The Formula 1 circus is gathering on the Cote d’Azur for the annual shindig around the streets of Monaco. For most of the people on this planet, Monaco is the epitome of glamour and they say that even the bushmen in the Kalahari know that the Principality is famous for a car race. Some may think that it is a sunny place filled with shady people (as Somerset Maugham famously described it) and it is fair to say that there are more than a few bling-infested barbarians, with mountains of money but no class nor education. And yet, try as you might to hate the place, it is impossible to deny that this is a beautiful part of the world, albeit rudely over-developed and spectacularly over-priced. In recent years folk from Russia have infested these shores, just as 100 years ago, the White Russians came, fleeing the Bolsheviks. Perhaps they lack the gentility of the aristocrats back then, but as we know from John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bernie Ecclestone, money really does makes the world go around… The prices at Grand Prix time are today designed for oligarchs and computer nerd squillionaires and I long ago gave up lodging in the Principality. For a while I hung out in Beaulieu, but the prices got sillier and so I began renting apartments and villas.
I’ve stayed in some spectacular places in recent years and, because one rents from Saturday to Saturday, one gets a few days off before the Grand Prix begins. And so we left Paris on Friday and stopped in an undistinguished hotel in an undistinguished town in the Rhone Valley. On Saturday morning we hit the sunshine not far from Montelimar. We passed by an insignificant place called Lapalud, where the great Emile Levassor (of Panhard and Levassor) crashed on the Paris-Marseilles-Paris in 1896, swerving into a ditch to avoid an errant dog. He hurt himself so badly that he died early the following year. Over on the left is Mont Ventoux where there was an insane hill climb from 1902 onwards, won by some of the sport’s greatest names. Ahead is Avignon, home town of Jean Alesi, and from there one crosses the Durance, skirting the delightful Luberon, and passes Cavaillon, the capital of the melon. Ahead on the right is the airbase at Salon de Provence and just beyond it, the old autodrome at Miramas, briefly the home of the French GP in the 1920s. It’s still operating today, as a BMW test track. All along the coast from there to Monaco there are motorsport stories to tell, from Paul Ricard to Hyeres, Gonfaron to Mont Agel, La Garoupe to the Col de Turini. The region pervades the sport, not just with the Monte Carlo Rally or the Monaco Grand Prix but in more subtle ways as well. In 1898, for example, the Austro-Hungarian consul Emil Jellinek opened a dealership in Nice to sell Gottlieb Daimler’s automobiles to the rich and famous who were wintering on the Côte d’Azur. He competed in racing events, using as a pseudonym the name of his daughter Mercedes. Two years later he commissioned a new automobile from Stuttgart and this was the very first Mercedes.
This year’s accommodation is in La Turbie, which was the finish of the world’s very first hillclimb race in 1897. It is the village on top the hill above Monaco and a stunning place. It is on the Grande Corniche, the highest (and the most spectacular) of the three coast roads and this stakes a very decent claim to be France’s greatest piece of road, ducking from ridge to ridge. From up here one can look down about the palaces of the rich and famous.
I will go down to the stews of Monaco later in the week but for the next few days I’m going to simply enjoy looking down on the world below from a terrace (one of two!) from where I can see the Mediterranean, surrounded by a garden filled with cherry, lemon and olive trees with a mighty vine providing a little shade.
Another bottle of rosé? Churlish not to..
Well, dayum…
Is Monaco the only race where you make a point of finding nice digs?
Yes
Life is hard 🙂
Even more so now I’ve seen the piccys. Enjoy Joe.
To my greatest surprise I was invited to report on the Amber Lounge party on Friday, so I will have my very first glimpse of the Monaco Grand Prix.
I was in Monaco for the first time this January when I was spectating the Monte Carlo Rally. I came out of the train station, started walking up towards the Casino, and I was blown away by the measures not seen on TV. It’s so tight and the elevation changes are so radical that if someone told me there were 1000hp cars racing around those streets, I would laughed out loud if I didn’t know it was true.
I mean, the fact that from the Casino Square you arrive to the entrance of the tunnel (which isn’t really a tunnel any more as the cliff was demolished from above the road, giving place to a hotel) within three corners and the elevation change is the size of an 8-9-story building is just mesmerizing, but shows perfectly it’s nowhere near fitting for cars with wings.
