- Guest Blog Article by Oli Petas -
The Monaco grand-prix is arguably the motorsport pilgrimage of the year. While the Indy 500, Le Mans 24, or Rally Finland could each lay their claim to this title, ask your average person on the street which race if any they’d like to see, and you can be fairly sure the glitz and glamour of the Grand Prix de Monaco will win out time and again.
Whether you do it on a shoestring or from Flavio Briatore’s Superyacht Force Blue, the Monaco Grand Prix oozes class, and the racing is some of the finest you’ll see anywhere around the world. This at times arduous pilgrimage can take its toll, as getting to the track early is a must for any die-hard fan but unfortunately a very common practise which leads to gigantesque queues at all local rail stations. Still, with Porsche GT3 Cups, GP2, Renault 3.5 single-seaters, and of course your headline F1 action all ready to roll out the diamond-encrusted helmets and grade-A showmanship to demonstrate just how fast you can rag a single-seater around some of the most picturesque city streets in the world, it’s worth the effort of an early start.
Arguably one of the most impressive aspects of Formula 1 is the engine noise. While the hard core amongst us will attempt to keep the ear plugs off for all or part of the race to witness the true roar of the engines, any man left standing without ear plugs at the end of the race is 100% deserving of a pint at the obligatory post-race street party, even at Monaco prices.
The race itself was a classic Monaco GP of strategy, close pursuit and near-misses. With passes relatively few and far between in the F1, you could be forgiven for relying on the support races to provide thrills & spill (above), but the true art remains with the F1.
Observing in person allows you to get that bit closer to the action and follow one battle more than you usually would on TV, enough to see the true art in some drivers’ styles. Stand-out performances from Fernando Alonso (above, bottom right) & Sebastien Vettel were clear this weekend, the former really playing things smart by dropping off his victim Hamilton to save tyres at certain stages early on. Alonso subsequently reeled Hamilton in at devastating speed before the first pit stops to take advantage of his then better preserved tyres for a stunning and swift push through the pitstop phase, to come out ahead a few laps later. I can definitely see why Christian Horner sees Alonso as the main man between Red Bull and another two titles come November.
All in all, a classic race and a fitting way to celebrate the 70th ever Grand Prix de Monaco. Sunshine, strategy and some great nose-to-tail racing is enough to get anyone’s pulse racing and pull in the big crowds, but with rain threatening for most of the latter laps of the grand prix it was really disappointing to see the heavens finally open 5 minutes after the race ended… Oh what could have been!
Oli Petas is a motorsport and F1 fanatic who has dedicated the last two years of his life to following F1 worldwide. Rumour has it he once punched Michael Schumacher, busted his lip and got arrested in Silverstone after he refused a photo opportunity with Oli... no one refuses a photo with Oli!! We are delighted and honoured to have him blog on The Filter!
