With the Monaco Grand Prix coming up this weekend, you might have been wondering how the country turns its streets into the iconic racetrack dubbed “the crown jewel” of the F1 calendar. There’s now a video for that, and it shows the impressive process in full detail.
The race runs normal streets, so keeping them up to the standards set by the FIA is no easy task. Over the course of about 3 weeks leading up to the race, roughly a third of the 3.3-km circuit is resurfaced to remove any imperfections that could adversely affect the drivers. The work typically takes place at night and in sections so as not to disrupt the normal flow of traffic.
About 6 weeks before the race, they begin setting up temporary structures. With the help of a dedicated team of engineers, around 600 trucks carry in the facilities, most of which are prefabricated to save time.
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The pits arrive in 120 different sections, which are assembled with cranes over 14 days like a giant set of building blocks. Grandstands are set up primarily near the waterfront, although there are others at the casino section and tunnel entrance. In terms of barriers, over 21 km of safety railing and 20,000 square meters of catch fencing are installed to keep both the drivers and spectators safe. Lastly, footbridges and gangways are set up to help pedestrians better navigate the area during the weekend.
Despite all this, even during race days the roads are only completely closed between 5:30 AM and 7:30 PM, which really highlights how the whole process, from setup to cleanup, is truly an incredible feat of logistics, coordination, and engineering.