From questionable qualifying manoeuvres to practice crashes and missed weighbridges, here’s a list of every time a driver has been disqualified, excluded or shown the black flag at the Monaco Grand Prix!
1960: Jack Brabham
Jack Brabham was the first driver to be disqualified from the Monaco Grand Prix. The reigning World Champion, who’d go on to take a second title victory later in the year, suffered a faulty gearbox at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix which saw him spin out at the Ste Devote corner.
Brabham temporarily retired from the race but later rejoined. He was disqualified on Lap 41, however, having been deemed to receive outside assistance. Despite being disqualified, he ran his Cooper car to the end of the race.
1984: Stefan Bellof
The memorable 1984 Monaco Grand Prix is famed for Ayrton Senna displaying his wet weather skills in a Toleman and nearly winning the race. Behind race winner Alain Prost and Senna, Stefan Bellof was the other driver who finished on the podium.
It was a particularly impressive display by the man who was tipped to be a future star of Formula 1. He started 20th in the race and, unlike many of his rivals, managed to stay out of the barriers and work his way up to the podium positions.
The only naturally aspirated car in the field, the Tyrrell ran third at the end of the curtailed 31-lap Monaco Grand Prix. However, weeks later, the Tyrrell team were stripped of all their results and points accumulated in the 1984 season after it was found they were using illegal ballast in their fuel tanks.
René Arnoux inherited the podium finish from Bellof. This would be Bellof’s only race start at the Monaco Grand Prix. He failed to qualify for the 1985 Monaco Grand Prix and was killed later that year in a crash at the 1000km of Spa.
1987: Christian Danner
Christian Danner took the unwanted honour of becoming the first ever driver to be excluded from an entire race weekend at the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix. In Thursday’s practice, Danner had been travelling slowly in his Zakspeed. Moving across the track heading up the hill towards Casino Square as Michele Alboreto was approaching unsighted from behind, Danner gave Alboreto no room to pass.
The Ferrari got airborne in the incident, leaping over Danner’s front tyre, and momentarily caught fire as he collided with the barriers. Despite objections from members of the paddock – including Alboreto himself – Danner was excluded from the rest of the race weekend after being deemed to have caused a dangerous incident.
1988: Stefano Modena
One year after Christian Danner’s exclusion from the Monaco race weekend, Stefano Modena was prevented from taking part in the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix. While attempting to pre-qualify for the race on Thursday morning, Modena missed a signal to stop at the weighbridge in the pit lane. The EuroBrun driver was disqualified from the rest of the race weekend for the offence.
1990: Nelson Piquet
On the 35th lap of the 1990 Monaco Grand Prix, three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet spun when approaching the hairpin. After stalling his engine, the Brazilian received a push start and continued. However, a new rule had been introduced at this event which meant that any driver who received outside assistance would be immediately shown the black flag. Piquet became the first victim of the new regulation and was disqualified on the same lap.
1991: Martin Brundle
Like Stefano Modena three years previously, Martin Brundle was sent home from the 1991 Monaco Grand Prix after missing a weight check in Thursday’s practice session. According to Brundle, speaking during Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, he had missed the signal as the marshal who was supposed to be operating the red light did not do so.
The marshal had a perfectly reasonable excuse, however, as his foot had just been run over by Nigel Mansell’s Williams. Even that reasoning did not prevent the stewards from enforcing the strict rule!
1994: Eddie Irvine
After being deemed to have caused an accident at the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix, on only his third Formula 1 appearance, Eddie Irvine was banned from racing for the next three events – the third of which was the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix. For this race, he was replaced by Andrea de Cesaris who finished fourth in the race.
1995: Andrea Montermini
In the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix, Andrea Montermini and five other drivers were issued with ten second stop/go penalties as a result of jumping the start. While every other driver came in to serve their penalty within the mandatory three laps, Montermini failed to do so. The Italian did eventually serve the penalty but was disqualified from the race for failing to do so within the allotted time.
2005: Jenson Button & Takuma Sato
Jenson Button and Takuma Sato were not disqualified from the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix but did not compete in the event. The BAR-Honda team were not present at the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix as a result of a two race ban which the team received at the San Marino Grand Prix after one of their cars was found to be underweight. Instead of racing, Button commentated on the event for British broadcaster ITV.
2006: Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher was disqualified from qualifying at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix following his infamous antics in the dying moments of Q3. Schumacher had already set the fastest time and, with only moments left to go in the final part of qualifying, he “accidentally” parked up after losing control of his car at La Rascasse. Bringing out the yellow flags, it meant that no other drivers could improve their time, securing pole position for Schumacher.
However, the stewards investigated the incident and decided, at 11pm on Saturday night, that Schumacher had deliberately prevented his rivals from setting any further lap times. He was sent to the back of the grid. Schumacher started from the pit lane and ran an impressive race to finish fifth.
This wasn’t the only time Schumacher would set the fastest qualifying time without starting from pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix. He set the fastest lap time in qualifying for the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix but was demoted five positions on the grid due to a penalty picked up at the previous race.
2019: Romain Grosjean & Kevin Magnussen
Black flags are a rarity in modern Formula 1 – but they were shown to both Haas drivers in opening practice for the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. However, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen had not actually done anything wrong.
Instead, 20 minutes into the session, the Haas team requested that the black flags be shown to their drivers following a loss of telemetry and team radio on the pit wall. The drivers did not see messages on their pit boards telling them to pit so the team, and presumably the FIA, deemed that this was the most effective way to get their cars to return to the pit lane.
