Behind the Scenes at the Monaco Grand Prix 2025: A Crew Member’s Perspective
- Info Compass Rose Crew
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
If there’s ever a way to launch into the Med season, it’s with the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix. These two events don’t just ease us in, they throw us straight into the deep end. The season is officially on, and it all starts with glitz, chaos, and some of the busiest days of the year.
I've done a few Monaco Grands Prix in my career, and it is always a highlight. The atmosphere in Port Hercule leading up to race day is electric. You can feel it, palpable in the air, pulsing through the docks. There are hundreds of tenders zigzagging across the marina, transporting guests in all directions. The roar of the F3, F2, and F1 engines echo throughout the Principality all week, an ever-present soundtrack to the chaos.
Yachts are docked wherever there is space, all the berths are full and some yachts are even moored in the middle of the marina with two ground lines up forward and two down aft - something I've never seen anywhere else. Their only access is via tender.
The party doesn't stop all week, every second yacht is hosting its own party with world renowned DJ's, musicians and one boat even had a full orchestra playing for their guests this year. This year there was also a yacht that had a McLaren perched dramatically on deck; another, an actual F1 car! For those closest to the track? The yachts are required to pull five metres off the dock, just in case a car comes flying over the fence. At night the racetrack opens and the bars spill out onto the streets of Monaco, with their loud music and excited patrons.
For yacht crew there is a lot of prep that goes into a week like this. On the deck side of things, it's always tricky bringing a yacht into a berth for the Grand Prix week, because the marina tries to get as many boats in as possible, so it's a tight squeeze. We have boats on either side of us squeezing fenders - something we always have to keep an eye on. Another factor for us is tenders, sometimes you don't have access to the tender garage (because of the tight squeeze), so you have to launch tenders before going into dock and find a separate berth for them or tie them up on the bow - which is the common option. It ain't always pretty, but it has to be done! For interior and galley departments it means getting provisions, learning guest preference sheets, preparing for large parties and setting up cabins accordingly.
On the race weekend a good crew operate like ducks in the water - keeping a cool and calm appearance, whilst frantically paddling below the surface. Guest movements are particularly challenging to manage, one moment you will have two guests onboard and five minutes later they have invited an additional fifteen friends to have lunch , all expecting a tender pickup and super yacht standard meals and service. Navigating the marina by tender is chaos, fortunately there are Jet Ski police operating like traffic officers guiding tenders left and right.
Outside of tender runs and service onboard, we as crew need to man all access points to the yacht ensuring that there are no trespassers, you’d be surprised at how many people try their luck at getting a photo on a super yacht. Fortunately for us, most pedestrians just want to ask a few questions - usually “who owns this boat?” which of course we can't answer due to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
The main race is mostly a blur, if you're lucky you'll catch a glimpse of red, orange or black as the cars zoom past. I find that by the end of the weekend I am exhausted. There is constant stimulation: people everywhere, loud noise from sunrise to well after sunset, and tender movements all day in dense traffic. It's a challenging work environment, but there is constant excitement - it's awesome hearing the sound of the F1 cars and brushing shoulders with celebrities.
I thoroughly enjoy the Grand Prix, It's a special occasion and I have never experienced anything like it anywhere else. If you ever get the opportunity to work a Monaco Grand Prix take it and run with it, it will be exhausting but so worth it.
