of those races and drivers, is a deep disappointment. We get so much on drivers of modern times, yet so little of a dive into those guys, or the breaks in years of racing at Monaco due to circumstance. To the casual fan, I’d urge them to go flip to the back of the book before you begin reading. On the page after the acknowledgements, the Monaco winners are listed, in order, from its inception. You’re not going to get a ton of information on their careers or wins, so if you want to know more about their moment in the history of this great race, look them up sometime when you have a few moments.
Caveat #2 — Here we come to weeds and bias. Since this book was predominantly about Monaco, I expected the writer to focus pretty solely on that. But he gets into the weeds of Formula One and these drivers at times, and to me he comes off as a fan, losing objectivity. It’s subtle, but it’s there. In the latter part of the book, he spends far too much time on Schumacher. These were weeds he shouldn’t have gotten off in because he seems unwilling to acknowledge the more unpleasant aspects of the driver’s racing, and incidents that repeatedly called into question his honesty in regard to them. These were no ticky-tack incidents, and they repeatedly cropped up throughout his career; no more glaringly than an incident at Monaco. Yet the author allows Brawn (who having worked with Schumacher can certainly be suspected of bias) slough these off as apparations. Really? Perhaps it was because of the tragedy that befall this great driver after he’d stopped racing that the author used rose-colored glasses. This was a case, however, of a writer walking out into the weeds beyond the scope of his book, but then refusing to look down and examine them too closely.
The same can be said of Aryton Senna. Prost and Senna were both greats, but the author goes into weeds much deeper with Senna, and less flatteringly, than he does Prost, showing his bias for Prost. Again, he should not have gone into the weeds, beyond the scope of the book’s title — for either driver. Having already written, Senna versus Prost, what was the point? Prost won Monaco four times, he’s one of the truly greats of the sport, but Senna won Monaco six times, and his drive in the rain is the stuff of legend. If this were truly a book about Monaco, it would have ended there. And that’s my issue as an informed F1 fan, with Malcolm Folley getting off into the weeds, and off the fairway. He goes out there for no apparent reason, but then he brings a putter so he won’t leave a divot.
We get a ton of Rosberg near the end of this book, and his championship season. Though this is fine, because Rosberg was excellent around Monaco, a multiple winner, here again, Folley’s in the weeds. Perhaps because he’s a Hamilton fan he doesn’t dive into the crappy way Rosberg had to hang on to that championship thanks to a questionable — at best — tactic by Lewis. I kept thinking, “If this guy’s gonna fire it off the fairway and into the tall grass deliberately so often, why doesn’t he bring more than a putter when he gets there?”
Being biased myself — but I didn’t write the book — I was happy to hear Jackie Stewart talk about Prost’s ability in certain things, and have Jackie mention Alonso as maybe one of only two guys racing now with that same level of skill and ability. I was disappointed that Fernando’s back to back wins at Monaco, for two different teams and manufacturers nonetheless, was given no time at all (unless I missed it somehow).
Overall, this is a wonderful book to own, and despite a few minor — and they were minor, really — caveats, most casual fans will learn a lot, and have an enjoyable time doing so with Malcolm Folley’s book. It’s grand really, a fun read. The only important caveat is for buffs; that being the lack of time spent on the past, and too much with Schumacher and Rosberg near the end of the book. But even that is really only a quibble to a book I’m glad to have read, thus the five stars.
This is an enjoyable — and quick — read about the most glamorous and demanding of F1 races, a race some drivers dread, and the great ones embrace for the challenge. Those looking for a comprehensive recap of F1 history at Monaco, a race by race, or even decade by decade examination, however, will be severely disappointed. The author took a sort of informal style that made this work accessible and readable. You don’t have to be a huge fan of the late Ayrton Senna, Mario Andretti, or Fernando Alonso, as I am. It is heavily loaded with reminiscences of true greats like Nikki Lauda, and the spectacular Jackie Stewart. Their memories and thoughts — especially Stewart’s — on Monaco, those terribly dangerous years when drivers were tragically dropping like flies in pursuit of speed and triumph, are mesmerizing. There are poignant, moving moments, but fun ones too.
Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Martin Brundle, Ross Brawn and Nico Rosberg are also represented here in their thoughts and memories of Monaco. No memory — or recounting — is more joyous or uplifting than that of Olivier Panis, a good driver who through a miracle some felt was on par with God giving Moses the power to part the Red Sea, won his only race at the crown jewel of F1 races. Make no mistake, Panis was a talented driver, and he made it to the podium again, but never at the top spot. As this book makes note of, were you to pose the question to nearly any F1 driver, which race would they like to have won, if at the end of their career, they only had one, most would undoubtedly answer, Monaco. Olivier Panis lived that dream.
For film fans, Grace Kelly is represented here as the one who brought added glamor and attention to the greatest race in F1. When she invited Hollywood friends to the race, the resulting coverage increased, and a larger world began to familiarize themselves with the ornate spectacle requiring so much skill and talent — and sometimes luck — that only the finest drivers in the world were up to the challenge. And sometimes, even they failed.
I came away liking Brundle a bit more than I had before reading this. I’m still not always a fan of his style or comments behind the microphone as his career transitioned, but he comes off as a pretty nice guy. The same with Coulthard. Damon Hill? Well, he came of as Damon Hill, and I guess that’s all I need to say.
While the bottom line is that this is a great and enjoyable read for the average or casual fan, or those unfamiliar with the sport, for those who know something of its history and have some perspective, it’s tremendously enjoyable without being great. A good analogy would be the distinction the author properly makes between great drivers, and the truly greatest of drivers. It is the author himself who makes this a great read, to his credit, but for serious fans, those with strong opinions about drivers and their history, it fails to elevate beyond that due to the author as well.
Caveat #1 — I’m fine with the accessible, easy style and flow of this, and the author’s decision to not make this a deep dive into every race, but for the real F1 fan, his decision to spend so little time on the early years of Monaco, details of those races and drivers, is a deep disappointment. We get so much on drivers of modern times, yet so little of a dive into those guys, or the breaks in years of racing at Monaco due to circumstance. To the casual fan, I’d urge them to go flip to the back of the book before you begin reading. On the page after the acknowledgements, the Monaco winners are listed, in order, from its inception. You’re not going to get a ton of information on their careers or wins, so if you want to know more about their moment in the history of this great race, look them up sometime when you have a few moments.
Caveat #2 — Here we come to weeds and bias. Since this book was predominantly about Monaco, I expected the writer to focus pretty solely on that. But he gets into the weeds of Formula One and these drivers at times, and to me he comes off as a fan, losing objectivity. It’s subtle, but it’s there. In the latter part of the book, he spends far too much time on Schumacher. These were weeds he shouldn’t have gotten off in because he seems unwilling to acknowledge the more unpleasant aspects of the driver’s racing, and incidents that repeatedly called into question his honesty in regard to them. These were no ticky-tack incidents, and they repeatedly cropped up throughout his career; no more glaringly than an incident at Monaco. Yet the author allows Brawn (who having worked with Schumacher can certainly be suspected of bias) slough these off as apparations. Really? Perhaps it was because of the tragedy that befall this great driver after he’d stopped racing that the author used rose-colored glasses. This was a case, however, of a writer walking out into the weeds beyond the scope of his book, but then refusing to look down and examine them too closely.
The same can be said of Aryton Senna. Prost and Senna were both greats, but the author goes into weeds much deeper with Senna, and less flatteringly, than he does Prost, showing his bias for Prost. Again, he should not have gone into the weeds, beyond the scope of the book’s title — for either driver. Having already written, Senna versus Prost, what was the point? Prost won Monaco four times, he’s one of the truly greats of the sport, but Senna won Monaco six times, and his drive in the rain is the stuff of legend. If this were truly a book about Monaco, it would have ended there. And that’s my issue as an informed F1 fan, with Malcolm Folley getting off into the weeds, and off the fairway. He goes out there for no apparent reason, but then he brings a putter so he won’t leave a divot.
We get a ton of Rosberg near the end of this book, and his championship season. Though this is fine, because Rosberg was excellent around Monaco, a multiple winner, here again, Folley’s in the weeds. Perhaps because he’s a Hamilton fan he doesn’t dive into the crappy way Rosberg had to hang on to that championship thanks to a questionable — at best — tactic by Lewis. I kept thinking, “If this guy’s gonna fire it off the fairway and into the tall grass deliberately so often, why doesn’t he bring more than a putter when he gets there?”
