The Monaco Grand Prix is Formula 1’s grandest event due to the legends who have raced its streets. Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda, Fernando Alonso… All the great myths have won in Monaco, but there is an incredible record that none of them achieved and Carlos Sainz did.
There are only six drivers who have managed to score points in ten different appearances at Monaco. Yet there is only one who did so in his first ten starts on the twisty Monaco circuit: Carlos Sainz. Since he debuted in 2015, the Spanish driver has always finished inside the top ten. He now aims to extend the streak.
Carlos Sainz has scored whenever he has raced in Monaco
Monaco is the great showcase of glamour for the VIPs who attend a Formula 1 race, but for the drivers the winding streets of Monte Carlo are the trap that separates the great from the ordinary. For any Formula 1 driver, racing in Monaco is the ultimate test, where the legends of the sport forged their legacies.
There is a record that no one has been able to match Carlos Sainz. The Spanish driver is the only one to have scored in his first ten races in Monaco. Since his Formula One debut back in 2015, Sainz has consistently ended up in the points, even though in many of those years he did not have a winning car.
It all began in 2015 with a Toro Rosso, starting from the back of the grid. The situation did not promise great joy for the then rookie Spaniard, but Sainz fought back to tenth and claimed the last point. He also finished tenth in 2018 with Renault and last year, his first season with Williams.
Curiously, Sainz has never won in Monaco. He has achieved three podiums with Ferrari, two runner-ups in 2021 and 2022 and a third place in 2024. Yet he has always done enough to score points. In fact, only five other drivers besides Sainz have managed to score ten times in Monaco.
They have achieved it: Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Clearly, longer modern seasons help. But still, no one has managed the feat of scoring in their first ten Monaco races, and it seems unlikely anyone will manage to equal it.
This weekend Carlos Sainz will attempt with his Williams to keep the record alive and score points for an eleventh consecutive time in the treacherous Monaco.
Images | Williams
