‘Slumming it’ on a yacht in the harbour of Monte-Carlo this weekend? You’re going to have one hell of an alarm clock. The most exclusive historic motorsport event in the world, the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique is the most glorious of throwbacks. An opportunity to don the rose-tinted Ray-Bans and watch as some 300 Grand Prix cars – from pre-War voiturettes to colourful 1970s high-airbox machines – retrace tyre tracks of old and bring the historic Monte-Carlo circuit alive to the sound of horsepower.

Here at Girardo & Co. we are all frankly ecstatic to be headed to the Côte d’Azur and taking part in this prestigious event as an entrant for the very first time. That’s right: Max will be popping the brave pills and participating in Race G, the most modern grid on the roster, for three-litre Formula 1 cars built from 1981 to 1985.

The car in question is our Minardi M185/B, which contested the 1985 and 1986 Formula 1 World Championship. Ah, F1 in 1985. McLaren’s Alain Prost snatches title victory from Ferrari’s Michele Alboreto – the first of the clinical Frenchman’s four championship wins. Veteran Niki Lauda announces his retirement… again. Promising upstarts Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell score their first respective victories. 

Nineteen eighty-five can also be remembered for the Formula 1 debut of the small Italian outfit Minardi – a name which would become a staple of the grid for two decades and garner a loyal swathe of disciples charmed by its plucky spirit and boundless ambition.

The team’s first Formula 1 challenger, the M185, was an impressive and technologically advanced car – a serious signal of intent from what was the new face on the block.

The car’s narrow monocoque chassis was crafted from a strong mix of carbon-fibre, Kevlar and aluminium honeycomb. State-of-the-art pull-rod suspension was utilised at the front. And the sculpted ground-effect bodywork clung to the neatly packaged mechanical components like a skin-tight dress, especially at the rear, where only the top wishbones interrupted the airflow.

While a turbocharged V6 produced by Motori Moderni was earmarked to power the M185, the new engine wasn’t quite ready for the start of the 1985 season so the tried-and-tested Ford Cosworth DFV V8 was employed for the first two races in Brazil and Portugal. For its maiden foray into the world of Formula 1, Minardi entered a single car to be driven by the young Italian Pierluigi Martini, who’d famously go on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999 as part of the Works BMW outfit.

Pierluigi Martini is the driver most closely associated with the Minardi outfit 

The widely-respected online motorsport publication The Race recently ranked all 37 drivers who raced for Minardi between 1985 and 2005. And in a list which included such high-profile names as Andrea de Cesaris, Michele Alboreto, Mark Webber and, of course, Fernando Alonso, Martini was chosen as number one.

In the story, Martini was described as “the quintessential Minardi driver”, who “scored 42 percent of Minardi’s points”. His three stints at the team and 102 race starts showed fierce loyalty – loyalty which garnered great favour among the team’s similarly loyal band of followers.

Chassis 002 contested seven roubds of the 1985 Formula 1 World Championship in the hands of Pierluigi Martini 

This M185 is chassis number 002, which was entered in seven rounds of the 1985 season for Martini to drive. History-steeped circuits at which it raced that year included the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada, Silverstone in England and the legendary Nürburgring in Germany.               

Technical regulations introduced ahead of the 1986 season resulted in an enhanced variant of Minardi’s 1985 challenger, christened the M185/B. A considerable reduction in the size of the fuel tank (220 litres to 195 litres) formed the lion’s share of the technical changes, though the geometry at the front of the car was also subtly modified and, with Ferrari’s assistance, Weber/Marelli electronics were introduced.

Chassis 002 underwent the makeover for 1986 and formed part of the team’s upgraded two-car entry for its second season in Formula 1. Alessandro Nannini, who’d successfully raced for Minardi back in its Formula 2 days, got the call-up, along with Andrea de Cesaris.

This M185 was assigned solely to Nannini (the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix winner, let’s not forget), who raced it in 11 rounds of the 1986 season, including the season-opener in Rio de Janeiro and the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. That the original scrutineering sticker for the latter is still attached to the monocoque is very rare indeed.

For the last few weeks, the estimable engineers at John Danby Racing have been beavering away painstakingly preparing this Minardi for its moment in the Monaco spotlight. And it’ll come as no surprise to learn that John Danby Racing will be running the car for us in Monte-Carlo weekend. 

Just last week, the car was taken for its final systems check and shakedown, before it was loaded and transported to the south of France. We couldn’t resist sending our photographer Rob Cooper along to capture the final step in the preparation, before chassis 002 returns to the streets of Monte-Carlo for the first time in almost 40 years. 

When Max takes to the history-steeped Circuit de Monaco in the final session of each day this weekend, the rest of us here at Team Girardo & Co. will be cheering him on from arguably the most famous corner in motorsport, Loews hairpin – more specifically from above and the balcony of our suite at the Fairmont Hotel. If you’re going to be in the principality and would like to get in touch with us, please do contact us by clicking here.

We’ve always thought spectating the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique is among the most memorable motorsport experiences to encounter, right up there with standing at Indianapolis at Le Mans or Eau Rouge at Spa. The way the haunting noise of the engines bounces emphatically around the harbour, into your ears and straight through to your feet. We’re sure the fever will pitch even higher when Max and the Minardi round Mirabeau corner and emerge into sight for the first time. Bring it on…

Photos courtesy of Robert Cooper & The Girardo & Co. Archive

We’re currently offering the Minardi M185/B we will be running at this year’s Grand Prix de Monaco Historique for sale – you can discover more about what you could be racing around the streets of Monte-Carlo in 2026 by clicking here.

You can follow all the action from the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique by following Girardo & Co. on Instagram.