The brief was simple: take our 1985 Minardi M185/B Formula 1 car to Monte-Carlo for Max Girardo to race at this year’s Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. Yep, we said simple. Not easy. Max had raced the Minardi before at last year’s Gulf Historic in Dubai, but was yet to tick driving a single-seater around the Circuit de Monaco off his bucket list. Suffice to say, when we arrived in the principality on Thursday morning and located our car in the Formula 1 pitlane, the gravity of the task at hand became very real very quickly.

For all its glitz and glamour, there’s a palpable sense of motorsport history that pervades Monte-Carlo. It’s easy to get swept up in the atmosphere – especially when there are tantalising glimpses of the racetrack at every turn. Only in Monaco do pavements, stairways, balconies and jetties become temporary grandstands from which to view one of the greatest shows on earth. For Max on Thursday, we’re not sure if that was a help or a hindrance!

Following an intense bout of scrutineering and what felt like an agonisingly long wait until the end of the day on Friday, it was finally showtime. Max was in Race G, for three-litre Formula 1 cars built between 1981 and 1985 – the most modern grid on the roster. With anticipation at its peak, the fever truly pitched when over 30 Formula 1 cars of wildly different shapes and colours were fired up simultaneously. A ear-splitting soul-stirring kaleidoscope. As clichéd as it sounds, the old adage ‘they don’t make them like they used to’ sprang to mind.

What a moment. To see Max out on the history-steeped racetrack, taking his first tentative steps and acclimatising to the car and his surroundings, was something we’ll cherish. Alas, after only a handful of slower sighting laps, a small mechanical gremlin put paid to our session. And Max’s Friday ended with frustration rather than confidence.

Having dipped his toes in the proverbial waters, however, Max at least then knew what he was up against. Friday’s anxiety turned to eager anticipation on Saturday. It was clear to everybody throughout the day that he couldn’t wait to get back in the Minardi. And when the sun began to dip and the time came for qualifying, his keenness was duly rewarded. “Everything just clicked,” he uttered breathlessly after climbing out the car, his comically wide eyes on stalks. “What an unbelievable experience. The car, the tyres, the circuit. Everything was on song. Everything was alive. I’m not exaggerating to say I was almost in tears when the session ended. What a fabulous car!”

An out-of-the-blue phone call to say Pierluigi Martini happened to be in Monaco and would like to meet us was a frankly excellent way to start Sunday. Martini raced our very Minardi in the 1985 Formula 1 season and was the perfect man to impart some advice on Max ahead of his race. Listening to him regale us with the fondest of memories about the car and that year with the then-budding Italian outfit was just the ticket to quell our collective nerves. With a parting ‘buona fortuna’, we headed for the paddock.

An especially chaotic race preceding ours delayed the start by almost an hour and did little to inspire confidence. For the race itself, Team Girardo & Co. divided and conquered. While Marcus took an ariel view from the driver’s club above La Rascasse and Alex manned the pit wall armed with a stopwatch, Cat, Davide, Peter and a throng of our clients were cheering on from the Fairmont Hotel overlooking Loews hairpin. The stage was well and truly set.

What followed were 18 laps of breathless and – mercifully – uninterrupted action. Max put on a deft display in the Minardi, turning remarkably consistent laps and capitalising on a slew of other drivers’ mistakes to climb steadily through the pack. Most importantly, he kept his nose clear of trouble to cross the finish line in 11th position. Not bad at all for his maiden Monaco outing.

“I’ve raced a lot of different cars, old and new, at circuits around the world,” commented Max over a well-deserved beer after the race, “but that was an entirely different experience – perhaps the most intense and exhilarating 40 minutes I’ve ever had behind the wheel. I just wanted more laps – that car has so much more to give and only now am I obsessively analysing where on the circuit I could save time. Credit to John Danby Racing for preparing such a great car. We’ve bonded, me and the Minardi. I’m not sure I want to let it go now…”

The result was nothing more than a bonus, though. To play a part in this most special of historic motorsport events was an honour and a truly incredible experience for us all. Needless to say, we savoured every second on the Côte d’Azur. If you’re reading this, ogling Jonny Lau and Armando Musotto’s jaw-dropping photos, and you’ve got the itch to race an historic Formula 1 car at Monaco in 2026, we can say only one thing: do it.

You can count on us being there, too – after this year’s edition there is no way we’re missing the next one. Isn’t that right, Max?

Photos: Jonny Lau & Armando Musotto for Girardo & Co.

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