Monaco, the crown jewel of the Formula 1 season is unlike any other challenge on the calendar. Drivers guide their seriously overpowered cars through narrow winding canyons of asphalt and steel Armco - a track that has changed little since the 1920’s. While some drivers might think the place outdated and unsafe for modern F1, not a driver will be found who doesn’t desperately want to win it.

Monaco is as much a matter of survival as winning. Even a small mistake can result in a driver destroying his car and passing on the track is next to impossible. Success requires an aggressive qualifying lap on Saturday with an equal amount of respect and discretion needed to make it to the end of the race on Sunday. Still, even that is often not enough: some of the sport’s greatest drivers have never tasted the champagne of victory on the streets of the Principality.

Of the drivers to win Monaco, only three men have won so frequently on the city streets that they might call the tiny kingdom their own. Graham Hill; Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher: the Monaco Masters.

Hill was the first to hold the moniker of ‘Mr. Monaco’ with his frequent wins in the 1960’s. He took five wins between ‘63 and ‘69, never qualifying lower than fourth in a winning year. Hill’s rivals at the time included Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, and Jack Brabham.

Eighteen years later a Brazilian by the name of Ayrton Senna began his campaign to own the streets of Monaco. Senna would eventually claim a record setting six wins in the Principality before his death in 1994. More remarkable were Senna’s qualifying laps sometimes a second a lap faster than anyone else. Monaco is also where Senna nearly one his first race (the race was stopped early because of heavy rain as Ayrton was catching eventual winner Alain Prost) and marked the rookie as a rising star.

After Senna’s death, Michael Schumacher immediately began his conquest of F1 and Monaco. In a career lasting 16 seasons, Schumacher accepted the winner’s trophy five times from the Grimaldi Royal Family. Though Senna’s record was within reach, mechanical retirements and sporting penalties prevented Michael from taking it.

With a new generation of drivers emerging it remains to be seen if any of them will join this distinguished group and become a Monaco Master.

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