Monaco

As I look out of Channel 4’s mobile office, I see a view that could only be found in Monaco; in the foreground the technicians of Pirelli are fitting tyres beneath an awning to shade them from the Cote D’Azur sunshine while just over to the right is the stern of a super-yacht called Madame Gu, with 3 bright white, chrome-railed  decks climbing to a pair of huge bell-shaped radar domes that guide passengers around the world in opulent luxury. Above and beyond, the sheer cliff face climbs into low cloud and as I pan back to the left, the sandstone coloured apartment blocks peer over the harbour and help to provide an utterly unique yet instantly recognisable F1 backdrop. 


Last weekend, a friend of mine said he never bothers watching the Monaco Grand Prix because it’s all decided in qualifying and nothing ever happens after that. I had to take issue with him; how can we forget the drama of last year when Lewis Hamilton looked a certainty for the win, only to be tripped up by the late Safety Car when Max Verstappen crashed at St Devote. Or the much-missed Jules Bianchi scoring Manor (Marussia) points in 2014 from 21st on the grid. Casting further back, Lewis Hamilton’s remarkable win in 2008 despite hitting the barrier, and Mansell’s epic battle with Senna in 1992. The stories go all the way back to 1929 when the track was first used, and even then it was an anachronism, vastly different to the open-country road courses that dominated the calendar in those days. 


This time we arrive after one of the most dramatic results in a Grand Prix in recent history, and with the simmering rivalry at Mercedes having boiled over into wheel to wheel contact. New winner Verstappen may have crashed out of this race last year, but until that point he had been mightily impressive. He set the 2nd fastest time in first practice and was driving a canny race before misjudging the closing speed with Grosjean. Both he and team mate Ricciardo will be optimistic, hoping that the Red Bull chassis can make up for any lack of horsepower to give Mercedes a proper challenge, but we must remember that the Silver Arrows have been fastest in qualifying here for the last 4 years, even if Michael Schumacher ended up 6th on the grid in 2012 due to a penalty. Their reign will be tough to break, but perhaps the pressure on both Hamilton and Rosberg to deliver a result after the faux pas of Spain will lead to other errors on these unforgiving streets. 


Ferrari’s record has not been good in Monaco in recent years, despite an enterprising 2nd place for Vettel last year. What they need is some of the magic they found in Singapore 8 months ago when he went on to trounce the opposition, and perhaps the allocation of Ultra Soft tyres for the first time will assist them in doing so. Kimi Raikkonen now sits 2nd in the points, but the promise shown in winter testing has not been realised on race weekends, and people are beginning to wonder if it will ever come good. Indeed, McLaren reckon they could give Ferrari a problem here, and I would not discount Alonso and Button from delivering a surprise result on the 50th anniversary of a McLaren appearing in F1. Fairy tales happen in F1 as we discovered last time out. Let’s see if there’s still some magic dust hanging in the air in this wonderland location.