Victories by starting position at the Monaco GP: Is pole really that decisive?

(Motorsport-Total.com) - For a long time, pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix was considered more than half the battle – and in a sense, that's true. But a closer look reveals that in the past, it was by no means a guarantee of first place; today, however, it's almost a guarantee of standing at the top of the podium at the end of the race.

So does the pole-sitter always win in Monaco? Although it may seem so, the answer is: Historically, no, but increasingly yes in recent decades. In the 70 Formula 1 races held in Monaco to date, the pole-sitter has won only 32 times – a share of 45.7%. In 22 of these 70 races – or over 30% – the driver in pole position even retired.

But the picture has changed dramatically: In the past 20 editions of the Monaco race, 17 victories have gone to drivers from the front row, 14 of which went to the respective pole setter. To counteract this, the FIA ​​has introduced a new rule for 2025: Two mandatory pit stops are intended to provide more strategic diversity and prevent the field from being virtually frozen after qualifying.

Top 3 fundamentally important

In the past 20 years, there has only been one retirement of a pole-setter in Monaco - Charles Leclerc in 2021. The picture is also clear in other respects: In 60 out of 70 races (i.e. in 85.71% of cases), a driver who started from the first three starting positions won.

Only three drivers have won the race despite not starting in the top five: Jochen Rindt in 1970 from eighth place, Maurice Trintignant in 1955 from ninth place and Olivier Panis in his legendary victory in 1996 from 14th place on the grid.

The statistics

32 wins from starting position 1 16 wins from starting position 2 12 wins from starting position 3 3 wins from starting position 4 4 wins from starting position 5 1 win from starting position 8 1 win from starting position 9

1 win from starting position 14

In addition to the 22 retirements of pole-setters and the "only" 32 victories from pole in 70 races, there are other interesting statistics: For example, more drivers won from fifth place (four times) than from fourth place (three times). Winning from fourth place were Jean-Pierre Beltoise (1972), Graham Hill (1969), and Denny Hulme (1967).

The four victories from fifth place on the grid were achieved by Maurice Trintignant (1955), Patrick Depailler (1978), Keke Rosberg (1983), and Alain Prost (1985). This means that only three victories in the past 20 years have resulted from third place on the grid; there hasn't been a single victory from fourth place in over 50 years—and no victories from fifth place in almost four decades.