Being biased myself — but I didn’t write the book — I was happy to hear Jackie Stewart talk about Prost’s ability in certain things, and have Jackie mention Alonso as maybe one of only two guys racing now with that same level of skill and ability. I was disappointed that Fernando’s back to back wins at Monaco, for two different teams and manufacturers nonetheless, was given no time at all (unless I missed it somehow).
Overall, this is a wonderful book to own, and despite a few minor — and they were minor, really — caveats, most casual fans will learn a lot, and have an enjoyable time doing so with Malcolm Folley’s book. It’s grand really, a fun read. The only important caveat is for buffs; that being the lack of time spent on the past, and too much with Schumacher and Rosberg near the end of the book. But even that is really only a quibble to a book I’m glad to have read, thus the five stars.
April 16, 2025
A gripping retelling of past Monaco GP victories. It’s always interesting for me as a big fan of F1 to have a glimpse of what the sport use to be like and how it’s developed through years while the crown jewel of F1 barely changes at all.
October 31, 2019
Not what I was expecting, but still a really good book. I was expecting a history of the Monaco race and maybe year by year coverage. Instead it mainly covers more contemporary races with stories by the actual racers and winners. It talks about the challenge, mystic, pomp and legacy of the Monaco Grand Prix. Lots of wonderful well written stories. Well worth reading.
July 10, 2020
As someone who is obsessed with formula one history this was always going to be a book I enjoyed. It brought back some very happy memories of the races I watched at the time and evoked some of the races that were before my time.
July 11, 2024
If you enjoy F1 it's a great book, if you love F1 and the glamour of Monaco it's an amazing book!
F1 fans will know only too well the difficulties faced by the drivers around this circuit, this book is a great insight into those difficulties. It also offers plenty of background information gifted by various drivers from over the decades.
David Coulthard takes the author on a drive around Monaco to open the book; I've been fortunate to visit Monaco regularly over the last two decades, and on - I could picture each part, see the glistening of the sea and feel the sun on my skin.
F1 fans will know only too well the difficulties faced by the drivers around this circuit, this book is a great insight into those difficulties. It also offers plenty of background information gifted by various drivers from over the decades.
David Coulthard takes the author on a drive around Monaco to open the book; I've been fortunate to visit Monaco regularly over the last two decades, and on - I could picture each part, see the glistening of the sea and feel the sun on my skin.
November 1, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed. Covers the history of the Monaco GP from 1929 to 2016 predominantly through interviews with the main protagonists (but there are some great pieces with behind the scenes figures). Focuses on the drivers and teams rather than the track and principality. Great anecdotes throughout (Keke Rosberg not wanting to get back in the car because he'd burnt his moustache).
Avoids the trap of endless lists of lap times. I would have liked a little more detail about the pre 1938 era, and there are a few notable omissions such as Villeneuve in 81(which I think are down to the authors desire to use primarily his interviews and experiences), and inevitably there is quite a lot of putting each years race in context of the season.
However the Olivier Panis story , which is gently hinted at throughout the first half, is wonderfully told.
Finally, another F1 book to join Di Spires (.. I just made the tea..) on the front row.
Avoids the trap of endless lists of lap times. I would have liked a little more detail about the pre 1938 era, and there are a few notable omissions such as Villeneuve in 81(which I think are down to the authors desire to use primarily his interviews and experiences), and inevitably there is quite a lot of putting each years race in context of the season.
However the Olivier Panis story , which is gently hinted at throughout the first half, is wonderfully told.
Finally, another F1 book to join Di Spires (.. I just made the tea..) on the front row.
February 15, 2023
Knjigo sem dobil kot darilo. Več ali manj premišljeno, vsekakor pa na temo, ki mi je ljuba. Nekaj let je stala na polici v družbi drugih knjig, ki čakajo na svojo vrsto in preskakovale so jo druge knjige na isto temo, ki so mi prišle pod roke.
Ni me dovolj zamikala, da bi jo prijel v roke, ker sem nekoliko jezen na Monaco, kot marsikateri drug navdušenec na F1, ker Monaco navadno ne prinaša zanimivih dirk. Res, tu in tam se zgodi kakšna nenavadna stvar, pogosto se kdo zapiči v ograje, ki ne odpuščajo, ampak v primerjavi z drugimi dirkami na koledarju so dirke v kneževini DOLGOČASNE. Menda so nepozabne - če si na prizorišču. Ampak o tem scenariju povprečni navijači niti razmišljati ne upamo.
