PINKS
Park your prejudice about Monaco, says F1 presenter Natalie. It’s a race like no other and a must attend event
NATALIE PINKHAM
ILLUSTRATION:
THE RED DRESS
The Monaco GP should be on everyone’s bucket list, and before you reject the suggestion based on the perceived price, know that it is easily achievable on a budget, and no less thrilling. On one of my favourite ever race weekends back in 2010 I stayed in a hotel where the ‘en suite’ was a hose pipe on the outside wall.
“It’s not a race, it’s a procession!” I hear you scream. Granted, overtakes are few and far between, so the key to loving Monaco is accepting that it’s the Saturday not the Sunday that’s the star attraction. Qualifying on the streets of Monte Carlo is arguably the most compelling sporting competition in the world. It’s a heart in mouth minute and 10 seconds for the world’s finest drivers to thread the eye of a needle at 190mph, through the narrowest, most unforgiving of circuits, where the smallest of mistakes can have catastrophic consequences.