Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix

Short of a divine calling or some sort of athletic/outdoorsy obsession, let's be honest here... who wants to get up before 8 AM on a Sunday? Racing fans who did rise with the songbirds yesterday, however, were rewarded with one hell of a spectacle. In fact, this past Race Sunday was loaded with wheel-to-wheel action in all manner of motorsports, between the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, Nurburgring 24 and, of course, the Monaco Grand Prix. We're talking about the latter here, and if you've yet to cue up the TiVo, we suggest you go no further. For those looking for a recap of the day's events on the narrow, winding streets of Monte Carlo, click below to read on.

If you're an F1 buff looking to spend a whole lot of time not doing whatever work you're supposed to be doing, head over to the Monaco Grand Prix Library. The site is the Internet version of the book, The Monaco Grand Prix Library by Belgian author Roy Hulsbergen. Endorsed by the Automobile Club of Monaco, it details everything -- drivers, results, cars, fastest laps, retirements -- and includes photos and commentary from every Monaco GP run since 1929. There's even video, such as the clip from the 1934 GP, won by Algerian driver Guy Moll in his Alfa Romeo B 2.9 in 3:31.31. So it might not be the best thing for workplace productivity -- or even Sunday afternoon productivity -- but this is what the Internet is all about.

[Source: Monaco-Grandsprix.org]

The 64th edition of the most famous of all Grand Prix events is in the books, with plenty of drama both on and off the track.

Coverage after the jump.

This weekend saw the 5th running of the Monaco Historic GP, an enormously popular historic race that runs the weekend before the Monaco GP, in front of a crowd rivaling that of the current event.

Grand Prix cars are, by their very nature, rare beasts, with a competitive lifetime measured in months, not years. So it's no wonder that huge crowds show up to see some of the most spectacular surviving cars race on a classic circuit that will host its 64th Grand Prix next weekend. It's a brave driver (and an even braver owner) who will risk one of these priceless cars in wheel to wheel competition, no matter how gentlemanly. (The lead photo shows a March leading a pack of irreplaceable early '70s Formula 1 cars in one of the weekend's events.)

The Automobile Club de Monaco has a host of photo galleries from the 2006 event, and an archive of photos from earlier events. Enjoy!

[Source: Automobile Club de Monaco]