This weekend is my absolute very favorite Formula One race - the Monaco Grand Prix! It epitomizes the glamour, the glitter, the money which are the trappings of the sport but also requires the utmost in driver ability, discipline and focus, not to mention a solid, finely-tuned, well-performing car. Really, the most basic reason I like it so much is that it’s the one race that even people who know nothing about racing have heard of (even if they don't realize it) and therefore I can make them understand that no, the sport I love is NOTHING like Nascar. Well, not NOTHING like - both sports involve internal-combustion engines and four tyres, but the similarity ends there. Anyway, after the confuzzled “Oh, is that like Nascar?” query, all I have to say is, “No - you know that race where they run Ferraris through the streets of Monte Carlo?” “Ohhhhhhhh.”
On a more esoteric level, I like it because it’s the oldest extant track, predating even Formula One itself (the first race there was 1929) so it’s the one place where you can actually drive the same course that legends like Ascari and Fangio drove - not like the other tracks where, even if they still run on an older course, they’ve smoothed out the corners, changed the layouts, undone the very characteristics that made the track famous. It’s also just plain and simple a fantastic race - the very same circuit contains both the slowest (Loews hairpin) and the fastest (tunnel curve) corners in all of F-1. One of my favorite wrecks took place here, when The Almighty Alberto Ascari crashed through the barrier and drove straight into the harbor - which it’s okay to laugh about because they fished him out and he wasn’t hurt (not then, anyway), just a bit waterlogged.
From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I’m not sure there’s a more beautiful place on earth than the stretch where Beau Rivage curves down to Mirabeau, looking toward the water from the Hotel de Paris. And if there’s a more lovely sight than the background of yachts bobbing in the dappled turquoise water of the harbor while His Serene Highness Prince Ranier waves to the crowd, I haven’t seen it.
My Drivers Sign is also Monaco-related. My brother and I have this theory that, much like horoscopes, the Grand Prix Champion you’re born under says something about you, your personality, life and prospects. Bo was born in 1975 so his Drivers Sign is Niki Lauda - Niki was my first driver hero and no matter what my father says, it’s NOT just because he drove the pretty red cars. As far as my own Drivers Sign, in 1968 the devilishly handsome, witty and debonair Graham Hill was World Champion. With his famous helmet striped in the colours of the London Rowing Club (another sport at which he excelled), Graham Hill won Monaco so many times that he was known as “Mr. Monaco”. He’s also the only driver to have won the “Triple Crown” - the World Championship, the Indy 500 AND the LeMans 24 hour race. Being born under the sign of the multi-talented Graham Hill explains my predilection for, and excellence at, being a dilettante, you see. Incidentally, Graham Hill doesn’t hold the record for most wins at Monte Carlo any more - he was dethroned by none other than my idol, my hero, my role model Ayrton Senna. Maybe Michael, who's already won five too, can equal Senna’s six this weekend but for whatever reason, the circuit historically has not been kind to Ferrari. This race usually throws a surprise or two our way no matter what team is dominant. I have faith in The Red Baron, though. I leave you with this final thought on Monaco, which I stole from F-1's Big Boss Bernie Ecclestone: “Monaco is more than a race. It is the most important Grand Prix of the year, the place where everyone wants to be. More deals are done at Monaco than at any other race and the glitter of the Principality rubs off on F1 as much as the glamour of F1 reflects on the city. This place gives us more than we give it."
On a more esoteric level, I like it because it’s the oldest extant track, predating even Formula One itself (the first race there was 1929) so it’s the one place where you can actually drive the same course that legends like Ascari and Fangio drove - not like the other tracks where, even if they still run on an older course, they’ve smoothed out the corners, changed the layouts, undone the very characteristics that made the track famous. It’s also just plain and simple a fantastic race - the very same circuit contains both the slowest (Loews hairpin) and the fastest (tunnel curve) corners in all of F-1. One of my favorite wrecks took place here, when The Almighty Alberto Ascari crashed through the barrier and drove straight into the harbor - which it’s okay to laugh about because they fished him out and he wasn’t hurt (not then, anyway), just a bit waterlogged.
From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I’m not sure there’s a more beautiful place on earth than the stretch where Beau Rivage curves down to Mirabeau, looking toward the water from the Hotel de Paris. And if there’s a more lovely sight than the background of yachts bobbing in the dappled turquoise water of the harbor while His Serene Highness Prince Ranier waves to the crowd, I haven’t seen it.
My Drivers Sign is also Monaco-related. My brother and I have this theory that, much like horoscopes, the Grand Prix Champion you’re born under says something about you, your personality, life and prospects. Bo was born in 1975 so his Drivers Sign is Niki Lauda - Niki was my first driver hero and no matter what my father says, it’s NOT just because he drove the pretty red cars. As far as my own Drivers Sign, in 1968 the devilishly handsome, witty and debonair Graham Hill was World Champion. With his famous helmet striped in the colours of the London Rowing Club (another sport at which he excelled), Graham Hill won Monaco so many times that he was known as “Mr. Monaco”. He’s also the only driver to have won the “Triple Crown” - the World Championship, the Indy 500 AND the LeMans 24 hour race. Being born under the sign of the multi-talented Graham Hill explains my predilection for, and excellence at, being a dilettante, you see. Incidentally, Graham Hill doesn’t hold the record for most wins at Monte Carlo any more - he was dethroned by none other than my idol, my hero, my role model Ayrton Senna. Maybe Michael, who's already won five too, can equal Senna’s six this weekend but for whatever reason, the circuit historically has not been kind to Ferrari. This race usually throws a surprise or two our way no matter what team is dominant. I have faith in The Red Baron, though. I leave you with this final thought on Monaco, which I stole from F-1's Big Boss Bernie Ecclestone: “Monaco is more than a race. It is the most important Grand Prix of the year, the place where everyone wants to be. More deals are done at Monaco than at any other race and the glitter of the Principality rubs off on F1 as much as the glamour of F1 reflects on the city. This place gives us more than we give it."
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