Knjigo je napisal, kot je v navadi v (tem) športu, novinar. Navadno to pomeni precej dolgočasno mešanico povzetkov zgodovine in razmetanih intervjujev. V Monacu pa je Malcolm uspel preseči ta stereotip in je spletel zanimivo in koherentno zgodbo, ki v več plasteh razkriva zakaj Monaco enostavno MORA OSTATI na sporedu dirk najhitrejšega športa na svetu.
Ko prebiraš zgodovino in ti dober pisec pričara romantiko nekih drugih, bolj nevarnih in razuzdanih časov, potem lahko ceniš kakšen izziv pomeni Monaco (bolje, kakšen izziv je tisti en dober kvalifikacijski krog) za dirkače, ekipe, sponzorje, TV ekipe in nazadnje za novinarje in zgodovinarje.
Ni me dovolj zamikala, da bi jo prijel v roke, ker sem nekoliko jezen na Monaco, kot marsikateri drug navdušenec na F1, ker Monaco navadno ne prinaša zanimivih dirk. Res, tu in tam se zgodi kakšna nenavadna stvar, pogosto se kdo zapiči v ograje, ki ne odpuščajo, ampak v primerjavi z drugimi dirkami na koledarju so dirke v kneževini DOLGOČASNE. Menda so nepozabne - če si na prizorišču. Ampak o tem scenariju povprečni navijači niti razmišljati ne upamo.
Knjigo je napisal, kot je v navadi v (tem) športu, novinar. Navadno to pomeni precej dolgočasno mešanico povzetkov zgodovine in razmetanih intervjujev. V Monacu pa je Malcolm uspel preseči ta stereotip in je spletel zanimivo in koherentno zgodbo, ki v več plasteh razkriva zakaj Monaco enostavno MORA OSTATI na sporedu dirk najhitrejšega športa na svetu.
Ko prebiraš zgodovino in ti dober pisec pričara romantiko nekih drugih, bolj nevarnih in razuzdanih časov, potem lahko ceniš kakšen izziv pomeni Monaco (bolje, kakšen izziv je tisti en dober kvalifikacijski krog) za dirkače, ekipe, sponzorje, TV ekipe in nazadnje za novinarje in zgodovinarje.
July 11, 2025
This was a deeply insightful book on the history of the Monaco Grand Prix, covering the biggest races and stars of the event from its beginning in 1929 through the 2016 season. From learning the backstory of Monaco's first winner, William Grover-Williams, to hearing about the legendary careers of Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, and more, this book encapsulates nearly 90 years of history dating back to the pre-F1 years and takes you on a journey through 65+ years of Formula 1 history while using the Monaco Grand Prix as a lens for the careers of generations of drivers. I enjoyed reading in-depth interviews with drivers past and (then) present as they described this storied race in their own words. Monaco is the Crown Jewel of Formula 1 for a reason, and this book does a fantastic job of transporting you into the Monaco experience and showing some of the incredible feats accomplished there over the years. I look forward to this race every year, and Malcolm Folley's book gave me an even greater appreciation for just how difficult this race is. The tradition of this race is so fascinating, and I enjoyed reading this book during the 2025 race week and its aftermath as another group of drivers took to the track and etched their stories into the history books.
December 26, 2021
I love the Monaco Grand Prix. It was the first Grand Prix I ever watched when I got into f1.
It’s never been about overtaking. Not in this era, and not in previous eras. If you dislike Monaco because there’s no overtaking, you’re completely missing the point. It’s not a race against the others, it’s a race against concentration, attention to details, yourself. It’s really not about anyone else, it’s about you and your car. Qualifying is most of the battle. The precision and bravery that qualifying in Monaco asks of you is unbelievable. It’s a track that illuminates the real super stars of the sport. Not only is the driving beautiful, but the track itself is it’s own spectacle. Unique corners carved out of the city making it one of the most dangerous and attractive tracks on the calendar.
I enjoyed all the stories from team principles, drivers, and all those part of the Monaco race weekend. From Nikki Lauda, Brundle, Prost, senna, panis and Hamilton. Would’ve liked a little less on Nico Rosberg - but it’s just a reflection on the time it was written I suppose😂 but overall this was a beautiful love letter to Monaco and f1.
