The Monaco Grand Prix is the crown jewel of Formula 1, having first featured on the calendar back in 1950, before becoming a permanent venue in 1955.
It is the one race every driver would do anything to win, often resulting in limits being exceeded. On his first Monaco GP start back in 2015, Max Verstappen went beyond those limits, resulting in his first serious F1 crash.
In 2015, the Dutchman had been driving well and cleverly used Sebastian Vettel as he was lapping the field. However, a costly error was made when attempting to overtake Romain Grosjean.
On the approach to Sainte Devote – the first corner – Verstappen collided with the Frenchman before making heavy contact with the barrier.
It was his biggest crash until the 2021 British Grand Prix, where he smashed into the barrier on the outside of Copse corner at 180 mph after contact with Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen's Monaco shunt actually created a moment of F1 history, as it triggered the first virtual safety car.
Mercedes pitted Lewis Hamilton during it whilst Vettel and Nico Rosberg stayed out, ending the seven-time world champion's hopes of victory.
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they are joined by former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski to look back on Imola and look ahead to Monaco! Max Verstappen's victory is a lead talking point, as is McLaren suffering a surprise defeat.
Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!
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