2019 Monaco Grand Prix Blog

The end of May means only one thing – Monaco GP time again! We enjoyed another action-packed weekend. It was great to catch up with all our contacts down there and to see clients having such a wonderful time at the Grand Prix.

Thursday night kicked things off with the Red Bull Energy Station party. What a fabulous bit of kit that is! At around 30,000 square feet, and weighing 800 tons, it’s too big to be put together in Monaco and is instead built in the port of Imperia, Italy. Once constructed it takes 6 hours to make the 40-mile journey down the coast so it can occupy pride of place in the harbour. Only in Monaco!

Onto Saturday and we had a full house in our Ermanno 7th Floor suite, and lots of clients who did a ‘Combo Package’ which is Saturday on our trackside yacht and Sunday on the 7th Floor Ermanno Terrace.

The yacht this year was moored in a superb position, on Tabac corner and with trackside views off the bow and the stern. Watching Qualifying from here it was great to see the two Mercedes flying through the harbour section and setting scintillating lap times. They deserved a front row lock out. The only disappointment was Charles Leclerc getting knocked out in Q1. Another strategy error from Ferrari and it was a shame the local boy didn’t get chance to show what he could do round his home track.

Sunday was the big day and most of our guests were in our Ermanno 7th Floor Suite. There was a lot of admiration for the wraparound balcony which has views over 70% of the circuit and is directly above the action at Turn 1. You won’t find a better view anywhere in Monaco!

It’s important to say a special thank you to Paul Oz who did a live painting session during the day and kindly donated two hand embellished prints to Promise Dreams, who raise money in aid of terminally ill children.

The Grand Prix itself was a nail bitter. A safety car on lap 11, due to debris falling off the floor of Charles Leclerc’s damaged Ferrari, triggered a series of early pit stops for both Mercedes, Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. The timing was on the cusp of being able to get medium tyres to the end of the race. Mercedes took this risk, whilst Verstappen and Vettel opted for the hard compound.

Fast forward to the final 10-15 laps and Lewis Hamilton found himself defending with all his might from Max Verstappen, on tyres he felt were not going to last. If there’s one driver you don’t want behind you in a situation like this, it’s Max! There was the inevitable lunge by the Dutchman right at the end, but Hamilton handled the situation well and he deserved to take maximum points.

Hamilton dedicated his win to Niki Lauda, saying “I was really fighting with the spirit of Niki… I know he’d be looking down and he would take his hat off today. I was trying to keep my focus and make him proud … we truly miss him.” Well said. Mercedes fans around the circuit were delighted, horns were going off from the yachts in the harbour, and we all celebrated with a few glasses of Champagne in the suite.

Monaco is a special place for Formula 1. If you haven’t been before it really is worth making the trip to be part of this fantastic event.

If you would like to join us at a F1 race in 2019, please call us on +44 (0)207 107 1640 or email us at f1@edgeglobalevents.com