McLaren is ready to celebrate a historic milestone in Formula 1 this weekend during the Monaco GP. The team considers the race in Monte Carlo as its 1000th GP in the top motorsport category – but there are discrepancies in the official numbers.
Read more F1: Bortoleto highlights confidence for challenge in Monaco
The celebration comes almost six years after Ferrari reached the milestone of one thousand starts in F1. The symbolism is even greater for the British team because it was precisely in Monte Carlo, 60 years ago, that Bruce McLaren competed in the team’s first race in the world championship.
The apparent discrepancy is related to how the team counts its participations. Although it has recorded 1,003 entries throughout history, McLaren officially totals 998 GP starts. Still, the team considers the Monaco GP as the 1000th race due to the inclusion of the controversial 2005 United States GP, held in Indianapolis.
On that occasion, drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen started the formation lap but returned to the pits at its end, as did the other competitors equipped with Michelin tires. The decision was made for safety reasons related to the tires, leaving only the three cars with Bridgestone compounds to start the famous race with just six participants.
Read more F1: Audi sees Monaco GP as an important test for its evolution
For McLaren, the fact that Montoya and Raikkonen received the green light and participated in the formation lap means the race is counted in their journey towards number 1000. The team considers that event as its 586th race.
The situation differs from the 2026 Chinese GP, when Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri could not even start the formation lap due to electrical problems in the power unit. Norris stayed in the pits, while Piastri had to be removed from the grid, which is why the race was not included in the team’s official count.
Read more F1: Former team boss says top drivers may struggle in 2026
