Why Monaco ‘hell’ is drivers’ dream
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The Monaco Grand Prix has been held in the picturesque principality of Monte Carlo on the French Riviera since 1929 and the race remains the jewel in Formula One’s crown.
Monaco is a magnet for celebrities like Hollywood actor Will Smith and popstar Nicole Scherzinger — who is dating Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Smith and “Scherzy” are pictured with Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2012.
The tiny city will welcome 200,000 fans over the grand prix weekend with many of them watching from yachts in the harbor.
The racing drivers — like Red Bull’s 2012 winner Mark Webber shown here — speed within inches of Monte Carlo’s famous landmarks.
Monaco’s street circuit is relatively unchanged since Formula One cars began racing there in 1950. Stirling Moss says his victory in Monaco in 1961, shown here, was the best race of his career.
The late triple world champion Ayrton Senna won the Monaco race a record six times and says he entered a “trance-like” state while driving through the narrow streets.
But for some sun-seekers in Monaco, the cars are a distraction…
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(CNN) — “The last couple of weeks I’ve been at home have been murder with the traffic,” bemoans Monte Carlo resident Jenson Button.
Like most Formula One protagonists, the McLaren man loves the thrill of racing in the Monaco Grand Prix — it’s just that he is less keen on Monte Carlo’s traffic jams in the build-up to the race.
“It’s been a nightmare,” the English driver, who recently moved back to the principality from the British island of Guernsey, told CNN.
“Putting up the grandstands takes a long time so the city does change quite a bit.
“In the winter it’s pretty quiet. You see a lot of people that you know and I train with the same people. Monte Carlo is like a quiet, peaceful village really. There’s also a new Irish pub that I like — there’s a good pint of Guinness there!”
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Button, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton are just a handful of F1 racers who have mixed business with pleasure by calling Monaco their home. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, son of Finland’s 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, can boast that he grew up there.
It makes sense for wealthy drivers to live in Monaco — after all, the independent state on the French Riviera has thrived on its reputation as a playground for the rich and famous since the late 1800s. Just as importantly its tax laws are favorable compared to its European neighbors.
But for one weekend in May the streets of Monte Carlo are not just for the well-heeled — they are for racing on.
The precipitous, winding roads have evolved into a thrilling street circuit ready to host this weekend’s grand prix.
The most famous race in Formula One — a fixture on the calendar since 1950 — brings a change of pace to Monaco’s Mediterranean idyll.
The metamorphosis, overseen by the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), takes two months to complete and calls on the expertise of 200 construction workers to build 1,100 tonnes of grandstands, 900 tonnes of pit garages and 21 miles of safety barriers.
Read: Legendary F1 partners to be reunited
The street circuit has one of the smallest capacities on F1′s calendar, with a total of 200,000 fans expected to watch the cars from the grandstands, hotel balconies and terraces — not forgetting the yachts moored in the harbor — over the weekend.
A crowd of 200,000 may sound small but when the pocketsize principality is less than two square kilometers — half the size of New York’s Central Park — that is quite a crowd to pack in.
“The place is a little quieter the rest of the year,” says Carol Olivié-Etiévant, deputy manager of the Hotel Hermitage, which overlooks the F1 circuit in the heart of Monte Carlo.
“During these four days people are living day and night. There are parties in the harbor, on every terrace, so as Monte Carlo is a tiny place, every place is crowded,” she told CNN.
“There are other busy weekends in Monaco such as the open tennis tournament, the boat show in September and the Red Cross Ball but for this weekend of the grand prix it is very unusual.
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“Thousands of people come for the day to Monaco, all the hotels are full, the restaurants are packed and we have many yachts in the harbor. This is most definitely the busiest one.
“For the month of May, Monaco is completely dedicated to Formula One. We have stands in the streets, paddocks in the harbor, and the configuration of the city is different because we close the roads. Monte Carlo is a completely different place.”
Read: Pirelli admit tire testing ‘inadequacies’
The locals, known as Monegasques, are prepared to put up with a month or two of disruption because the grand prix is very good for business — and, perhaps more importantly, for Monaco’s global brand.
“The grand prix is one of the things that helps distinguish Monaco from other Mediterranean destinations and gives it an additional layer of glamor which its rivals lack,” Christian Sylt of Formula One Money told CNN.
