View north above Monaco

View north-east over Monaco

View east over Monaco.

Standing on the Quai Antoine 1er just in front of Stars’N'Bars in Monaco, the sun was starting it descent casting the last of it brightness on the face of mountains surrounding the principality. I’ve always enjoyed the views of dusk year round from here; the feeling if being held in the bosom of the Alpes as they gaze out to sea.

D50 looking east towards Gorbio.

D50 looking towards Menton and Italy.

I really enjoy the drive along the D50, which runs along the hills from Gorbio to the Grand Corniche just above Roquebrune village. It is woody, a little remote, peaceful, and offers wonderful views. The route is about 8 kilometres long and is very popular for walkers, runners, and cyclists. At this time of year, it’s about the only place I get a true sense of autumn, as the south of France tends to be constantly green due to the warmer climate of the region.

D50 looking south over Cap Martin.

Grande Corniche looking west towards Monaco.

The Monaco Grand Prix is special more for the venue than the actual race itself. I’ve watch the GP several times on TV in the past years and qualifying is far more important, because who ever gets pole position will most likely be the race winner barring any mishaps. This is because the cars are too broad for the narrower track, which makes passing very difficult. However, it is not impossible, as I remember a very clever and imaginative pass a couple of years ago by David Coulthard, where he made an inside pass on the hair pins just before the tunnel.

Still passing is very rare and so any drama typically comes from unfortunate mishaps rather than skill. Every GP I’ve seen has been dry and sunny. However, the weather forecast for this weekend is calling for rain on Sunday, which many of the drivers have comment on, saying that Monaco would become 10x more dangerous. I’ve never seen a wet race in Monaco, but given how boring a dry race is, if it rains on Sunday, then the drama through misfortune will be high, unless all the drivers decide to play safe.

Now I don’t wish anyone harm or misfortune, but personally I think a wet race in Monaco would be a more interesting test of man and machine. And for the fans that brave the weather, should prove very memorable. One way or other, I have a sense that this coming Sunday is going to be dramatic.

I mentioned before how Cannes triples in population during the Film Festival, well Monaco is probably no exception and possibly worse as it is only about 5 square kilometres in size. So with both the Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Grand Prix, you can imagine how trying to do any normal day-to-day business in these two places in the days leading up to and during these events can be a nightmare.

Nice Airport is saturated with the influx of travellers (provide the French unions aren’t taking advantage of the situation to stage a strike), the A8 highway sees increased congestion, accommodation is scarce (often booked a year in advance), traffic and parking are more painful than pulling teeth. If you can afford to go by helicopter, boat, or have the patience for the train, it is highly recommended to leave the car at home (or better yet, stay away).

Most employees working in Monaco during GP try to arrive by train, car, or scooter before all the parking is taken and before the track is closed to the public around 7h00, as the race circuit uses the streets of Monaco. Some repair services for bars, restaurants, and hotels even put up employees in hotels during this time in case of customer emergency.

I am a programmer by trade, preference, passion, and pleasure, but have also done technical field support over the years for some ISPs I’ve worked for. I still have one or two clients in Monaco that I still service and on a handful of occasions someone’s computer goes tits up in the days leading up to the GP or worse during race days. Panic occurs faster than Louis Hamilton can shift gears. Needless to say, it is always a good idea to have working backup and recovery solution.

The closest I’ve ever been to the Grand Prix was the week I spent “on-call” at Stars’N'Bars one year, in case of networking and computing problems with their Internet café. I didn’t really have to be there, but I was between gigs and could afford the time, and thought it would be a neat experience. SNB is on Quai Antoine (by Rascasse corner) on the sea side of the track where all the F1 mobile garages are parked. It’s impossible to access when the track is closed, unless you take the long walk around the Roche, which is pretty good exercise when you’re lugging a 5 kilo laptop bag packed with tools, CDs, parts, clean shirt, etc.

Stars’N'Bars is an American style sports bar, three floors, supervised kids room, video games, sports memorabilia, and 21+ TV screens. It is one of the livest spots in Monaco for young and old year round. The food is pretty good too for American style cuisine. (I sort of treat SNB as my “local” even if it is in Monaco.) SNB is a popular spot for many of the motor sport fans, because of its proximity to the “paddock”, since many of the F1 drivers and their crews can be seen nearby (or even in the restaurant at day’s end) and it’s often possible to snarf an autographed cap or shirt.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to see the actual race from the restaurant, even from the third floor, due to all the spectator stands and the low profile of the cars, but you can watch on all the TV screens they have going. However, forget about listening to the commentary, even if SNB bothered to turn it on, because when the race cars are on the track, all you can hear is something that sounds like a trillion mosquitoes on Red Bull. And you know how much I like mosquitoes.

All in all, Monaco F1 Grand Prix is said to be the highlight of the F1 calendar. It’s a very special F1 event for motor racing fans and I’m sure it’s worth attending at least once. Monaco and the surrounding region just have so much character both by day and by night, that there is always something to do, even if it’s just finding an out of the way restaurant for a long lunch or attending the restaurants, bars, and clubs after the days events.