Long before His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III married Hollywood movie star Grace Kelly in 1956, Monte Carlo was world-renowned because of its casino - which was the most famous gambling establishment in the world. It was opened in 1863 and helped Nowadays there are so many rich and famous people who want to be based there that the grand old Monaco villas have disappeared beneath apartment blocks although one can still get an idea of what it must have been like in the old days if you visit the Monaco's glamorous image was helped enormously by the Noghes family, wealthy cigarette manufactures who were well-connected with the Grimaldis. In 1909 Alexandre Noghes became president of the Sport Automobile Velocipedique Monegasque - the local cycl There were cries of scandal when the results were published but it was, despite everything, a glamorous event. It was not until much later that it would develop into a proper race. In 1925 the SAVM changed its name to become the Automobile Club de Mon The Grand Prix stopped during the war years but on August 5 1945 - nine days before the Japanese surrender - the 36th American Infantry Division held a regularity trial in Monaco - using jeeps and GMC lorries.

The racing revived in 1948 but the event struggled in the early 1950s - it was a sportscar event in 1952. But in 1955 it was back on the international calendar with a dramatic race which saw Alberto Ascari crash into the harbor and victory go to Mauri From time to time Monaco throws up a surprise: in 1972 Jean-Pierre Beltoise was untouchable in the wet but he never again won a Grand Prix. A decade later Riccardo Patrese scored his first Grand Prix victory in a race that no-one seemed able to win: P In 1996 Olivier Panis came through from the midfield in his Ligier to win a remarkable victory.

Over the years there have been tragedies as well. Lorenzo Bandini crashed at the chicane in 1967 and was burned to death in a raging fire; and in 1994 young Austrian Karl Wendlinger crashed at the same spot, the resulting head injuries effectively end Over the years the circuit has changed as Monaco has developed but the basic circuit remains as it was in 1929. In 1973 a new tunnel was built beneath the Loews Hotel and the track from Tabac to La Rascasse was reprofiled to make way for the new swimm People have been forecasting disaster for years, but Monaco survives each passing year even if the safety and facilities are out of step with all the other F1 circuits.

Monaco is more than a race. It is the most important Grand Prix of the year, the place where everyone wants to be. More deals are done at Monaco than at any other race and the glitter of the Principality rubs off on F1 as much as the glamour of F1 ref "This place gives us more than we give it," admits F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

At Grand Prix time Monaco is a party town and the VIPs pose in the Hotel de Paris or the Hermitage or spend evenings dining on the incredible yachts which fill the harbor each year.

The 1976 World Champion James Hunt used to say that the Monaco Grand Prix needed two weeks rather than one: the first for the parties and the fun, the second for racing.

Some things have not changed.

 The results will be posted here once they are made official.