Ferrari F1 in Monaco: Histories And Victories Exhibition

MONACO, 20 May, 2024 -  A new temporary exhibition has been opened at the Monaco museum devoted to the cars of Prince Rainier III. Our correspondent, Patrick Hornstein reports.

For decades, the Monaco Automobile Museum was located on the Terrasses de Fontvieille. On 1 December 2019, the Principality recruited Valérie Closier to take over the management of the museum from Philippe Renzini, who was reaching retirement age. This choice was far from insignificant; recruiting a woman was proof of an open-mindedness and a modernism that is still (too) rarely found in car museums.

Valérie Closier? Her passion for cars began when she was very young: her father was a rally driver. A friend (Jean-Charles Rédélé) who introduced her to rallies. There's no doubt that the car fairy was kindly rocking her cradle.

His personal philosophy was perfectly suited to Monaco: to create something beautiful, something exceptional, to surpass himself in order to offer a memorable spectacle to visitors to the museum. To leave no stone unturned. That's how she opened the Ferrari exhibition in a red suit, Ferrari red. A detail?  His Highness the Prince himself paid tribute to Maranello with a Ferrari tie. 
Perfection is all about the details...

So how this Ferrari exhibition came to be?

Ferrari is the Principality's favourite racing team. The first Grand Prix was held on 21 May 1950, with Alberto Ascari finishing second at the wheel of his Ferrari 125 S. Ferrari went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix 9 times.   Thanks to her networks* and her pugnacity, Valérie Closier has had some of the most emblematic cars on loan for this exhibition. From Maurice Trintignant's 625 (1955) to Sébastien Vettel's SF70 (2017), the Ferrari F1 History and Victories exhibition in Monaco offers visitors a unique range of cars. Three of these cars raced in 1950, including Villoresi's car, which has the distinctive feature of being green, whereas it was red in 1950. Charles Leclerc's Ferrari from Monaco is on permanent loan. The single-seaters of Michael Schumacher, Nikki Lauda, Gilles Villeneuve and Sébastien Vettel are also on public display. Ferrari's last victory in Monaco came in 2017.  Ferrari is the only team to have competed in every Formula 1 Grand Prix since the championship was founded in 1950. The Ferrari museum has loaned 4 cars, thanks to its director Michele Pignatti, and the Schlumpf museum is lending 2, thanks to its director Guillaume Gasser and Bruno Fuchs, the dynamic member of parliament for the Haut Rhin.

Practical information
Address: 54 route de la Piscine on Port Hercule, Monaco
Dates: 9 May to 31 August 2024
Opening times: May/June 10am/6pm, July/August 10am/7pm
Admission: adults €10, children and students €5