The Monaco GP is one of the most prestigious and glamorous races on the F1 calendar. The venue is the crown jewel of the sport. Moreover, it remains one of the most challenging race tracks on the calendar and arguably one of the most important, with an infamous reputation as a track that punishes mistakes.

While storylines revolve around racing in this historic circuit, the 2004 edition saw one of the most intriguing and non-racing stories in Formula 1 archives. The race saw history made when Jaguar Racing, its drivers, and its sponsors jumped the shark with a promotional tie-in to the film Ocean’s Twelve.

The highlight of the move involves placing real diamonds worth approximately $300K a piece on the nosecones of its cars in the race. It might have been the craziest thing seen in one of the most hard tracks to drive on.

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Christian Klien and Mark Webber, the drivers for Jaguar in 2004, had $300,000 worth of diamonds on their car and ran the entire Monaco GP track with it. On to the race, however, the diamond in Klien’s car did not last long. He crashed during lap 1, and the jewel was stolen.

Further, its fate has been unknown since it went missing in 2004. In the annals of Formula 1, it’s a story that will forever be remembered as the Monaco GP Diamond Heist.

The story behind placing diamonds in the Monaco GP

The Monaco GP is one of the glamorous races in F1. In Monte Carlo itself, there are often more super-yachts than sailboats, as wealthy visitors from all over the world come to lap up the luxury lifestyle that Monaco has become synonymous with. So, it proved to be a perfect scenario to blend into Jaguar’s PR stunts.

Why did they need publicity? In 2004, the Jaguar F1 team was under pressure from its owners. The company was struggling for sponsorships, and their survival did not look good beyond that year. Team Principal Tony Purnell knew the owners could pull the plug sooner than later.

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Up stepped Nav Sidhu. Jaguar’s charming head of F1 communications came with an idea that blew the minds of the F1 world. Interestingly, an idea involving celebrities was not new to Sidhu. In 2003, Jaguar partnered with Terminator 3 and the livery’s colors were changed as a tribute to the film. Arnold Schwarzenegger was also in attendance during the 2003 Monaco GP.

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So, Jaguar partnered with the movie Ocean twelve and this time they took it to another level. After they unveiled the diamond in the car, a buzz of excitement was further generated as Hollywood stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon made an appearance in Monaco. It was perfect timing, as they say.

A real diamond in a race car in a venue known for wrecking front wings than any other place was, of course, met with skeptical views. However, it grabbed the headlines, which were crucial for Sidhu and co.

Nav Sidhu’s thoughts on the incident

The diamond present in the car’s nose had every chance of being lost. And Nav Sidhu knew the consequences. In an interview, he revealed his plans to take the diamond out of the car before the race.

“And then there was that sort of very, a very disruptive side of me that was thinking, well, there’s no guarantee that these cars are going to lose the diamond. So why don’t just guarantee it by pinging one out on the grid and put it in your pocket to start,“ said Sidhu.

However, he also admitted that he could not remove it even if he tried to. Such was the forceful nature the engineers placed the diamond in the car.

He added, “Admittedly, admittedly, did it cross my mind to take them off? Hundred percent. Could I take them off? No way.”

After Christian Klein’s crash happened, the first thoughts were, of course, on the driver. But Sidhu conveyed that after a few seconds, his mind ultimately drifted towards the diamonds. While the $300k jewel supplied by diamond trader Steinmetz survived the crash, no one knew its presence after it.

Jaguar’s team were not allowed on the track for the next two hours. So could it be a Marshall who is currently in possession of the diamond? Well, we will never know.

The aftermath of the incident

Sidhu revealed that his evening after the incident was filled with calls from reporters all over the world. Although the diamond heist was a poor reputation for the company, it attracted the media and with it the viewers.

Speaking on the situation, Tony Purnell stated, “If memory serves me, right, we got 24 seconds, Coast-to-Coast networked on American TV about the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Jaguar diamond, and they didn’t mention who won the Grand Prix.

And the people at Jaguar, corporate, thought it was absolutely marvelous, and just what they wanted, you know. The Glamor, the film stars, the excitement of Formula One sprinkling pixie dust on the Jaguar brand.”

Yes, that was the reception Jaguar received throughout the world. Subsequently, the team did not take part in Formula 1 after the 2004 season. But, in came Red Bull with a bid that changed the power dynamics of the sport. They brought the team and named it Red Bull racing in 2005.

Could the incident and subsequent media attention have caught Red Bull’s eye? The answer could well be yes. This Hollywood tale, however, will forever remain a part of Formula 1 and Monaco’s classic but controversial history.