The Monaco Grand Prix enjoys a special place on the Formula 1 calendar - there’s nowhere else that combines the glamour and spectacle of racing on the streets around the Principality.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t our year, as Pierre crashed out in the opening stages and Franco could only manage P13 in a race that took on a different dynamic with its new mandatory two-stop rule. But aside from the 78 laps on Sunday, there was plenty more to enjoy during one of the busiest weeks of the year.

The big picture

After walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in black tie, both Pierre and Franco - along with their fellow drivers and team principals - were invited to a special screening of the soon-to-be-released Hollywood blockbuster F1: The Movie. When quizzed about the film in the following day’s FIA Press Conference, Pierre didn’t want to give away any spoilers, but was impressed with what he saw.

“I think for Formula 1, for the sport, it’s an amazing opportunity to dive into our world,” said Pierre. “And personally, I’m a big fan of Brad Pitt, and he makes us all look very good as Formula 1 drivers. The production did a fantastic job. I don’t want to give too much away, but I definitely hope that people from the outside are going to enjoy it.”

Two number tens

Before practice began on Friday morning, Pierre had already completed a lap of the Monte Carlo circuit - with a very special passenger. At the wheel of the electric Alpine A290 hot hatch, he took Alpine Ambassador - and French football legend - Zinedine Zidane for a tour around the two-mile circuit. He then swapped into the A525 for the opening day of practice and immediately settled into a decent rhythm.

In the second successive weekend using the softest C6 tyre, Pierre ended FP1 eighth quickest, but both cars slipped back in the afternoon as others appeared to make a step forward. This was Franco’s first ever time driving a Formula 1 car around the streets of Monaco, and he was patient in building up confidence behind the wheel - completing a couple of positive race-sim long runs. FP2 proved trickier, with two red flag stoppages and traffic disrupting the programme, but in a neat piece of symmetry, both drivers completed exactly 63 laps across the day.

Taming the streets

A red flag at the end of Q1 brought the first qualifying session to a premature close - and sadly, both cars failed to progress into the next phase. Pierre lined up on the grid in 17th, one place ahead of Franco. With the mandatory two-stop rule introduced for this year, the team opted to split strategies to try and make progress.

Pierre started on the medium tyre and pitted at the end of the first lap, but just a few laps later, while battling Yuki Tsunoda, he tripped over his right-rear wheel at the chicane and the resulting damage forced him to retire the car. Franco started on the hard compound, stopping on lap 13 and again on lap 26 for mediums, and ultimately came home in 13th.

We now make the short trip over to Spain and look forward to racing in Barcelona for the third race in this busy triple header.