There have been five Formula One drivers from Monaco.

Current drivers

Charles Leclerc Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...

currently competes for

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...

. He made his Formula One debut for

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...

at the

2018 Australian Grand Prix The 2018 Australian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 2018 Rolex Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 25 March 2018 in Melbourne, Victoria. The race was contested at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit and was th ...

. In the season he finished a season high of sixth in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and finished the season on 39 points. He is the first Monégasque driver to win a Formula One race, which he achieved at the

2019 Belgian Grand Prix The 2019 Belgian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Johnnie Walker Belgian Grand Prix 2019) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 1 September 2019 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. The race was the 13th r ...

, the first Monégasque to win the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

in the Formula One era, and the first Monégasque driver to start a race from

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

, set a

fastest lap In motorsports, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. In some racing series, like NASCAR, the fastest lap award championship points for a driver or team. In Formula One and MotoGP no point is awarded for the fastest lap. Formula O ...

, or lead the World Drivers' Championship standings. Leclerc signed a new long-term contract with Ferrari in January 2024.

Former drivers

Louis Chiron Louis Alexandre Chiron (; 3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix. Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty year ...

was

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

's first

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver. He is better known for his pre-war efforts in

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

, having won 21 Grands Prix (including the

1931 Monaco Grand Prix The 1931 Monaco Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at the Circuit de Monaco on 19 April 1931. With 16 Bugattis in a field of 23 cars, the event was close to being a single-make race. Among the 16 were four factory-team Type 51s driven ...

) before the World Championship began in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

. He was 50 when the first World Championship Grand Prix came around. His only points finish was a 3rd at his home race in Monaco in 1950. He did the full 1951 season bar the

Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

and only made sporadic appearances after that. He is still the oldest person to take part in a grand prix being 55 years when he competed in the

1955 Monaco Grand Prix The 1955 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 22 May 1955. It was race 2 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers and was given an honorary name, ''Grand Prix d'Europe''. The 100-lap race was won by Ferrari dri ...

, he is also the oldest person to enter a race when he entered the

1958 Monaco Grand Prix The 1958 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 May 1958 at Circuit de Monaco, Monaco. It was race 2 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Drivers and race 2 of 10 in the 1958 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers ...

André Testut André Testut (13 April 1926, Lyon – 24 September 2005, Lyon) was a French-born racing driver and team owner from Monaco. Career Testut's debut in racing took place at the beginning of September 1956 at the Course de Cote de Vuillafans-Echevan ...

entered in his home race on 2 occasions – 1958 and

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

. Both times he failed to qualify his privateer

Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made. Mechanical details The 250F principally used the SSG, 220 bhp (at 7400r ...

. 35 years after Testut failed to make the grid in 1959,

Olivier Beretta Olivier Henri Aldo Léopold Beretta (born 23 November 1969) is a professional racing driver from Monaco who raced in Formula One in 1994 for the Larrousse team, partnering Érik Comas. He participated in 10 Grands Prix, debuting on 27 March 199 ...

was signed by

Larrousse Larrousse Formula One was a motorsports racing team founded in 1987 by Didier Calmels and former racer Gérard Larrousse, originally under the name Larrousse & Calmels. It was based in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, Antony, in the southern suburbs of Pa ...

for the 1994 season. He competed in 10 Grands Prix with a best result of 7th at the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...

before his sponsorship money ran out and was replaced with

Philippe Alliot Philippe René Gabriel Alliot (born 27 July 1954) is a French former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Born and raised in Voves, Alliot initially studied political science before dropping out ...

. He finished 8th in his only attempt at his home race. He later switched his focus to sports-cars. Dutch-born

Robert Doornbos Robert Michael Doornbos (; born 23 September 1981) is a Dutch former racing driver who also competed with a Monégasque licence. He has been test and third driver for the Jordan and Red Bull Racing Formula One teams, as well as driving for Mina ...

competed under a Monegasque license due to FIA license regulation in 2005. He only competed in the last 8 races of the season with a highest finishing position of thirteenth meaning he finished last in the championship with no points. He would represent the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 2006.

Timeline

* Doornbos competed under a Dutch racing license in

References

{{Formula One nationalities

Current drivers

Former drivers

Timeline

See also

References