Sebastien Bourdais has admitted that he is looking forward to returning to Monaco after years of racing on American street courses, even though he knows he will have to be extra careful on the debut of Toro Rosso's new chassis.
The Frenchman has already blotted his copybook with the STR3, crashing the first example heavily in testing at the Circuit de Catalunya and delaying its race debut until this weekend, but insists that he will be able to enjoy Monaco, a track he has not driven since his time in the old FIA F3000 series.
"It is difficult to believe that it was six years ago, as it feels like it was yesterday," he confessed, "It was a great weekend in 2002 and it would be awesome to have that kind of weekend again. I am not dreaming, but the new car seems to be a good step forward and we will see where we are after qualifying.
"I've been here three times before, and the track has changed in the meantime. There are a lot fewer guardrails at the apices, the visibility is a bit better and they put in some kerbs in some places as well. So the track is maybe a bit easier, but going from an F3000 car to an F1 car, it is definitely going to feel a lot different - and probably a lot narrower."
Bourdais finally makes his F1 debut in the Principality after five years of exile in Champ Car racing, where he gained a lot more experience of racing within the tight confines of inner city courses, but he maintains that Monaco remains the ultimate test.
"Obviously, there are a lot of street courses in the States, but none really compare to what we have here," he claimed, "It is a very challenging and interesting one - and it has been quite good to me in the past. It is not France, but as close as it can be without being France, and I think it is a very special venue for me. Obviously, I want to do well and, hopefully, we will have a good weekend. I have always been very fast here.
"Obviously, my experience of street courses is a bit different, but I think there is a lot to be said, especially here in Monaco, where you have to take it step-by-step and build up the confidence during the weekend if you want to get the peak of performance. There is a lot to be said about drivers' confidence and a car that makes you feel comfortable.
"If you start the weekend being afraid of making mistakes, then you shouldn't be there. You need to have fun here to be quick and you need to feel confident - you need to enjoy yourself in the car, otherwise you push against your nature and that's the best way to make mistakes. I've always loved street circuits because it's a very fine feeling and very fine perception to try and get it right, and you pursue that all weekend. When you put it all together at the right moment, it usually goes quite quick and it's an awesome feeling. I think there's nothing more exciting to me than the best qualifying lap you can achieve in Monaco - it's always extremely tense, but also very satisfying if you get it done."
Despite the obvious concerns about running a brand new car for the first time on the trickiest track of all, Bourdais agreed with Toro Rosso technical director Giorgio Ascanelli that the benefits of running the STR3 in the Principality outweighed the disadvantages.
"The big risk is if you wreck it and you don't have any spares," he insisted, "but I think it is no more risky to bring the TR3 than the TR2B. We have spare parts, so we can make one or two mistakes - but not too many. That kind of dictates how the weekend goes for us. If you make one, you know that your joker is out and you have got to be careful.
"But I think the new car is a big step forwards in terms of performance. All I can hope for is that it materialises on the track and that we have a good weekend. I'm really pumped, as it's the one [race], along with the French Grand Prix, that means a bit more to me. I want to do well."