“The race keeps the principality in the public eye, which in turn attracts tourists and business conventions. The race itself directly brings around $120 million into the principality, with the bordering towns, such as Menton in France and Ventimiglia in Italy, taking a total of $12 million annually.”
Kissing the barriers
For businesses like Olivié-Etiévant’s five-star hotel, the allure of the grand prix adds extra cache for its clients all-year-round — and the race weekend enables it to raise its prices, with a four-day package starting at $10,400.
The Monaco GP — the brainchild of local Anthony Noghes and first run in 1929 — is also important to the global money-making juggernaut that is F1.
While other countries have spent millions and millions of dollars on new circuits in Abu Dhabi and Austin, Texas, for example, the Monaco race is so intrinsic to the image of F1 that race organizers the ACM have a special arrangement with the sport’s promoters.
“Monaco is the only race on the calendar that doesn’t pay a race hosting fee to the Formula One Group,” explained Sylt. “With some rival circuits paying more than $60 million, it’s a big saving.
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“Monaco’s history and glamor make it a very important part of the F1 calendar. The race is well-known around the world and is a magnet to the rich and famous. This is great publicity for F1 and also means that there are many potential sponsors and investors in attendance, making it a once-a-year opportunity for F1 and the teams.”
Mark Webber receives the winning trophy from Prince Albert II of Monaco after his superb victory from pole.
Red Bull driver Webber leads the way but behind him Romain Grosjean forces Michael Schumacher to go wide in an early clash.
Kamui Kobayashi of the Sauber team goes airborne in spectacular fashion at the Monaco Grand Prix.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone with Hollywood actor Will Smith and Lewis Hamilton’s girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.
A view of the track from the harbor area of Monte Carlo which is part of the tight street circuit for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Webber takes a post-race dip as the Red Bull team celebrate a third consecutive Monaco triumph.
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Webber seals Monaco Grand Prix triumph
Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were long-time rivals before they became teammates at McLaren.
Prost and Senna (No.1) clash at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in 1989. Prost clinched the title after the Brazilian was controversially disqualified after winning the race.
As they both battled for world titles at McLaren, Prost and Senna’s relationship came under great strain.
Stand off: Senna and Prost walk away after the early crash at Suzuka in the final race of the 1990 season which left the Brazilian as world champion.
Prost’s time with McLaren proved the most fruitful of his career as he captured three world titles.
Prost earned the nickname ‘The Professor’ for his thoughtful and studied approach to Formula One racing.
Prost competing in wet conditions at the Monaco Grand Prix which he won four times during his glittering career.
Prost and Senna formed a united team in 1988 as the latter won the championship for McLaren.
The medical team at Imola tend to the stricken Senna after his fateful crash in the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.
Prost joined a pantheon of Formula One greats at Senna’s funeral in Sao Paulo in 1994.
In the latter part of career Prost had to battle with the youthful exuberance of future seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
Prost is a keen cyclist and is pictured here at the end of the 2009 L’Etape du Tour. The race enables 8,500 amateur cyclists to attempt a mountain stage of the Tour de France each year. The 2009 event was staged between Montelimar and Mout Ventoux, with Prost finishing 258th.
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United in rivalry: Prost and Senna
“I wouldn’t say I’m happy in the Formula 1 paddock,” Mark Webber told CNN. “It’s an environment that’s not always real. You can click your fingers for food, for whatever you want really. But for me, I always try to ensure that I treat people as I’d treat myself.
Mark Webber led the way from pole on the way to his eventual victory at the Monaco Grand Prix — his first win of the season.
Webber takes a post-race dip as the Red Bull team celebrate another Monaco GP triumph in May. It was the second time in three years that Webber had won the sport’s prestigious race.
Red Bull’s Australian driver Mark Webber celebrates after winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone — his second victory of the 2012 season. The Australian held off Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in a close battle to win the race.
Webber is very much the understudy to double world champion Sebastian Vettel, who is seemingly on his way to a third consecutive world title.
Vettel has long been nurtured by Helmut Marko, titled a motorsport consultant at Red Bull but the eyes, ears and mouth piece of team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and a figure Webber has not always seen eye to eye with.
Two days after his second win of the season at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix, Webber penned a new deal with Red Bull Racing, extending his contract with the team to the end of the 2013 season.