So now I will not only enjoy _some_ of the racing weekend, but also being in the glamorous background scene is somewhat frightening, to be honest. Nevertheless, I had a shirt made with the original poster of the 1936 Hungarian Grand Prix printed on it to instantly put me on the map and help start conversations – in case Prince Albert or Bernie wants to have a talk. 🙂
Agreed Gabor that’s how I imagine Monaco as an old vintage poster and please excuse me posting a link Joe, but this is 100% how I see your life at Monaco …. ( and totally unlike the bloody hard work going to some other GP’s like China with visa’s and taxi’s and planes etc ) ……………. Hope you enjoy it. http://www.auto-mobilia.eu/vintage-posters/11-1493/monaco-1933-5-gran-prix-automobile.htm
Joe Saward: “Some may think that it is a sunny place filled with shady people (as Somerset Maugham famously described it) and it is fair to say that there are more than a few bling-infested barbarians, with mountains of money but no class nor education.”
Monaco is also the place where the local club didn’t run a GP in 1938 when a German team win seemed inevitable. Traditionally, Monaco was one of the races in the pre WWII European Championship. The Sliver Arrows weren’t welcome in 1937.
Doh. A “Sliver Arrow” (Mercedes-Benz) won in 1937. They weren’t invited back for 1938, probably not welcome the previous year.
You do know how to live. Enjoy.
Awesome. I was in Monaco last week – as awesome as it is, the hills and roads above it are even more spectacular. Had no idea of the historic motorsport saturation in the area though – wish I’d had a Saward app on my phone directing to and highlighting all the little racing world’s nooks and crannies.
Possible startup idea Joe?
Good idea. I’ll get my army of helpers on to it…
Good stuff. Let me have 5% if it takes off.
Torture us with a pic or two, could you?
Churlish not to….
Wonderful piece Joe…. Many times the travelogue pieces that you write are my most favourite…
Ditto this. More please Mr Saward 🙂
me three.
Joe, last week I was reading about Elio de Angelis on the anniversary of his death testing a Brabham at Paul Ricard. Such a sad story – inadequate marshalling at F1 tests back then as I understand it.
It was suggested that Bernie Ecclestone bought and revamped the circuit partly out of a sense of guilt for Elio’s death. Would you know anything about the veracity of this?
Love your travel posts BTW, as well as the purely F1 ones.
I always love reading your stories that are not F1, or racing. It ads the human element. Great piece! Thank you! … and regarding the bottle of wine? Chin-Chin!
Joe, thanks for everything you do. Your blogs are insightful and entertaining. You provide perspective no other coverage provides – enjoy your bottle of wine it’s well deserved.
man I’m jealous. I’m on my way to Monaco next time I have an extra $15000 lying around.
I remember 98-03′ the full Monaco GP weekend tickets + accommodation in Nice was cheaper than petrol + silverstone tickets… Not sure if it is now?!
For the uninitiated like us, could you give some ballpark figures for the hotel tariff during the grand Prix weekend? We like to be dazzled sometimes.
I don’t know anymore but it will not have gone down since I left…
I stayed in an apartment in Nice last year from Thursday to Sunday for about €350. Only a 20-minute train journey into Monaco, so it was easy enough. Had to book the previous December though. Interesting place is Monaco.
As far as I can gather, it’s the ticket prices that can be painful to the pocket…
Well, the Fairmont is quite nice. Four nights over the GP weekend for a double room …..£15,212. Or you could slum it in a cramped apartment, not overlooking the circuit, for about £4,000 for the same four nights.
Top tip is to stay in Cannes or Nice – much more hotel for your money, and the train brings you right into monaco. There are bargains to be had in “Cannes la boca”.
This is a much more pleasant post than the ones you made about staying in the brothels of South Korea.
Enjoy!
Another great post. Thanks Joe. Love the Mercedes story – never heard that before and that’s what I think sets your reporting apart. The historical context always present in the current goings on in F1. Great – we are very lucky to get this for free…
Love the history Joe. You often help me achieve the ‘I learnt something today’ 🙂
Joe, i’ll be arriving tomorrow.. Prepare the spare room!
Have missed most of the season thanks to the paywall and my inability to surmount it. I believe Monaco will be broadcast free to air in my region. Really looking fwd to it, one of my favourite races of the year. Would love to visit it one day and walk the track. Be great to see the elevation changes and tightness first hand.
I’ve just paid £10.99 to get a week’s pass on Nowtv which gives me a week of skysports all channels. (A day pass at £6.99 is 24 hours to the second so is ok for just the race ) This enables me to see it all, as not only is the BBC not showing any of the three practice sessions, but not even R5Live are there either for the practice.
The schedules for everything are on the f1broadcasting wordpress blog.
I note that BT are showing the World Series Renault race. I remember the Renault 5 race back in 197something, as being “very bouncy”.
