Hi folks...
We are in for a treat this weekend as Monte Carlo is definitely the jewel in the
Formula 1 crown. It has a lot of glamour and glitz and is of course a sensational circuit to have a
F1 car propelled around on.
It is one of the events that everyone looks forward too - and the close proximity of the crowd and the nature of the circuit, makes it really unique. It is nice to do go down to that part of the world. You tend to get a lot of stars there and you can just ‘smell’ all the money.
Monaco is of course a street circuit and next year it looks like we will have two new street races, with Valencia and Singapore joining the fold, both confirmed in the build up to the last event at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Spain is a very strong market now, thanks to the ‘Fernando Alonso’ effect and if that dictates that it needs two races then that is healthy. It is nice also that the two Spanish races will be different - with one at a purpose-built track and another a road race.
It is great that we are going to a new market with Singapore too and the fact it should be a ‘night’ race will really add to the occasion.
When people say night race though, they don’t mean it will be run in the dark as the circuit will have to be heavily illuminated from a safety point of view to make sure visibility is as good as you can get.
It will have a good novelty value however. They have been doing night racing in America for a few years now and it seems to work well. The upside for the European audience, with the time difference there, means too that it will take place at a more ‘normal’ time and that is one of the reasons for it. I’m looking forward to seeing it.
Street circuits, like most things, however do have pluses and minuses. It is good as they promote the sport within a city environment and generally speaking access is good. They also have a great sense of atmosphere.
But they are not always the most ideal circuits to drive on from a racing point of view and there is a heightened safety risk.
It is always interesting though to see a Formula 1 car going around the streets of any city.
Returning to this season though and in Spain we saw
Felipe Massa take his second win in a row. He is doing a great job and has really got to grips with the
Ferrari F2007. He understands it and is definitely extracting the most out of it when he it comes to qualifying.
