Event
The Formula 1 engineer’s guide to the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix
by Raceteq
4min read
The 2025 Monaco Grand Prix is next up on the 2025 Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 3 calendars as drivers push themselves to the limit on this iconic, demanding circuit.
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Corners come thick and fast while drivers have to contend with elevation changes throughout the lap. The barriers loom large - and you’ll often see tyres grazing the confines of the track. There’s no room for error in Monaco.
This weekend, Pirelli has brought the softest compounds in its range to the track to encourage more pitstops and strategic variation as overtaking is tough around Monaco - much like it did at Imola. However, two pitstops are mandatory this time around at Monaco.
This weekend, Pirelli has brought the softest compounds in its range to the track to encourage more pitstops and strategic variation as overtaking is tough around Monaco - much like it did at Imola. However, two pitstops are mandatory this time around at Monaco.
Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team deputy performance engineer Tim Wright explains the set-up characteristics that are key to performance in the Principality.
Circuit de Monaco, Monaco
Length: 3.337 kilometres
Number of laps: 78
Number of turns: 19
Tim Wright: “Monaco is actually pretty straightforward in terms of engineering. The decisions are made for you - you’ve got a very clear direction in where to point.
“It’s not like circuits like Silverstone, which is an absolute nightmare for engineers because there’s a range of corner types combined with a low-downforce demand thanks to the long straights.
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Pirelli's Formula 1 preview for the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix
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“In Monaco, you already know you're going to run the maximum rear wing you've got because you don't care about drag - there's no sensitivity to drag there at all.
“This track is all about aero. You’ve got to have a car that is compliant through low-speed corners. You can’t run with the same car as you would at Silverstone or Suzuka.
“The road is almost moving around underneath the car, which brings up a concept called warp. Imagine you’ve got all four tyres sitting on a smooth table in front of you - that’s dead easy - that keeps the platform stable.
Kerbs and bumps mean F1 cars are rarely on a flat plane over a lap of Monaco
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“Put an object such as a box of matches under a wheel and now you’ve introduced warp; one of those tyres is now at a different height from the others. That introduces instability and throws the car balance off.
“Warp is happening the whole time in Monaco. For example, when you come down Rascasse and end up at Turn 5, the right-hander before the really tight hairpin, the road just drops away at the apex of the corner. Your inside front tyre is now in the air and the car's trying to cope with that.
“The final corner where you exit, there’s a little bump on the inside, so now the front-right tyre is getting pushed up while the other three tyres are trying to mind their own business.
“You've got to run the car very soft, you've got to allow the car to move and long cars like F1 cars don’t really want to move that much. The aero map - the way the vehicle behaviour changes with attitude - dictates that the car should be as stiff as possible. The car wants to sit in one position for the whole lap.
Active suspension appeared on F1 cars in the mid-1980s, helping them to adapt to bumps using hydraulic actuators
“That’s why F1 cars with active suspension were built, to sit the car in one place.
“At Monaco, you can't do that; the car's got to move, so suspension ends up being soft.
“That decision is made for you. Furthermore, there’s no drag sensitivity at Monaco, so you have to run the maximum rear wing - so that decision is made for you too.
“You are also dealing with track evolution again. In first practice you’re very far off the pace - you will be multiple seconds slower in FP1 than you are in qualifying, even without taking into account the different fuel levels or tyre compounds, so you've got to be smart about it.
“You can't throw the car out of your qualifying set-up because the driver might tell you certain things that are the right thing for qualifying are actually rubbish, and by making those changes you will end up wasting time instead of progressing your set-up.”