Before extending his Red Bull contract, Webber had talks with Ferrari over a possible switch to the Italian team. “Ferrari approached us first,” said the Australian. “Things happen for a reason and it feels I’m staying here for the right reason. We made the decision just before Silverstone when both teams seemed pretty interested. I’m happy with that decision.”
Webber’s first love was for motorbikes, and he used to race them as a youngster, before turning to go-karts when he was a teenager.
Webber switched to karting as a 14-year-old and the move paid instant dividends as he won his state championship in New South Wales. The Australian describes the medium as “very raw.”
Webber started off in Formula One as a test driver for the former Bennetton team in 2001 and got his big break in the form of a race seat with Minardi the following season.
Webber still looks fondly upon his time as a go-kart driver and recently took to the seat again as part of the Red Bull Kart Fight event in Japan.
Webber says: “Karting is the best way for you to get a feel of how to race each other, dealing with the competition, dealing with winning, dealing with losing and you soak it up so much at a young age and learn very fast.”
The forthcoming U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas will be the first F1 race to be held in the country since 2007.
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Mark Webber: From kart to cockpit
Although money and glamor grease the wheels at the Monaco GP, it does not necessarily follow that the event is a profitable enterprise for Prince Albert II’s sovereign city-state.
“The total budget for the race is around $35 million and the state provides a subsidy of $7 million towards this,” Sylt added. “However, the cost of preparing the circuit for the grand prix means that even without paying a hosting fee the race rarely makes a profit.”
With so much as stake at this weekend’s GP — including the small matter of the 2013 drivers’ championship — it also helps that the quality of racing around the streets of Monte Carlo remains undiminished.
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Apart from modifications to improve safety, the two-mile loop through the narrow, winding streets, past the majestic Casino, through the tunnel and along the harbor brimming with boats has presented the world’s fastest racers with the same rollercoaster challenge for the last 70 years.
It is the slowest and shortest race on F1′s calendar but for many drivers it is the most thrilling. Brazil’s late triple world champion Ayrton Senna — winner of a record six Monaco grands prix — said he entered a trance-like state when racing on the limit between Monte Carlo’s narrow barriers.
“Monaco is unlike any other racetrack in Formula One,” said Button, who triumphed there in 2009 on the way to winning the world title.
“A qualifying lap around here is an exhilarating experience for a driver; you turn into corners on the limit and you kiss every barrier at the exit. It’s a great challenge.”
For the month of May, Monaco hums with the rhythm of F1, and the drivers, fans and Monegasques alike anticipate the high-octane pleasures to come at this race.
“I was born in Monaco and in my life I’ve missed one grand prix,” recalled Olivié-Etiévant. “I was very sad when I missed it.
“We are very proud. Very. This is a legendary event and is really very important. It’s an atmosphere that you feel, an incredible excitement. As a Monegasque I also enjoy it very much.”
Article source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/22/sport/motorsport/monaco-grand-prix-f1-button-motorsport/index.html?eref=edition
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NewsRipplesWeb/~3/HknqD_8muIE/why-monaco-hell-is-drivers-dream
The Monaco Grand Prix has been held in the picturesque Principality of Monte Carlo on the French Riviera since 1929 and the race remains the jewel in Formula One’s crown.
Monaco is a magnet for celebrities like Hollywood actor Will Smith and popstar Nicole Scherzinger — who is dating Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Smith and “Scherzy” are pictured with Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2012.
The tiny city will welcome 200,000 fans over the grand prix weekend with many of them watching from yachts in the harbor.
The racing drivers – like Red Bull’s 2012 winner Mark Webber shown here – speed within inches of Monte Carlo’s famous landmarks.
Monaco’s street circuit is relatively unchanged since Formula One cars began racing there in 1950. Sir Stirling Moss says his victory in Monaco in 1961, shown here, was the best race of his career.
The late triple world champion Ayrton Senna won the Monaco race a record six times and says he entered a “trance-like” state while driving through the narrow streets
But for some sun-seekers in Monaco the cars are a distraction…
Mark Webber receives the winning trophy from Prince Albert II of Monaco after his superb victory from pole. 
Red Bull driver Webber leads the way but behind him Romain Grosjean forces Michael Schumacher to go wide in an early clash.
Kamui Kobayashi of the Sauber team goes airborne in spectacular fashion at the Monaco Grand Prix.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone with Hollywood actor Will Smith and Lewis Hamilton’s girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger. 
