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Formula 1
MATCHETT: Monaco The Ultimate Paradox
Monaco is renowned for glitz, glamor and money, but when you strip away its golden filigree, you have a working fishing village...
The concept of race cars whipping through the narrow Monaco streets and around a packed harbor seems somewhat absurd. (Photo: Getty Images)
Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix is a historic race of great significance, the crown jewel of Formula One for a myriad of reasons.
Oddly enough, Monaco represents the one weekend of the year in which the event itself means more to Formula One than Formula One means to the event. The teams’ marketing departments work extra hard in Monaco, wooing established clients, and attempting to impress new sponsors, too. Ironically, however, while a great majority of sponsorship deals are sealed this weekend primarily because of the locale, from a competition standpoint, the South coast of France makes absolutely no sense as host of a Formula One race.
Monaco is a small, working, French fishing village and market town. The concept of race cars whipping through narrow streets and around a packed harbor seems somewhat absurd, and is somewhat absurd. If a track designer was to draw the Monaco Grand Prix circuit and present it to the FIA for approval for a proposed new venue, it almost certainly would be thrown out on the grounds of safety concerns. Cars race so close to the harbor that boat owners are asked to pull their boats back by 12 feet just in the off-chance a car goes into the water. Run-off areas virtually are non-existent, so there is minimal margin for driver error.
Monaco is renowned for glitz, glamor and money, but when you strip away its golden filigree, you have a working fishing village – a most unlikely site for a Grand Prix. It, however, is entirely logical from a marketing perspective, so Bernie Ecclestone will do everything possible to ensure sponsors, potential sponsors and, of course, the royal family are beyond happy.
Given the exciting season F1 is currently enjoying, one assumes a successful Monaco weekend will be had by all; guests should be treated to an outstanding competition in Monaco. In five races this season, we have witnessed five different winning drivers, five different winning constructors. One wonders how long this streak will continue and whether a sixth team will salute the crowds surrounding the royal box this weekend.
I give this scenario favorable odds, in part because of challenges posed by the current Pirelli tires. The 2012 rubber has been capricious in the extreme: teams must hit the elusive sweet-spot in order to have a race-winning car. Different chassis seem to suit different tracks and different tire compounds. The teams (and Pirelli) have had a difficult time gaining a thorough understanding on how these latest tires work. Pirelli will bring to Monaco their two softest compounds for the slippery streets of Monaco; the surface is exposed to excesses of both sun, and rain (and road car oil spillages) so, once again, the performance of the tires will be unknown and a key factor to the outcome of the Grand Prix.
Talking of rain, only recently have teams been given the luxury of pit garages in which to work. During my time in the pit lane, we worked in the open, and there were no garages but merely small pit boxes in which to store tires and tools, but there was no cover for us or the cars. We worked out in the open, rain or shine, a crude setup that rendered our technology vulnerable to the eyes of the competition. Formula One teams are rightly protective of their technology, but Monaco always provided a great opportunity for photographers (and rival teams) to study the different equipment simply because there was nowhere to hide. Much information was gleaned in merely by taking a casual stroll along the pit lane, chatting to colleagues from rival teams.
Another characteristic of Monaco is that a strong performance there does not necessarily hinge on supreme aerodynamics: an extra tenth of a second per lap found here and there; it centers more on avoiding the Armco barriers and avoiding mechanical breakdowns.
Monaco has always been, and always will be, a unique event. The fact that we really shouldn’t be racing our cars in this golden-veiled French village but continue to do so year after year simply adds to the intrigue. Over the decades, however, this little fishing port has staged some tremendous Formula One races. The industry makes an outstanding effort here, everyone from the FIA and the teams (engineers, designers, mechanics, drivers and the marketing departments), and everyone works flat-out to achieve that all-important Monaco win to secure the glittering jewel of the F1 crown.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
Oddly enough, Monaco represents the one weekend of the year in which the event itself means more to Formula One than Formula One means to the event. The teams’ marketing departments work extra hard in Monaco, wooing established clients, and attempting to impress new sponsors, too. Ironically, however, while a great majority of sponsorship deals are sealed this weekend primarily because of the locale, from a competition standpoint, the South coast of France makes absolutely no sense as host of a Formula One race.
Monaco is a small, working, French fishing village and market town. The concept of race cars whipping through narrow streets and around a packed harbor seems somewhat absurd, and is somewhat absurd. If a track designer was to draw the Monaco Grand Prix circuit and present it to the FIA for approval for a proposed new venue, it almost certainly would be thrown out on the grounds of safety concerns. Cars race so close to the harbor that boat owners are asked to pull their boats back by 12 feet just in the off-chance a car goes into the water. Run-off areas virtually are non-existent, so there is minimal margin for driver error.
Monaco is renowned for glitz, glamor and money, but when you strip away its golden filigree, you have a working fishing village – a most unlikely site for a Grand Prix. It, however, is entirely logical from a marketing perspective, so Bernie Ecclestone will do everything possible to ensure sponsors, potential sponsors and, of course, the royal family are beyond happy.
Given the exciting season F1 is currently enjoying, one assumes a successful Monaco weekend will be had by all; guests should be treated to an outstanding competition in Monaco. In five races this season, we have witnessed five different winning drivers, five different winning constructors. One wonders how long this streak will continue and whether a sixth team will salute the crowds surrounding the royal box this weekend.
I give this scenario favorable odds, in part because of challenges posed by the current Pirelli tires. The 2012 rubber has been capricious in the extreme: teams must hit the elusive sweet-spot in order to have a race-winning car. Different chassis seem to suit different tracks and different tire compounds. The teams (and Pirelli) have had a difficult time gaining a thorough understanding on how these latest tires work. Pirelli will bring to Monaco their two softest compounds for the slippery streets of Monaco; the surface is exposed to excesses of both sun, and rain (and road car oil spillages) so, once again, the performance of the tires will be unknown and a key factor to the outcome of the Grand Prix.
Talking of rain, only recently have teams been given the luxury of pit garages in which to work. During my time in the pit lane, we worked in the open, and there were no garages but merely small pit boxes in which to store tires and tools, but there was no cover for us or the cars. We worked out in the open, rain or shine, a crude setup that rendered our technology vulnerable to the eyes of the competition. Formula One teams are rightly protective of their technology, but Monaco always provided a great opportunity for photographers (and rival teams) to study the different equipment simply because there was nowhere to hide. Much information was gleaned in merely by taking a casual stroll along the pit lane, chatting to colleagues from rival teams.
Another characteristic of Monaco is that a strong performance there does not necessarily hinge on supreme aerodynamics: an extra tenth of a second per lap found here and there; it centers more on avoiding the Armco barriers and avoiding mechanical breakdowns.
Monaco has always been, and always will be, a unique event. The fact that we really shouldn’t be racing our cars in this golden-veiled French village but continue to do so year after year simply adds to the intrigue. Over the decades, however, this little fishing port has staged some tremendous Formula One races. The industry makes an outstanding effort here, everyone from the FIA and the teams (engineers, designers, mechanics, drivers and the marketing departments), and everyone works flat-out to achieve that all-important Monaco win to secure the glittering jewel of the F1 crown.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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