Every two years, the Automobile Club de Monaco organises one of the most remarkable events in the motorsport calendar. The Grand Prix de Monaco Historique takes the same legendary circuit used by the Formula 1 World Championship and fills it with racing cars from the sport’s past, meticulously preserved, fully race-prepared, and driven in genuine competition. It is not a parade, it is proper racing, on one of the most demanding street circuits in the world, in cars that in some cases are approaching a century old.

The 15th edition, running from 24 to 26 April 2026, is the most expansive in the event’s history. The Automobile Club de Monaco has confirmed a field of 205 cars entered across eight race series, spanning vehicles dating from 1925 to 1985. That range tells the story of 60 years of Grand Prix racing in a single weekend, from pre-war Bugattis and Maseratis through to the turbocharged F1 machines of the early 1980s. The variety of what will pass through Casino Square, the Loews hairpin and the tunnel over three days is, frankly, staggering.

The circuit itself is a big part of what makes this event so special. Most historic motorsport events take place on permanent circuits. Monaco is something else. The harbour, the Casino, the Belle Epoque architecture and the Mediterranean backdrop give everything here a quality that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.

The turbos have landed

The big news for 2026 is something that was planned four years ago and has taken until now to happen. Thanks to a change in FIA regulations, turbocharged Formula 1 cars will compete at the Monaco Historique for the very first time, in a dedicated class within Race G. These are the cars that raced at Monaco between 1981 and 1985, a period when F1 was faster, louder and considerably more dangerous than almost anything before or since. Their arrival is long overdue.

“The Grand Prix de Monaco Historique is magnificent because it is so colourful! From the 1950s to the 1980s, the cars are all different.”

Gery Mestre, President of the Historic Vehicles Commission, Automobile Club de Monaco

That said, they are not the main event. The real stars remain the 3-litre naturally aspirated single-seaters, most of them powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV V8, an engine that first appeared in 1966 and went on to win 155 Formula 1 races. The three race series featuring 3-litre F1 cars are expected to produce the hardest-fought racing of the weekend.

A tribute to Niki Lauda

The official poster for the 15th edition is a tribute to Niki Lauda, marking 50 years since his back-to-back Monaco victories in 1975 and 1976. The design revisits the original 1976 event poster, with Lauda’s Ferrari 312 T set against the backdrop of the modern Principality. It is a genuinely beautiful piece of work and a fitting choice. Lauda was one of the most precise and intelligent drivers the circuit has ever seen, and his Ferrari 312 T is one of the most celebrated cars of the entire 3-litre era.

The tribute carries onto the track as well. Race E is named in his honour and features Grand Prix cars from 1973 to 1976, split into two classes: Ford Cosworth DFV-powered cars and those running other engines. The McLaren M23, winner of back-to-back championships with Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt, and the extraordinary six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 are among the machines expected on the grid. As race grids go, it is hard to beat.

History on every grid

The 2026 edition arrives with a remarkable collection of anniversaries. Maserati turns 100 years old in racing this year, having made its competition debut in 1926. The beautiful 250F, the car that won at Monaco with Stirling Moss in 1956 and Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957, will feature in Race A2. Hearing a Maserati 250F at full noise through the Monaco tunnel is one of those things that stays with you.

Sixty years ago, in 1966, new F1 engine regulations opened the door to the Ford Cosworth DFV and allowed McLaren to make its Grand Prix debut, with founder Bruce McLaren himself at the wheel. McLaren had already won the Monaco Grand Prix four years earlier, in 1962, driving a Cooper-Climax, a car that is now regularly entered in the historic version of the race. Six decades on, McLaren is one of the dominant forces in modern Formula 1, having won the Constructors’ World Championship in 2024. Its Monaco record reads 58 starts, 15 wins, 11 pole positions and 28 podiums, though the last victory at the Principality came in 2008, courtesy of Lewis Hamilton.

Also marking 60 years is Guy Ligier’s Formula 1 debut in 1966, and 30 years since Olivier Panis gave Ligier its only Monaco victory in 1996, still the last time a French-built car has won the race. These are not just footnotes. They are the kind of stories that make this event worth attending.

Eight races, one story

The event is structured to take spectators through the history of Grand Prix racing in chronological order. Race A1 is for pre-war cars only, the Bugatti 35, 37 and 51, and the early Maseratis that the Automobile Club de Monaco considers the very DNA of the Monaco Grand Prix. Race A2 covers the post-war front-engined era. Race C brings out the sports cars, Aston Martins, Jaguars and Ferraris from the 1950s. Races D through G cover 1966 to 1985, ending with the newly included turbo class.

Friday is practice and warm-up. Saturday is qualifying and parades. Sunday is race day, eight races back to back, covering 60 years of the sport in an afternoon. Every car in the field is genuinely preserved and genuinely race-ready. These are not replicas. They are the real thing, on the real circuit, going as fast as they ever did.

Like nothing else in motorsport

The sound of a Ford Cosworth DFV echoing off the buildings at Sainte-Devote, or a turbocharged F1 car screaming through the tunnel, is the kind of experience that does not need much selling. Add the setting of Monte-Carlo in late April, with the harbour full, the sun out and the Casino square lined with some of the most beautiful racing cars ever built, and the case makes itself.

The 2026 edition, with 205 cars, a new turbo class, a tribute to Niki Lauda and more anniversaries than the programme can comfortably contain, is the most compelling Monaco Historique yet. The streets of Monte-Carlo are always worth visiting. This April, they will also be worth hearing.