Monte Carlo Lottery: The impossible task of the route note crews

Monte Carlo Lottery: The Impossible Task of the Route Note Crews

The opening stages of the  Saturday leg of the 2026 Rallye Monte Carlo have highlighted the immense pressure facing the route note crews as they attempt to predict the unpredictable.

Tasked with driving the stages roughly two hours before the first competing cars, these crews must relay vital information back to the drivers regarding ice, snow, and slush.

However, with temperatures fluctuating and cars cutting corners, the information is often outdated by the time the Rally1 machines reach the start line.

For the drivers, the notes have become a lottery. Elfyn Evans described the situation as “very, very difficult” after completing a loop.

He noted that while ice and snow are expected, the transition into slush creates a massive gamble. Evans explained that towards the end of the stage, his gravel crew had reported full black ice, but the road had evolved so much in two hours that he wasn’t brave enough to ignore their original warning, even if the road looked different.

Sébastien Ogier shared a similar sentiment, noting that the constant grip changes made it impossible to rely entirely on the data. He said there was a lot of grip change and he chose to stick with the safe information provided rather than taking the chance that the road had improved.

The evolution of the road surface is the biggest challenge for the crews. Thierry Neuville mentioned that while his notes were full of ice warnings, some patches had disappeared while others remained.

Gregoire Munster added that while conditions were improving in some areas, the slush was becoming a major hazard, requiring drivers to stay strictly in the lines as tyres struggled to evacuate the melting snow.

Sami Pajari also noted that the sections were getting “messy” as the lines cleaned in some places but deteriorated in others.

This is no slight against the crews checking the notes; it is simply the nature of the Monte Carlo mountains. The work of the safety crews remains a vital but nearly impossible job where the best information can change in the blink of an eye.

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