It’s never been about overtaking. Not in this era, and not in previous eras. If you dislike Monaco because there’s no overtaking, you’re completely missing the point. It’s not a race against the others, it’s a race against concentration, attention to details, yourself. It’s really not about anyone else, it’s about you and your car. Qualifying is most of the battle. The precision and bravery that qualifying in Monaco asks of you is unbelievable. It’s a track that illuminates the real super stars of the sport. Not only is the driving beautiful, but the track itself is it’s own spectacle. Unique corners carved out of the city making it one of the most dangerous and attractive tracks on the calendar.
I enjoyed all the stories from team principles, drivers, and all those part of the Monaco race weekend. From Nikki Lauda, Brundle, Prost, senna, panis and Hamilton. Would’ve liked a little less on Nico Rosberg - but it’s just a reflection on the time it was written I suppose😂 but overall this was a beautiful love letter to Monaco and f1.
Read
January 31, 2022This book discusses the history of Monaco, the most prestigious track in Formula One. Monaco is a small, French-speaking country that draws wealthy people due to the low taxes, and beautiful scenery. The street circuit is very narrow and as a result, it is difficult to overtake, so pitstops and qualifying are of the utmost importance. Aside from extensive descriptions of the physical location, Malcom Folley also describes stories portraying rivalries from many different eras. My favorite story was the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, where the French driver, Olivier Panis, kept thinking this would be his race to win. He discussed his thoughts with his team, Ligier, and his wife, both of whom thought he was crazy. But when rain fell that morning, he felt even better about his chances. After the rain led to the retirement of all but four drivers including Panis, the Frenchman overcame the pressure from David Coulthard, Johnny Herbert, and that year's champion, Damon Hill, and won his first and only prix. I give this book four stars due to its many interesting stories. However, I thought the book could have explained a bit more about the pre-Formula One racing days in Monaco.
September 28, 2022
Well, if you are a Schumacher/ Benetton fan, you will certainly like this book because it's soooo biased towards them. The author's account of what happened in 1994 with Benetton and the cheating claims, shows just how far he will go to stand by Ross brawn's explanation of WHY it couldn't be that they were cheating (yeah cos that's what usually happens, people admit to cheating), and then to top or all off, when FIA decided to handover the championship to Schumacher for driving into Damon Hill, the author went to speak to Schumacher, were he told him: "of course I didn't drive into Damon on purpose, I would never do that, it's not in me"!!! That's were I actually laughed out loud, but obviously if you're such a fan of someone and to you they can never do wrong, then you would obviously believe it.....as did the author!! The problem is he wanted all of us reading his book to believe everything he was told as well!!!!
October 23, 2025
Monako jest krajem wielkich pieniędzy, pięknych widoków Lazurowego Wybrzeża, kasyn w których można stracić (lub zyskać) fortunę oraz najsłynniejszego na świecie wyścigu - czyli Grand Prix F1 Monako.
Jest to druga książka o F1 jaką przeczytałem w tym roku i mogę z pełnym przekonaniem napisać, że jest lepsza od poprzedniej, a sama tematyka zaczyna mnie bardzo mocno kręcić (bardziej niż bym przypuszczał jako niedzielny fan F1).
Książka skupia się na wydarzeniach, które miały swoją akcję właśnie w Monako, ale porusza też temat kilku najważniejszych wydarzeń w historii sportu - jest to fajnie przedstawione, jednak momentami brakuje mi jeszcze większego zaznaczenia chronologii wydarzeń.
Na plus ogromna ilość wypowiedzi osób, które faktycznie siedzą w temacie, lub same brały udział w wyścigach o GP Monako.
Dzięki książce w znakomity sposób możemy poznać same Monako oraz jego historię od końcówki lat 30, XX wieku, aż po czasy współczesne.
Jest to druga książka o F1 jaką przeczytałem w tym roku i mogę z pełnym przekonaniem napisać, że jest lepsza od poprzedniej, a sama tematyka zaczyna mnie bardzo mocno kręcić (bardziej niż bym przypuszczał jako niedzielny fan F1).
Książka skupia się na wydarzeniach, które miały swoją akcję właśnie w Monako, ale porusza też temat kilku najważniejszych wydarzeń w historii sportu - jest to fajnie przedstawione, jednak momentami brakuje mi jeszcze większego zaznaczenia chronologii wydarzeń.
