Andre D’Cruze took a McLaren 720S around the Monaco circuit at speed during the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, and the lap made one thing plain: Monte Carlo feels far smaller, faster and scarier from inside a car than it ever does on television. From the passenger seat, the track seemed to arrive in a rush of walls, barriers and blind corners, with the car touching 120 mph on a circuit where every inch looks claimed.
The writer was making an eighth visit to Monaco, but this was the first time the place felt like a live piece of machinery rather than a postcard. Formula 1 has run hot laps with Pirelli since 2018, and the Monaco version began last year, giving fans a rare chance to ride a lap on a circuit that is normally closed to road traffic and pedestrians each evening. In a McLaren with a four-liter V8 engine, 710 bhp and a 0-60 mph time of less than three seconds, the sensation was less about comfort than compression: the circuit narrowed the horizon and made every bend feel immediate.
That is also what keeps Monaco at the center of Formula 1’s story. It is often called the crown jewel of the championship, yet it draws regular criticism because overtaking is so difficult on a street track packed tightly between real estate and barriers. Ollie Bearman said he does not like when people criticize the racing there, adding that the track is what it is because it is surrounded by buildings, and that the real spectacle comes on Saturday afternoon during qualifying, when drivers push as hard as they can around the walls. On a lap like this one, that argument is easy to understand: Monaco is not built for easy racing, and that is exactly why it feels different from every other venue on the calendar.
The wider contrast was obvious too. F1 cars have already hit 220 mph on other tracks so far in 2026, which makes Monaco’s 120 mph top speed in a hot lap sound modest on paper. In practice, the slower number feels more dangerous because the margins are so small and the circuit gives so little room to breathe. The open question is how much the hot laps program can change the way fans experience Monaco beyond the rare thrill of riding it themselves, but the answer from this passenger seat is clear enough: the lap turns a famous circuit into a place you can feel in your chest.