A view of the track from the harbor area of Monte Carlo which is part of the tight street circuit for the Monaco Grand Prix. 
Webber takes a post-race dip as the Red Bull team celebrate a third consecutive Monaco triumph. 
Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were long-time rivals before they became teammates at McLaren. 
Prost and Senna (No.1) clash at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in 1989. Prost clinched the title after the Brazilian was controversially disqualified after winning the race. 
As they both battled for world titles at McLaren, Prost and Senna’s relationship came under great strain. 
Stand off: Senna and Prost walk away after the early crash at Suzuka in the final race of the 1990 season which left the Brazilian as world champion.
Prost’s time with McLaren proved the most fruitful of his career as he captured three world titles. 
Prost earned the nickname ‘The Professor’ for his thoughtful and studied approach to Formula One racing. 
Prost competing in wet conditions at the Monaco Grand Prix which he won four times during his glittering career.
Prost and Senna formed a united team in 1988 as the latter won the championship for McLaren.
The medical team at Imola tend to the stricken Senna after his fateful crash in the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. 
Prost joined a pantheon of Formula One greats at Senna’s funeral in Sao Paulo in 1994. 
In the latter part of career Prost had to battle with the youthful exuberance of future seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
“I wouldn’t say I’m happy in the Formula 1 paddock,” Mark Webber told CNN. “It’s an environment that’s not always real. You can click your fingers for food, for whatever you want really. But for me, I always try to ensure that I treat people as I’d treat myself.
Mark Webber led the way from pole on the way to his eventual victory at the Monaco Grand Prix — his first win of the season. 
Red Bull’s Australian driver Mark Webber celebrates after winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone — his second victory of the 2012 season. The Australian held off Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in a close battle to win the race.
Webber is very much the understudy to double world champion Sebastian Vettel, who is seemingly on his way to a third consecutive world title.
Vettel has long been nurtured by Helmut Marko, titled a motorsport consultant at Red Bull but the eyes, ears and mouth piece of team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and a figure Webber has not always seen eye to eye with.
Before extending his Red Bull contract, Webber had talks with Ferrari over a possible switch to the Italian team. “Ferrari approached us first,” said the Australian. “Things happen for a reason and it feels I’m staying here for the right reason. We made the decision just before Silverstone when both teams seemed pretty interested. I’m happy with that decision.”
Webber switched to karting as a 14-year-old and the move paid instant dividends as he won his state championship in New South Wales. The Australian describes the medium as “very raw.”
Webber started off in Formula One as a test driver for the former Bennetton team in 2001 and got his big break in the form of a race seat with Minardi the following season. 
Webber still looks fondly upon his time as a go-kart driver and recently took to the seat again as part of the Red Bull Kart Fight event in Japan.
Webber says: “Karting is the best way for you to get a feel of how to race each other, dealing with the competition, dealing with winning, dealing with losing and you soak it up so much at a young age and learn very fast.”
The forthcoming U.S. Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas will be the first F1 race to be held in the country since 2007.
There have been protests against Formula One’s arrival in Bahrain as the race returned in 2013. Some protesters, pictured here on April 16, wanted F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone to cancel the race.
Ecclestone and FIA president Jean Todt both attended the race in 2012 when it returned to the calendar after it was called off in 2011 because of civil unrest — but this time only Ecclestone attended the grand prix.
Sebastian Vettel won the 2013 race for Red Bull as he went 10 points clear in the championship standings. 
Vettel also won last year’s race as the German went on to wrap up a third successive world title.
The Sakhir circuit was constructed in the desert outside the capital of Manama which means sand often blows across the track — those conditions can be hard work for Formula One’s engines and tires
The imposing Sakhir Tower looms over the cars as they race on the Bahrain International Circuit.
Nico Rosberg was fastest in Saturday qualifying to claim the second pole position of his career, and Mercedes’ second in a row after Lewis Hamilton was quickest in Shanghai.
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest man on the track during Friday’s afternoon practice session, and finished second behind Vettel on Sunday despite starting from eighth place.
Inside the Formula One paddock, and away from the protests, the teams and drivers got on with business as usual. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa spoke to the press on Thursday as a two-time winner in Bahrain.
A Bahraini protestor holds up a poster against the country’s upcoming Formula One Grand Prix during a demonstration in the village of Jid Ali, north-east of Isa Town. Protesters in Bahrain plan to step up demands for reform ahead of Sunday’s race.
