Revving Riviera Chic

In 2002, the year that British driver David Coulthard took the chequered flag in the Monaco Grand Prix, the highly distinguished Formula One journalist and author Nigel Roebuck received a telephone call from Ace Records, a London-based firm, stating they had bought a catalogue. Their announcement and proposal would have been marginally interesting to most motorsport journalists, but for Roebuck, they re-ignited personal nostalgia as a childhood fan of F1. When he was 12 years old, his father gifted him a copy of The Grand Prix of Gibraltar (1960), the humorous satirical radio presentation dreamt up by the raconteur, British actor and filmmaker Peter Ustinov. It was originally released by Riverside Records, the pioneering New York City based jazz label that, curiously, took a major interest in capturing the sounds of motor racing in the 1950s. They are long defunct but, during their short tenure, they issued a few F1 records consisting of interviews with fabled names such as Stirling Moss and Alfonso de Portago. 

Ace Records had decided to re-release them on CD amongst other motorsport trivia from the catalogue, and they had tracked down Roebuck to ask if he would be interested in interviewing Ustinov, and then writing an accompanying sleeve note. Roebuck was only 9 years old when the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix took place, so he wouldn’t have profoundly absorbed the mayhem beyond the triumphs and tribulations that year. But having traipsed a civilised distance from the Cannes Film Festival to Monaco, Ustinov was well-appointed to recount the stories unfolding that May, as he not only had a birds-eye view, but he also had a sweeping knowledge and perspective of the Principality.

The landscape of the Circuit de Monaco has changed very little since its inception in 1929, compared to today’s global race tracks admitted to the F1 calendar. Antony Noghès, whose father Alexandre founded the prestigious Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), masterminded the project, securing official sanction from Prince Louis II of Monaco and support from Monegasque Grand Prix driver Louis Chiron. In 1955, the audience stationed with a clear-enough view of the Chicane du Port would have witnessed the Italian racing driver Alberto Ascari steering a car for the Lancia team out of the tunnel down to the chicane and then vanishing. It was only when a plume of spray and bubbles ascended in the harbour that people realised that Ascari had overshot the chicane and somersaulted into the sea. This was confirmed when well-positioned onlookers saw him swimming to the yachts for safety and then witnessed him emerge in his blue helmet with nothing more than a cut nose and after-shock tremors. It is true that the anticipation swirling around Europe was particularly magnified for the first Grand Epreuve that year, notably for the first appearance in Europe of the W196 Mercédès-Benz cars, which were specially engineered to excel on the torturous Circuit de Monaco. However, in another twist in the tale, Maurice Trintignant, driving for Ferrari, who started from ninth position on the grid, remarkably became the first Frenchman to win a Grand Prix.

Ustinov, a devoted fan of Formula One, was fortunate enough to be present in the gallery that day and was able to impart a first-hand account to Roebuck. In addition to collecting information for Ace Records, the interview with Roebuck was particularly meaningful for him. Interestingly, at the end, he asked Ustinov why he had selected Gibraltar as the venue for his Grand Prix. “Oh,” Ustinov said, “it’s the perfect setting for an absurd motor race. I mean, once you’ve got Monaco, you might as well have Gibraltar.” It’s a poignant anecdote, not only about the race but also the enduring aura and charm of the principality.

However, if it weren’t for the wisdom of the pencil-moustached Prince Rainier III, the high-octane spectacle we are roused for today would unlikely be considered the jewel in the crown of the racing calendar. Exacerbated by the ramifications of World War II, the opulent Belle Époque architecture of the second-smallest sovereign state in the world became largely devoid of the free-spending troupe of glamorous Hollywood movie stars, thus failing to entice the crème de la crème of society from different disciplines who had been filling the coffers of the Monaco treasury to favourable sizes during the Roaring Twenties. Even a decade after World War II, tourism was low in Monaco, but there was a Golden Greek named Aristotle Onassis, who in 1953 bought the majority shareholding of the Hotel de Paris through Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), a real estate corporation that ran the casino, the Hôtel Hermitage, and various other tourist attractions. Through his entrepreneurial input, he did indeed help turn Monte-Carlo back into a burgeoning economy, but perhaps his biggest masterstroke was advising his then friend Prince Rainier to marry a glamorous and high-profile Hollywood actress. The prosperous outcome wasn’t totally down to him, as he suggested choosing Marilyn Monroe, but rumours are that Olivia de Havilland arranged for Rainier to meet with the beautifully featured actress Grace Kelly, and people know the history of how their marriage contributed in turning Monte-Carlo back into a playground for Hollywood’s rich and famous.

Prince Rainier didn’t only rescue the image of Monaco; he also had a strong affinity for cars. As of 2022, his vast collection of historic and rare models is now exhibited in his own museum, which is a futuristic 38,000-square-foot underground bunker that sits right on the Port Hercules. The new location is a nod to Monaco’s connections with F1, as it’s right by the double chicane dubbed the Piscine during the race. It’s also deliberately on the harbour where many superyachts berth, leaving only a very short stroll to witness the unpresidented collection. 

Over the history of Formula One, there’s been a handful of drivers who’ve had such an impact on people and culture that it’s hard to quantify how special it has been. “The Maestro,” Juan Manuel Fangio, Niki Lauda, and Alain Prost, but arguably the supremely stylish Ayrton Senna has left the biggest mark. It is appropriate to conclude this post by stating that, in commemoration of his untimely death at the Monaco Grand Prix 30 years ago, McLaren will run a vibrant one-off in Ayrton Senna-inspired yellow, green, and blue full-wrap livery this weekend. In addition, Oscar Piastri and driving competitor Lando Norris will wear their own special helmets in honour of Senna.