2024 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco

Six of Ayrton Senna's most significant racing cars were demonstrated around the circuit between Saturday qualifying sessions, paying tribute thirty years after his fatal accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. These were his 1977 South American Championship winning kart (driven by Gabriel Bortoleto), his 1982 British and European Formula Ford 2000 championship winning Van Diemen (Cristina Gutiérrez), his 1983 Macau Grand Prix winning Ralt (Eddie Irvine), the Toleman TG184 in which he scored his first F1 podium at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix (contemporary teammate Stefan Johansson), the Lotus 97T in which he took his first victory at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix (Thierry Boutsen) and his 1990 championship-winning McLaren MP4/5B (Bruno Senna). The drivers were joined by Prince Albert II, who had been among the dignitaries present during his Monaco Grand Prix victories.^[1][2]

Paddins Dowling (ERA R5B) took his second victory, leading from pole to finish ahead of Brad Baker (ERA R10B) who finished second. Michael Birch (Maserati 4CM) had a poor launch from third on the grid, but managed to recover his original position by the end of the opening lap and begin troubling Baker. He got by on lap 2, but Baker stayed with him and retook the position on the exit of Sainte Devote on lap 4. Baker pulled away, setting the fastest lap of the race, but was unable to close the gap to Dowling. On the exit of Saint Devote on lap 8, Thierry Stapts (Bugatti 35) lost drive and was hit by Ralf Emmerling (Riley Brooklands). Emmerling was able to continue to the finish. 2021 winner Patrick Blakeney-Edwards (Frazer Nash Monoplace) did not qualify, having lost a valve during practice and been unable to set a qualifying lap. Fritz Burkard (Alfa Romeo 8C Monza) qualified seventh, but did not start the race. ^[3]

Claudia Hürtgen took her third victory (and second consecutive in the race for historic sports cars), leading the entire race from Marino Franchitti. Mark Shaw (Scarab) qualified a strong sixth but broke down on the formation lap. Ewen Sergison (Lotus 16) retired before the start. Max Smith-Hilliard qualified third, only to fall victim to his Lotus 16's notoriously unreliable "queerbox": the car became stuck in gear and stalled on the grid, with all drivers safely navigating past. For most of the race, Tony Wood (Tec-Mec) pressured Joaquín Folch-Rusiñol (Lotus 16) for third place, with Guillermo Fierro-Eleta closely following the pair. Fierro-Eleta passed both for third in traffic at Mirabeau. Folch-Rusiñol spun from fourth after the Piscine late in the race, allowing Wood to take third.

Race B quickly became a duel between Andy Middlehurst (Lotus 25) and Joe Colasacco (Ferrari 1512). Both got a good launch and pulled away from the rest of the field, with Colasacco mounting a strong challenge over the first few laps before Middlehurst increased the gap. In the congestion at the start of the race, "Mister John of B" (Lola Mk4) collided with Dan Collins (Lotus 21) on the rise to Beau Rivage, forcing the former into a first-lap retirement. Later on that lap, Philipp Buhofer (BRM P261), who had risen to third, spun on the exit of the Piscine. Colasacco remained close to Middlehurst until lap 6, when the latter made a bold move to lap the Rob Walker Brabham of Sidney Hoole at Portier and pulled a slight gap. Colasacco caught back up, setting the fastest lap along the way, but was unable to take the lead.^[4]

Many of the fast drivers in practice, including Gregor Fisken and Martin Hunt in HWM-Jaguars, Martin Halusa (Jaguar D-Type) and Guillermo Fierro-Eleta (Maserati 300S), were penalised and started toward the rear of the grid. Max Smith-Hilliard (Lotus 10) got a poor launch from third on the grid, while Tony Wood in fifth directly behind him stormed to third position. On the front row, Richard Wilson (Maserati 250S) got a great launch to take the lead from polesitter Frederic Wakeman (Cooper T38). Wakeman would regain the lead on the second lap. Adrian Sucari (Maserati A6GCS) spun under braking at the Grand Hotel Hairpin from thirteenth position on the opening lap. By the end of the opening lap, Halusa had risen from 22nd to ninth, Fisken from 24th to tenth and Fierro-Eleta from 23rd to 13th. Wakemen retook the lead by passing Wilson around the outside at Massenet on the second lap, while Claudia Hürtgen (Maserati 300S) took third from Wood going into Tabac. Hürtgen was baulked by a lapped car at the Piscine, allowing Max Smith-Hilliard (Lotus 10) to pass for third. Wilson made a lunge at Sainte Devote on lap 7, avoiding contact with the leader but allowing Smith-Hilliard to close up. Wilson's race would end with a spin out of Casino Square on the following lap. The gap between Wakeman and Smith-Hilliard was 2.5 seconds at the end of lap 8, but the latter closed up in traffic and made a bold move to take the lead at Portier on the final lap, while Wakeman spun and ended up seventh. By the end of the race, Halusa and Fisken had each risen 19 places from their starting positions.^[5]

