Monaco and Formula 1 track is open!
After eleven years of work, over 150,000 working hours and more than 5,000,000 euros in construction costs, the time had come on Thursday evening: in the presence of Prince Albert II, Princess Charlène, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, the new Monaco section, including the Formula 1 track, was opened in Wonderland.
Good things come to those with patience! The newly opened Monaco section, including the Provence landscape, adds 70 square meters of model space to Wunderland and a spectacular attraction. The absolute highlight is the Formula 1 track, a version of which has been in the making for eleven years.
Prince Albert II and Charlene of Monaco and their twins Jacques and Gabriella traveled from the Principality especially for the opening of the new theme world and were the first people to take a look at the small world of the Principality on a scale of 1:87. At the push of a button, they started the first Formula 1 race in Wonderland together.
Photo gallery Monaco
From now on, you can watch the Grand Prix racing action from the water's edge. From the start and finish straight, up to 14 racing cars race around tight bends, past the Café Paris, the city's casino and through the Congress Center tunnel. Thousands of young spectators on eight grandstands follow the action with excitement and a flurry of flashing lights as soon as the racing cars speed past them.
The underlying principle of the Formula 1 technology is based on so-called Halbach arrays. Around 39,000 meters of cable, 24 track boards, 90 control boards and 90 tracking boards are at the heart of the hardware - a 22-meter-long race track. In fractions of a millisecond, electronically generated, punctual magnetic fields move on it, allowing the racing cars to be controlled individually. More than 100,000 lines of programming code were required to develop the software - also to guarantee that the race would always be different.
29 millimeter-sized cameras were integrated along the track and transmit spectacular live images from a familiar TV perspective to several miniature screens on the spectator grandstands - as well as for the larger visitors at the edge of the track.
In Monaco-Ville, the old town of the dwarf state, there is still little sign of the hustle and bustle of the Formula 1 race. The houses are lined up close together, from the famous Ozeaneum to St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Prince's Palace. Scenes decorated with loving attention to detail show everyday life along the Mediterranean coast.
A few streets further on, the view opens up onto the harbor with 175 luxurious yachts, while other large superyachts are moored off the city.
Starting Formula 1
On 26.04. the time has finally come. We are making Formula 1 public and ending 11 years of construction and development work behind closed curtains. Of course, we hope that it will run smoothly from day 1.
However, from our experience at the airport and the funfair, we know that reality always holds surprises and unpredictable things in store, especially in Wunderland. So please bear with us if there are any downtimes or standstills during the first few days and weeks.
If you notice an issue yourself, please let us know.
Photo gallery Provence
But what's next? Don't worry, here in Wunderland we won't run out of ideas any time soon.
After Monaco and Provence, the rainforest with the Amazon, the Atacama Desert and the Andes will follow at the turn of the year 2025/2026. The Caribbean and parts of Asia are then planned.