Tires placed on the road by anti-regime protestors burn during clashes with riot police in the village of Diraz, west of Manama. Bahrain riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters, who hurled petrol bombs during protests against the staging of the race. 
Away from the protests, Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest man on the track during Friday afternoon’s practice session.
There have been protests against Formula One’s arrival in Bahrain as the race returns in 2013. Some protesters, pictured here on April 16, wanted F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone to cancel the race.
Ecclestone and FIA president Jean Todt both attended the race in 2012 when it returned to the calendar after it was called off in 2011 because of civil unrest — but this time only Ecclestone is due to attend the grand prix.
Inside the Formula One paddock, the teams and drivers get on with business as usual. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa spoke to the press on Thursday as a two-time winner in Bahrain.
Last year’s race was won by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. It was the first win of the season for the German, who went on to wrap up a third world title.
The Sakhir circuit was constructed in the desert outside the capital of Manama which means sand often blows across the track — those conditions can be hard work for Formula One’s engines and tires
The imposing Sakhir Tower looms over the cars as they race on the Bahrain International Circuit.
After 15 years with McLaren, Lewis Hamilton has flown the nest and landed in the Mercedes garage. The 2008 world champion is being tipped for success in 2013, with his new teammate Nico Rosberg showing in preseason that the new Mercedes is capable of topping the timesheets.
But if Hamilton is to win a second drivers’ championship, he will have to overcome triple world champion Sebastian Vettel. The German has taken the title in each of the last three years, with his Red Bull team also leaving other manufacturers trailing in their wake.
The title race will not be as simple as Vettel vs. Hamilton. A fired-up Fernando Alonso missed out on the 2012 crown by just three points, and the double world champion will be looking to challenge at the front of the grid given the improvements in his Ferrari following last season’s design problems. 
Five rookies will be on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix, including Valtteri Bottas (pictured) who will be behind the wheel for Williams. Caterham drafted in Giedo van der Garde, while Esteban Gutierrez makes his debut for Sauber and Marussia boast an all-rookie line up of Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.
Pirelli will serve as the official tire supplier in the final season of its three-year contract. The new tire is made of a softer rubber than its 2012 equivalent, with lap times expected to increase by up to half a second.
There will be 11 teams lining up for the first race in Melbourne following the collapse of Spanish outfit HRT after three seasons without scoring a point. 
“Get him (Webber) out of the way, he is too slow,” Sebastian Vettel disdainfully remarked over team radio at last month’s Malaysia Grand Prix. The German was instructed not to challenge Webber, who was leading the race, but ignored orders and overtook the Australian with ten laps remaining. Vettel’s tactics caused much consternation on social media and reopened the debate about the practicality of team orders in Formula 1. 
Vettel leads Webber during the Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang in March. It’s not the first time team orders have caused rifts between drivers. 
Awkward scenes on the podium at the 2010 German Grand Prix after Felipe Massa (left) surrendered the lead to his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso when the team told him that the Spaniard had the faster car.
Rubens Barrichello (right) looks far from content as teammate Michael Schumacher has a quiet word on the podium following the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, which the German controversially won. The Brazilian, who spent six years as Schumacher’s deputy at Ferrari, says he empathizes with Webber’s position at Red Bull. 
Barrichello led the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix before ceding position to his Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher. Team orders were banned the following season.
Moss (left) trails behind Fangio at the Italian Grand Prix in 1956. “I’m glad I raced when I did and not now because the pleasure was so much more then and the racing certainly was purer,” Moss says.
An unhappy Mark Webber, left, with Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel at the postrace press conference in Malaysia. 
Webber had led after coming out of his final pit stop with 13 laps to go in Sepang, but Vettel claimed victory after defying team orders to overtake while the Australian was following instructions to conserve his car.
They shared the podium with third-placed Lewis Hamilton, whose Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg obeyed team orders and did not attack the English driver even though he felt he was quicker.
Fernando Alonso won the race last year, but his 200th career grand prix was less successful. The Ferrari driver damaged his front wing early on and then made the mistake of staying out on the track too long and was not able to finish.
Jenson Button’s car is pushed back to the pit area after his crew let the McLaren leave with a loose front wheel. It ruined the 2009 world champion’s chances of earning points and he retired before the end of the race. However, his new Mexican teammate Sergio Perez finished ninth.
