Maximum mechanical grip and high downforce are the order of the day, and the unique demands of the Monte Carlo street circuit have prompted some fairly outlandish solutions over the years.

Here, we trawl through Giorgio Piola’s archive to dig out some of the best and wackiest solutions that have cropped up over the years – including several that got pretty quickly declared illegal.

McLaren 1974

McLaren M23 1974 Monaco front wing Photo by: Giorgio Piola

McLaren M23 front wing, Monaco GP Photo by: Giorgio Piola

At the 1974 Monaco GP, McLaren opted to run a narrower nose on its car, which had had its first outing at the earlier Spanish GP. Emerson Fittipaldi's M23 was fitted with a narrowed 'winklepicker' section, which allowed for wider wings.

There were also two narrow upstands that could be seen stood proud of the endplates. These were not for performance reasons but were instead put there to help act as a visual cue – so the drivers could tell easier where the edges of the front wing were.

Ferrari 1979

Ferrari 312T4, 3/4 view, Monaco GP Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Ferrari arrived at the 1979 Monaco GP with a specially commissioned pair of front and rear wings, both designed to improve the car's agility around the streets of the Principality.

The wings were mounted closer to the main bodywork for two reasons. First of all, this allowed a greater depth to the rear wing so it could still comply with the maximum dimensions of the rules – but also less bodywork overhang meant there was a smaller change of collisions with barriers in the event of the drivers getting it wrong.

Ferrari 1980

Ferrari 312T5 wings setup, Monaco GP Photo by: Giorgio Piola

A year later and Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve were presented with a similar arrangement, a shorter car designed to improve the car's downforce and balance. However, the designers had gone one step further this time around, adjusting the T5's suspension and wheelbase (highlighted in yellow).

Jordan 1986

Jordan 196 extra wing Monaco GP Photo by: Giorgio Piola

In 1996 Jordan followed in McLaren's footsteps when it introduced its version of the 'mid-wing' for Monaco. Mounted astride the engine cover, this imposing winglet took advantage of the wording in the regulations to produce a reasonable amount of downforce in its own right.

Tyrrell 1997