Editing Monaco Grand Prix (section)

===Origins===
[[File:1929-04-14 Monaco Maserati Tipo 26B de Sterlich.jpg|thumb|left|Maserati Tipo 26B at the 1929 Grand Prix]]

Like many European races, the Monaco Grand Prix predates the current [[Formula One|World Championship]]. The principality's first [[Grand Prix motor racing|Grand Prix]] was organised in 1929 by [[Antony Noghès]], under the auspices of [[Louis II, Prince of Monaco|Prince Louis II]], through the [[Automobile Club de Monaco]] (ACM), of which he was president.<ref>Kettlewell, Mike. "Monaco Grand Prix" in Ward, Ian, Executive Editor. ''The World of Automobiles'', Volume 12 (London: Orbis, 1974), p. 1382.</ref> The ACM organised the [[Monte Carlo Rally|Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo]], and in 1928 applied to the ''Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs Reconnus'' (AIACR), the international governing body of motorsport, to be upgraded from a regional French club to full national status. Their application was refused due to the lack of a major motorsport event held wholly within Monaco's boundaries. The rally could not be considered, as it mostly used the roads of other European countries.<ref name="motorsport07" />
[[File:Rudolf Caracciola at the 1929 Monaco Grand Prix.jpg|thumb|1929 Monaco Grand Prix]]
[[File:After the start of the 1931 Monaco Grand Prix.jpg|thumb|Start of the 1931 Grand Prix]]
To attain full national status, Noghès proposed the creation of an automobile Grand Prix in the streets of [[Monte Carlo]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://acm.mc/en/automobile-club/the-club/lautomobile-club-de-monaco/history/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Automobile Club de Monaco}}</ref> He obtained the official sanction of Prince Louis II and the support of [[Monaco|Monégasque]] ''Grand Prix'' driver [[Louis Chiron]]. Chiron thought Monaco's topography was well-suited to setting up a race track.<ref name="motorsport07" />

The [[1929 Monaco Grand Prix|first race]], held on 14 April 1929, was won by [[William Grover-Williams]] (using the pseudonym "Williams"), driving a [[Factory-backed|works]] [[Bugatti]] [[Bugatti Type 35|Type 35B]].<ref name = "GP.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/cir-047.html|title=Monaco|access-date=15 February 2007|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731170801/https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/cir-047.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The first Grand Prix of Monaco|journal=Motor Sport Magazine|date=7 July 2014 |issue=May 1929|page=11|url=http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-1929/11/first-grand-prix-monaco|access-date=4 August 2016|archive-date=4 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804134314/http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-1929/11/first-grand-prix-monaco|url-status=live}}; Kettlewell, p. 1382.</ref> It was an invitation-only event, but not all of those who were invited decided to attend. The leading [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] and [[Alfa Romeo in motorsport#Grand Prix racing|Alfa Romeo]] drivers decided not to compete, but Bugatti was well represented. [[Mercedes-Benz in motorsport|Mercedes]] sent their leading driver, [[Rudolf Caracciola]]. Starting fifteenth, Caracciola drove a fighting race, taking his [[Mercedes-Benz SSK|SSK]] into the lead before wasting {{frac|4|1|2}} minutes on refuelling and a tyre change to finish second.<ref name="GP.com"/><ref name="Kettlewell, p. 1382">Kettlewell, p. 1382.</ref> Another driver who competed using a pseudonym was "Georges Philippe", the [[Philippe de Rothschild|Baron Philippe de Rothschild]]. Chiron was unable to compete, having a prior commitment to compete in the Indianapolis 500.<ref name="motorsport07">Hughes, M. 2007. "Street theatre 1929". '''Motor Sport''', LXXXIII/3, p. 62</ref>

Caracciola's SSK was refused permission to race the following year,<ref name="Kettlewell, p. 1382"/> but Chiron did compete (in the works Bugatti Type 35C), when he was beaten by [[Privateer (motorsport)|privateer]] [[René Dreyfus]] and his Bugatti Type 35B, and finished second. Chiron took victory in the [[1931 Monaco Grand Prix|1931 race]] driving a Bugatti. He remained the only native of Monaco to have won the event until 2024.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thomsonsport.com/article/monaco-grand-prix-greatest-moments|title=Monaco Grand Prix: The Greatest Moments|newspaper=Thomson Sport|access-date=24 February 2017|language=en|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225130151/https://thomsonsport.com/article/monaco-grand-prix-greatest-moments|archive-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>