Monaco Grand Prix week is not just about what happens on the circuit. The harbour becomes its own theatre, packed with superyachts, tenders, floating hospitality suites, and enough polished teak to make your eyes water. It is one of the few places in the world where Formula 1, extreme wealth, and serious boating culture all collide in the same few hundred metres.

For many F1 drivers, Monaco is the ideal base. The weather is kind, the sea is usually calm, and the coastline opens up the whole Mediterranean for quick escapes. When the race weekend noise becomes a bit much, the water offers privacy, space, and a very different kind of speed.

Why Monaco and yachts go hand in hand

Monaco is tailor-made for yacht ownership. It offers sun, relatively sheltered water, and direct access to some of the most glamorous destinations in the Med. A short run can get you to Cap d’Ail, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, or further afield if you have a larger boat with range and crew.

During Grand Prix week, the harbour becomes premium real estate. Berths are booked from Monday to Monday, and the biggest, most track-adjacent spots command eye-watering prices. An 89 m yacht in the prime section near the circuit can cost more than €150,000 for the week.

That money is not just paying for a parking space. It buys access, status, hospitality opportunities, and a front-row position for one of the busiest social weekends in motorsport. Corporate groups fill many of these yachts, using them for entertaining, networking, and parties that run well into the night.

Preparing a yacht for Monaco GP week is a major operation. Crew are shopping, polishing, provisioning, moving in furniture, and getting every detail right before guests arrive. With roughly 150 superyachts in town, the whole port feels like a floating luxury hotel under immense pressure to be perfect.

George Russell’s Pershing 6X

George Russell’s boat is a Pershing 6X, a 62 ft performance yacht that suits a driver who appreciates pace. It runs with twin V12 engines and can reach about 48 knots, which is around 55 mph. In boating terms, that is seriously quick.

Inside, it has 3 cabins and space for 6 people, making it ideal for short escapes with family or friends rather than long crewed expeditions. The value is put at more than $3 million, so this sits firmly in the luxury bracket, even by Monaco standards.

It is exactly the sort of boat built for dashing along the coast, dropping anchor for lunch, and being back in Monaco by evening. Russell is also linked to Pershing as an ambassador, which naturally raises the question of whether he paid full retail, received a discount, or is using the boat under a brand arrangement. That part remains private, but the result is the same. He has access to one of the sharper, sportier yachts in the paddock.

Charles Leclerc goes bigger with a Riva superyacht

Charles Leclerc has moved well beyond entry-level luxury boating. His latest yacht is a 102 ft Riva Corsaro Super called Sedici, a nod to his racing number 16. It cruises at about 24 knots and tops out around 28, so this is less about sprinting across the bay and more about proper Mediterranean cruising.

Leclerc is not new to yachts. Before this one, he had owned smaller Riva boats, including a 48 Dolce Riva and an 82 ft model. This latest step up is on another level. At 102 ft, the yacht needs a captain and crew, and it is designed for extended travel rather than day hopping.

The details are very Monaco, very Italian, and very polished. Exterior furnishings were selected from a high-end Italian design house, and specialty fabrics were chosen for the cushions. On the flybridge there is a serious entertaining setup with a bar, an oversized grill, and an ice maker. In other words, it is built for long, stylish days on the water.

Leclerc’s ties to Riva make perfect sense too, given the Ferrari connection. The whole package feels aligned with his image: elegant, fast enough, and unmistakably premium.

Fernando Alonso’s quieter kind of luxury

Fernando Alonso has taken a very different approach. His yacht is a custom-built 60 Sunreef Power Eco catamaran, owned since 2023. Where some drivers want speed and flash, Alonso seems to prefer silence, calm, and the ability to switch off properly.

This is a solar-assisted eco catamaran, which fits that slower, more relaxed philosophy. It is the sort of boat designed to glide rather than blast. The appeal is obvious. Plenty of deck space, stability at anchor, lower noise, and a sense of peace that a high-speed yacht cannot really match.

Other high-profile sports figures have owned similar Sunreef models, so Alonso was not exactly taking a gamble. For someone who has spent decades in one of the loudest and most intense environments in sport, a quiet catamaran sounds like a very sensible antidote.

Max Verstappen picks the fast option

If there is a driver whose yacht choice feels entirely on brand, it is Max Verstappen. He owns a Mangusta GranSport 33 from Overmarine, a 33 m yacht delivered last year and named Unleash The Lion.

