Exactly 44 years ago today, on 23 May 1982, F1 delivered one of the most absurd conclusions to a grand prix ever witnessed.
The Monaco Grand Prix that year has since become known as “the race nobody wanted to win,” and for good reason.
Alain Prost had the race comfortably under control in his Renault, after assuming the lead from Keke Rosberg, who crashed out on lap 65.
With just three laps remaining of the 76-lap affair, light rain began to fall over the principality, mixing with oil already deposited on the track. The combination proved lethal.
On lap 74, Prost lost control exiting the harbour chicane, slamming into the Armco barriers and handing the lead to Riccardo Patrese in the Brabham-Ford.
The Italian’s promotion to first place lasted mere moments. Caught out by the same treacherous conditions, Patrese spun at the Loews hairpin and stalled, his car left facing uphill and blocking the circuit.
A farcical final lap
Didier Pironi’s Ferrari swept past into the lead, with Andrea de Cesaris’s Alfa Romeo slotting into second.
Marshals pushed Patrese’s stricken Brabham clear for safety reasons before the Italian managed to bump-start the engine and rejoin, now well down the order. It hardly mattered. Within corners, the race would change complexion again.
On the final lap, Pironi’s Ferrari spluttered to a halt in the tunnel, its fuel tank empty. de Cesaris, now seemingly guaranteed victory, suffered the same fate at Casino Square and never took the lead. His Alfa Romeo simply stopped. Two potential winners, gone in the space of a few hundred metres.
1976 F1 drivers’ champion James Hunt summed up the bizarre scenario from the commentary box, saying: “Well, we’ve got this ridiculous situation; we’re all sitting by the start/finish line waiting for a winner to come past, and we don’t seem to be getting one.”
That left Derek Daly, whose Williams had already lost its wings in an earlier incident and was shedding oil around the circuit. Running on borrowed time, his gearbox seized just a few hundred metres from the finish line. He would not complete the distance either.
Patrese, still circulating after his spin, suddenly found himself with no one left ahead. He picked his way through cautiously, took the chequered flag, and claimed what would be his first Formula 1 victory. Remarkably, he was not even sure he had won, such was the confusion.
Pironi and de Cesaris were classified second and third, respectively, despite neither seeing the chequered flag. It was that kind of afternoon.
Four — almost five — lead changes in the final three laps, four potential winners eliminated by crashes, fuel starvation, or mechanical failure, and a victor who crossed the line more bewildered than triumphant.
Monaco has produced many dramatic races since, but 23 May 1982 remains in a league of its own.
Check out the footage below!
