MONACO GRAND PRIX: "Day 1."

The roar of Formula One engines awoke me this morning.  It was about 7 am, I went to bed with an upset stomach the night before, and I’m still kicking the shit out of myself for saying something stupid to someone I care about a couple of nights ago.  Anyway, I followed my ears to the window, stepped out onto the balcony, and could see a long line of Formula One cars stretching down Avenue Princess Grace.  The 66th Monaco Grand Prix had begun.

This is actually my first foray into the realm of motorsports and, fortunately for me, the Monaco Grand Prix is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Indy 500 and Le Mans.  According to Wikipedia, the Circuit de Monaco consists of the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine, which includes the famous harbour.  The race circuit has many elevation changes, tight corners, and a narrow course that make it perhaps the most demanding track in Formula One racing.  As of 2007, only two drivers have crashed and ended up in the harbour, the most famous being Alberto Ascari in 1955.  Despite the fact that the course has had minor changes several times during its history, it is still is considered the ultimate test of driving skills in Formula One, and if it were not already an existing Grand Prix, it would not be permitted to be added to the schedule for safety reasons.  Triple Formula One champion Nelson Piquet was fond of saying that racing at Monaco was “like trying to cycle round your living room," but added that "a win here was worth two anywhere else.”

Anyway, today was the practice session.  Tomorrow is the pole position.  The day after is the race itself.  (At least, I think that's how it works.)  Charlie and I decided to take a walk down to the famous hairpin turn, in order to watch what we could of the practice session.  Our tickets are for Saturday and Sunday, so it was difficult for us to get close to the action.  Regardless, I took a few shots, in case some of you are interested.

The view from my balcony this morning...

There were camera crews everywhere, televising the race...

I wish I had a lens like that...

Security was tight...

I took some shots of the race, but they weren't very good because of the distance and the barricades.  I'll get better ones over the next two days.  In the meantime, I had to get a bit creative.  If you'll bear with me for a moment, I want you to forget the visuals and focus on the sounds of Formula One... Don't forget to pump up the volume...

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cItW438rew

By the way, Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen edged out Lewis Hamilton to set the pace in practice session. 

-Dax