A significant entrant to Race D was multiple CART and IndyCar race winner Adrián Fernández, having acquired the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix winning BRM P153 of countryman Pedro Rodríguez with help from the organisers of the Mexico City Grand Prix. He qualified a strong sixth but would not make the start, owing to a broken differential shaft.^[6][7] Famed Formula One engineer Adrian Newey returned in his Lotus 49B for the first time since 2018.^[8] Roald Goethe (McLaren M19A) and Ewen Sergison (Surtees TS9B) both stalled before the formation lap. Sergison retired on the spot, while Goethe was able to obtain a push start and began from the pit lane. Tom Hartley, Jr. (March 701) and Newey both stalled on the grid, but were able to continue the race. Katsuaki Kubota (Lotus 72) fell to third off the line, allowing Matthew Wrigley (March 721G) to chase polesitter Michael Lyons (Surtees TS9), the top three pulling away from the rest of the field. Newey overtook Nicolas Matile (Matra MS120B) out of the Grand Hotel Hairpin for seventh place on lap 2. David Shaw (Eifelland E21) ran fourth until he retired into the pits after four laps. Wrigley outbraked himself into Saint Devote on lap 8, allowing Kubota into second but not losing any further positions. Lyons' strong lead ended in retirement on lap 9, when his steering seized at the Piscine and he was forced into the pits. Kubota thus took his second Monaco victory in the Lotus 72, having won the 2014 event. "Mister John of B" (Matra MS120C) passed Franco Meiners in the experimental Ferrari 312B3 for third at the Nouvelle Chicane on the final lap. Meiners then spun at La Rascasse, which allowed Newey to finish fourth.^[9]

Toni Seiler (Shadow DN1) stalled on the grid. Marco Werner (Lotus 76) passed Nick Padmore (Lotus 77) for second place into Sainte Devote, while Matthew Wrigley lost the rear end of his Penske PC3 on the exit and lost seventh to Frédéric Lajoux (Surtees TS19), but would pressure him for the next few laps. James Davison (Hill GH1) stopped on the entrance to Le Tunnel on lap 3. Douglas Mockett (Penske PC4) spun at La Rascasse on lap 5, while Steve Brooks (Embassy Hill Lola T370) turned into James Hagan (Hesketh 308) at Sainte Devote. Polesitter Stuart Hall (McLaren M23) shot into a lead he would never relinquish. There was a close fight for second between Werner, Padmore and Michael Lyons (McLaren M26), only for Werner to retire on lap 6 with a broken second-gear dog ring. Guillaume Roman (Ensign N175) parked his car before Le Tunnel on lap 10.^[10]

Notable entrants were current McLaren and United Autosports team principal Zak Brown,^[11][12] Jumbo Supermarkten and Racing Team Nederland boss Frits van Eerd, British GT race winner Lee Mowle and two-time 24 Hours of Daytona winner and IMSA team owner Wayne Taylor (driving a Wolf WR4 once raced by friend and countryman Jody Scheckter).^[13][14]

Taylor got a better launch than Harald Becker (Arrows A3) on the row ahead of him, but the two collided and retired on the spot. Stephen Shanly (Tyrrell 010) qualified a remarkable third on his debut at the event, only to spin on the exit of the Piscine. The race was red-flagged and started again with 15 of the original 18 laps, with Brown and Richard Maydon (LEC CRP1) retiring. The second start was abandoned while Michael Cantillon and Luciano Biamino stalled on the grid. Marc Devis (Lotus 78) retired into the pits. Once the race finally got underway, Michael Lyons and Miles Griffiths shot into first and second. On the second lap, Mowle tried a move on Mark Hazell at Portier but could not pass. Michael Cantillon (Tyrrell 010) attempted to pass Martin Overington (Hesketh 308E) for tenth place in Le Tunnel, only to force Overington into the wall and cause a second red flag. The race was restarted for a second time with 10 laps scheduled, this time with a safety car start to avoid stressing the clutches of the cars. Again, Lyons and Griffiths gapped the rest of the field, with Griffiths applying intense pressure to the leader. Mark Hazell and Jamie Constable fought for fourth place, but made contact at Mirabeau Haute on lap 4 which forced Constable out of the race. Nicolas Matile (March 771) was in a three-car battle for twelfth with van Eerd and David Shaw (Williams FW06), only to hit the barrier on the exit of Tabac on lap 5. This brought out a third red flag, this time ending the race.

Nicholas Pink (Arrows A5) stalled on the formation lap while Richard Hope (Alfa Romeo 182) stalled on the starting grid, but the latter was able to continue. Niklas Halusa (Williams FW08) spun on entry to the Nouvelle Chicane on lap 2. On lap 3, Steve Brooks (Lotus 91) attempted to pass Mark Hazell (Williams FW08C) into the Nouvelle Chicane, but made contact. Marino Franchitti (Tyrrell 012) pressured Nick Padmore (Lotus 88B) for fourth, and got past on lap 5 when Padmore appeared to slow out of the Nouvelle Chicane. On lap 6, Steve Hartley (Arrows A6) was baulked by the cars around him and crashed on entry to the Nouvelle Chicane, which brought out the safety car. Padmore retired shortly after. Stuart Hall (March 821), Marco Werner (Lotus 87B) and Michael Lyons (Lotus 92) pulled away from the rest of the field at the restart. Going into Sainte Devote on lap 11, Mark Higson (McLaren MP4B) made a late attempt to pass Piero Lottini (Osella FA1B/81). The two made contact, with Higson losing a front wheel and retiring on the spot. The following lap, Michael Cantillon (Williams FW07C) attempted to pass Ken Tyrrell (Tyrrell 011) for seventh on the inside at Mirabeau Haute, damaging a steering arm and coming to a stop at the Grand Hotel hairpin. This briefly promoted Laurent Fort (Ensign N180B) to tenth until he spun at Virage Antony Noghès, but he was still able to finish twelfth. Franchitti caught the back of Lyons but was unable to pass him for the final spot on the podium, the two separated by just a few car lengths at the chequered flag.