Na plus ogromna ilość wypowiedzi osób, które faktycznie siedzą w temacie, lub same brały udział w wyścigach o GP Monako.
Dzięki książce w znakomity sposób możemy poznać same Monako oraz jego historię od końcówki lat 30, XX wieku, aż po czasy współczesne.
May 19, 2021
I don’t think there was necessarily a great reason for this book to exist. It seems like the author basically threw together some recycled material from his Senna vs Prost book (which I think I would like more) and then a few interviews with other legends of the sport. There’s not really any through line to it all besides it being a bunch of stories loosely tied to Monaco.
That said, I still read it in the week leading up to Monaco, so it has a market. The race itself seems like such a bizarre deal within F1, where it’s so tied to the history and glamor that people overlook how it’s impossible to overtake on the track and how it’s more a procession of cars than a race. Good book if you’re super interested in this exact subject but there’s probably better books about F1 in general or more specific subjects within it than this one.
That said, I still read it in the week leading up to Monaco, so it has a market. The race itself seems like such a bizarre deal within F1, where it’s so tied to the history and glamor that people overlook how it’s impossible to overtake on the track and how it’s more a procession of cars than a race. Good book if you’re super interested in this exact subject but there’s probably better books about F1 in general or more specific subjects within it than this one.
May 29, 2024
Bardzo dobra książka, która dla mnie jest oddaniem wiecznego hołdu dla najwybitniejszego kierowcy F1 w historii oraz sześciokrotnego zwycięzcy Grand Prix Monaco.
Książka pokazuje nam z perspektywy kilku kierowców oraz ludzi związanych z tym sportem jak postrzega się ulice Monaco oraz też pokazuje momentami jak ten sport jest nieprzewidywalny oraz niebezpieczny, a czasem…śmiertelny.
Polecam każdemu, kto choć odrobinę interesuje się tym cyrkiem
Książka pokazuje nam z perspektywy kilku kierowców oraz ludzi związanych z tym sportem jak postrzega się ulice Monaco oraz też pokazuje momentami jak ten sport jest nieprzewidywalny oraz niebezpieczny, a czasem…śmiertelny.
Polecam każdemu, kto choć odrobinę interesuje się tym cyrkiem
September 1, 2024
Very thorough and interesting
It does a great job of explaining the challenges of Monaco and takes a very deep dive in the entire history of the races that have taken place there, although it sometimes veers too far into talking about championship facts and other races and drivers in my opinion. Still a great read.
It does a great job of explaining the challenges of Monaco and takes a very deep dive in the entire history of the races that have taken place there, although it sometimes veers too far into talking about championship facts and other races and drivers in my opinion. Still a great read.
November 3, 2019
I enjoyed this book but I wanted to LOVE it. Unfortunately it just lacked a sprinkling of magic dust. There is such a rich history and so many stories of excess and courage that I felt were not captured. Nevertheless I would recommend it if you are fan of motor racing in its heyday, pre 2005ish.
January 7, 2020
Great history of the Monaco GP. Ties together the winners and spectacular stories that the race has to offer. It really is The race of the f1 calendar. Can be a bit difficult to tell when and who is saying what, but still a good book.
February 8, 2025
A really interesting read that occasionally comes across as bias and goes on a random tangent occasionally. I really enjoyed reading the interview elements of this book. Glad I found it under my dad’s bed gathering dust because it can now be read by me.
April 4, 2025
It's a nice book about F1. It goes through first Grand Prix to most present. But I wanted more Monaco in this book. More technical views of this Grand Prix, insights into how it is organised. It's not a bad book, but I'm just disappointed how Monaco is not the main character.
February 16, 2022
PŁAKAŁAM...dzięki tej książce jeszcze bardziej pokochałam Monako...
February 4, 2023
Loved the interviews with Ross Brawn and Olivier Panis particularly
September 16, 2024
Całkiem fajne podsumowanie i wprowadzenie do GP Monaco.
October 16, 2024
hits different in 2024
February 6, 2025
Love letter to F1, highlighting all the big name drivers through history, with Monaco Grand Prix being the major character.
August 8, 2025
Superb overview of the history of Formula 1 at this storied track!
May 31, 2021
Easy to read, written really well. Interesting anecdotes and stories anda genuine insight into what Monaco as a race and the circus that surrounds it is really like. Recommended for any fan of F1.
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