Lapping Monaco, with Bortoleto, Albon and Symonds

The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most iconic races on the Formula 1 calendar, and one that every driver dreams of winning. Only a select few ever get that chance, but simply turning a single lap around the Principality’s streets is a special undertaking, as a number of figures from the paddock explain.

“You drive on the limit basically everywhere you go, but Monaco, obviously, it’s a very tough street circuit,” Gabriel Bortoleto says. “The walls are very close, the circuit is very small, so obviously you need to drive in a different way.

“If you drive on a track that has a lot of escape roads and areas in case you make a mistake, here a mistake can cost you a lap or even mean you crash the car. So, for sure you need to drive a bit differently.”

Pure downforce and mechanical grip are key requirements for a car to be strong around Monaco, as well as being able to predictably handle the bumps and curb usage required for a quick lap. But those aren’t the only aspects under the new regulations.

“I thought deployment would not be an issue here, but it's still there,” Alex Albon explains. “So we're just playing around with it. There's obviously a lot of traffic as well – we’ve got 22 cars around a small track – which makes it tricky, basically, to optimize what the battery wants to do.

“I think Q1's going to be tricky to get through. You just need to make sure everything's OK… It’s tricky out there, though. These cars are not easy to drive.”

Channeling F1 power through Monaco's narrow confines and putting it down out of its low-speed corners is a unique challenge. Bryn Lennon/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Part of that challenge in Monaco comes from the amount of power available to drivers on such a tight circuit – and using it out of lower-speed corners – but also because Friday showed teams are still seeking the firmest ride possible, even with the new style of car.

“You come out of Turn 12 and when you go on the power, the acceleration is massive,” Russell said. “So you're just flying into 13 and it's cool. I think everyone's been surprised with this generation how low all the cars have been running. I think we all anticipated higher ride heights. It hasn't quite been the case.”

Cadillac’s engineering consultant Pat Symonds believes the driver impact is even greater than many might believe, because there is a limit to how impactful a car’s downforce can be.

“Monaco is really quite unique, but the characteristics are still there that do affect your thinking of what the car is going to be like,” Symonds said. “So, if I look at our car here, this circuit is not as sensitive to power as other circuits are, and believe it or not, people always talk about it being a high-downforce circuit, [but] in a way it's not quite so important.

“The downforce here helps you with traction and things like that, but you don't have these very, very fast corners you get on some of the other circuits. Turns 3-4 are quick, in the Swimming Pool they're quick, and yes, you want the downforce, of course you do, but I felt that we should be able to come here and continue this sort of steady pace forward that we've been making.

“I think we were showing that at times today. We didn't finish it, but that's Monaco. There'll be 22 guys out there who will all say they didn't get their perfect lap, because they didn't, and you never do at Monaco.”

Much of 2026 has been about the influence of power units, but Monaco’s quirks all add up to a unique test that puts even more power in the drivers’ hands.

Qualifying: Saturday, June 6, 10:00-11:00am ET, Apple TV

Race: Sunday, June 7, 9:00-11:00am ET, Apple TV