“It is very difficult to describe how it feels in the car because you are so low. You are hitting some corners at 180mph; as you are braking down you know there is no run-off area, and you can't see the exit. All you can see is directly what is in front of you – probably about 50 metres. In some corners it is almost a guess; you are guessing where the car should be, hoping that you are in the right place, relying on your instinct and memory.”
The memory of 2007 is one the Stevenage-born ace will clearly be keen to erase as he tackles the course for the second time in an
F1 car, and he knows a strong result will be imperative if he is to further close the seven-point gap currently separating him from world championship leader
Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers' title chase. Last year McLaren-Mercedes comfortably had the legs of their scarlet rivals in Monaco, but Hamilton is unwilling to predict whether it will be the same story twelve months on.
“Unpredictable is the word that sums up Monaco from a performance perspective,” he underlined. “It was a great race in Turkey [and] we know the performance is there, but at Monaco literally anything can happen.
“As with any race I am just fully focused on getting the job done. Monaco weekend more than any other is about being 100 per cent in the zone, so I just keep myself to myself.”
