Monaco - Formula 1's Raison D'être

And so here it is. The LRGP convoy's arrival into the Principality of Monaco last night held a certain significance. We were not just arriving at another Grand Prix, we were arriving at the Grand Prix.

There may well be other contenders for those races that like to consider themselves the Grand Prix. The British GP at Silverstone, the home of motorsport. The name of Spa-Francorchamps is synonymous with any competition on four wheels. Singapore even, as a new contender for most memorable race because it takes place at night. However, there is nowhere quite like Monaco for wow factor.

This time yesterday, we were still in Barcelona chewing over what was a mixed result for the team on Sunday. However, there was little time to dwell as all thoughts were now turning to a little race in Monaco.

As our team minibus set off from the hotel at 10.30am, we cruised up the A9, before enjoying a stop-off for some moules-frites at a delightful fishing town just across the French border (see photos). With a cloudless sky above, and the thermometer rising to the top end of the twenties, the mood was buoyant ahead of our arrival at (I'll say it once again) Monaco. Well, Monte Carlo to be precise.

Five hours on from lunch, having skirted past the likes of Montpellier and Aix-en-Provence, we found ourselves emerging and exiting the renowned tunnels of the Cote d'Azur. For anyone that knows this part of the world, there is a certain thrill to exiting these tunnels and seeing what view lies to the side. Enter a tunnel with nothing other than a Intermarché hypermarket on the right. On exit, nothing but clear blue ocean and yachts-a-many moored at the port.

Ask any other driver – even ask our Nick or Vitaly – and they will tell you it is this race that has the x-factor. A street circuit that's close to the crowds, hugs the water and one that twists and turns into Monte Carlo's very heart. This is Formula 1's trump card, and it plays it splendidly. Being given a newspaper's calendar of sport supplement on January 1 ^st each year, a sports fan may mark out the likes of a World Cup, an Olympics, Wimbledon, perhaps the Champions League Final, the Ashes (if you're English or Australian!), and you can add to that, the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. Not a little scribble, not some footnote, but firmly at the heart of any sporting calendar in bold and underlined. This is where it happens.

The glitz, the glamour – you will hear these words tossed around in abundance over the next few days as the race approaches. Yes, there is a heavy dose of 21^st-century excitement and lavishness, but one ingredient of the successful Monaco GP recipe that should not be forgotten is tradition. This ingredient is one that certainly is not forgotten by the drivers competing here – they will be heading into the race knowing that the legends have won here. Sir Jackie Stewart won here three times, as did Sir Stirling Moss. Alain Prost four times, Michael Schumacher five, Graham Hill five and Ayrton Senna a magnificent six. For the F1 grid of 2011, there is an opportunity to join these greats on the winners' board, and come Sunday that is exactly what they will be hoping to achieve.