The yacht sleeps 12 guests and carries 5 crew, making it a serious superyacht rather than a weekend toy. It has the kind of performance and range that makes sense for someone based in Monaco who wants to disappear down the coast quickly. A run to Saint-Tropez from Monaco in around an hour is right in the sweet spot for this sort of boat.

Berthing nearby at Cap d’Ail can cost north of $12,000 per month in high season, and even more during F1 week. That sounds extreme, but in Monaco terms it is not entirely irrational. Large apartments in the principality can cost more to rent per month than some premium berth fees. Once you factor in what top-tier real estate costs here, a yacht begins to look less insane than it first appears.

As for Sergio Perez, he does not yet have a yacht in the water, but plans are reportedly underway for a 30 m yacht to be built in Spain and eventually based in Mexico.

The harbour machine behind race week

One of the most fascinating parts of Monaco GP week is how the harbour operates as a complete support ecosystem. Crew recruitment can happen right on the jetties, where hopeful workers walk around with CVs looking for temporary or seasonal jobs. Some yachts even leave baskets out so applications can be dropped off directly.

Then there are the tenders. These smaller fast boats shuttle guests, staff, and paddock figures between marinas, floating hospitality areas, and the circuit access points. Around Fontvieille, where many F1 drivers live, this makes race weekend logistics far easier than trying to move by car through packed streets.

Even Red Bull’s floating setup gets approached this way, with drivers arriving by tender and stepping almost directly into the team environment. It is one of those very Monaco details that makes the event feel unlike any other race on the calendar.

Not every driver owns one, but many still stay on the water

Yacht ownership is not universal across the grid, but being based on the water during Monaco week is still common. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, for example, are not listed as yacht owners here, yet they are linked to staying aboard a massive cruise vessel in the harbour.

That ship offers hotel-style convenience with luxury touches such as a gym, multiple restaurants, bars, lounges, and balconies overlooking the marina. It is also practical. The walk to the paddock is only around 8 minutes. With a sponsor relationship involved, it becomes an easy and very comfortable solution.

Toto Wolff’s bigger statement

Once you move from drivers to team principals, the scale increases. Toto Wolff owns a Mangusta 165 called V, bought in 2023 for more than $25 million. At 50 m, it is a clear step above Verstappen’s yacht.

Top speed is about 25 knots, and like Max’s yacht, it accommodates 12 guests and 5 crew. It is built less as a sporting express and more as a luxurious retreat with serious presence. The front deck jacuzzi tells you everything you need to know. This is a proper family-and-relaxation boat with enough size to feel like a private resort.

Lawrence Stroll owns one of the giants

Then there is Lawrence Stroll, who plays in an entirely different league. His yacht, Faith, is one of the largest in the harbour and is valued at about $225 million. It is slightly shorter than his previous yacht of the same name, but still enormous and staffed by a sizeable crew.

The features are what you would expect at this level and then some: a glass-bottom swimming pool, a helipad, and a beach club. This is not just transport or accommodation. It is a floating estate.

For Lance Stroll, the practical benefit is obvious. During race week, he can stay aboard and take a tender directly to the jetty nearest the paddock. From there, it is only about 100 m on foot. In Monaco, where movement can become painfully slow once the crowds build, that is a huge advantage.

The real role of yachts during the Monaco Grand Prix

It is easy to focus on the price tags and the glamour, but these yachts serve several distinct purposes during Monaco GP week:

• Privacy: Drivers and team figures can get away from public scrutiny.
• Access: Tenders and berths create fast routes to the paddock.
• Hospitality: Brands and sponsors use yachts as premium entertaining spaces.
• Accommodation: In a place where hotel rooms and apartments are scarce and absurdly expensive, a yacht can be a practical base.
• Lifestyle: Monaco is one of the rare places where yacht ownership actually fits day-to-day life.

That is why the harbour matters so much. It is not just a pretty backdrop for the race. It is part of the event’s operating system.

FAQ

Monaco has always sold a fantasy: fast cars, steep hills, expensive views, and the sea glittering just beyond the barriers. During Grand Prix week, the yachts make that fantasy feel very real. Some are sleek and quick. Some are floating mansions. Some are built for silence and slow cruising. But together they tell you something important about modern Formula 1 life in Monaco. The race happens on land. A lot of the lifestyle happens just offshore.