I was out while the Spanish GP was on, intended to watch the highlights on bbc iplayer, discovered the race was quite dull and still haven’t watched it.. I just think ‘why bother?’ when I know it’s dull.
Hi Daniel, it’s hard to watch a highlights package once you’ve heard something about the race and it’s difficult to avoid any news of the race post race, whilst waiting for a highlights package.
I stumbled on finding that the Spanish GP was actually going to be free to air where I am. Over the course of the day of the broadcast I thought more about the prospect of sitting up for a late night telecast, feeling seedy on Monday morning for doing so, the fact that I usually find the Spanish GP to be one of the least interesting races, and that I won’t get to see half the races this year (the ones on Fox) and thought stuff it. I’m not going to hang around to be a gpfan in waiting for the occasional telecast they throw out. I am making the exception for Monaco but in general am not going bother too much trying to catch the odd race here and there, when the broadcasters decide to throw one out free to air for those of us not in a position to buy their pay view package.
The one highlights package I did watch earlier this year was pretty dreadful. Very hard to follow, and whilst I knew I was missing chunks of the race wasn’t sure where those chunks were missed. There were situations though where positions just appeared to change but no reason was provided ie pit stop error, overtaking etc… There were also lots of overtakes shown but there was no context around them. Cars would be considerable distance apart and then all of a sudden changing positions because laps catching up were not shown, or the focus was on something else entirely until they were overtaking in a particular corner.
An F1 season is a story told between 18 and 20 chapters (or thereabouts). In the past 20 years I’ve missed the odd chapter. This year I can’t afford half the chapters, so I will skip the book, treating Monaco as a stand alone novella perhaps… The broadcast situation really has ruined for it me. I realise I’m probably odd man out here, and I accept that, so if anyone feels like admonishing me for not having the money to pay for Fox sports coverage please don’t bother, we’ve all got better ways to spend our time.
I’m just giving an early impression of the broadcast sitch without pay view access and a reliance on highlights packages that are an insult to our intelligence. It’s a perspective, one of millions and therefore worth nothing on its own I guess, and one which I realise has no impact on the current pay view strategy. Sorry for bringing the topic up again, but we are part way into the season and already, after a 20 year love I am largely switching off.
But obviously I haven’t switched off enough to not read an F1blog, or to not submit my comments or to not look forward to the Monaco GP. It’s hard to just stop 20 years of behaviour in the course of a couple of months. Like an addict who can no longer finance his addiction, now reliant upon a reduced handout from a benevolent dealer who will run out of patience in 2016.
You don’t sound much of a fan Adam I’m afraid. When I started watching F1 in the sixties aged 10 coverage was pathetic compared today – that’s what, nearly 50 yrs of watching? Yes, highlights are not ideal but we all know why – don’t we Bernie? Maybe if the general public had not continually whinged about the Beeb and its license fee you might have had your live coverage instead of playing into the hands of SKY and the Great Australian’s biased UK press. As for Monaco, much as I like the setting, it’s usually one of the most boring races in the calendar (much as I hesitate to say this) not helped by its duration, but if you’re a true fan you live in expectation that one day you might see a battle such as the famous Senna/Mansell duel many moons ago. Don’t go especially but if you’re passing worth a visit – if you can park.
I have to disagree. Monaco with F1 running around it is spectacular. You have to see it to appreciate what these guys do!
While I agree that if you’re physically there – Monaco looks like it ought to be a lot of fun. However most of us are not that lucky and for the tv follower, ‘the show’ is well…not much of one from the perspective of the television set.
I’m sure it is Joe, in fact it’s probably the one race I really want to see live but haven’t got around to it yet (there’s still time!). I was really making the point about live TV – I think the BBC probably consider it be not worth the trouble and have sacrificed it favour of other races. Either that or they can’t afford Eddie Jordan’s bar bill!
Stephen, don’t be afraid.
As for complaining about the Beeb, I live in Australia. We are losing free to air, but not because of anyone whinging about licence fees. We are losing it because. Murdoch has nabbed it for Foxtel As for Murdoch, you can say his name surely, he isn’t a Great Australian, indeed I don’t think he is even an Australian citizen these days. A fair percentage of us would have his guts for garters given half a chance.
Monaco, you don’t like it… maybe you don’t sound much like an F1 fan to me, but each to his own. I think F1 cars and drivers in the tight confines and limited visibility of Monaco is surely part of the heart of F1. Indeed I think Monaco captures the death defying spirit of F1 greater than anywhere today now that we have an abundance of Tilkedromes and revised and occasionally neutered classic tracks.
For me to watch F1 over the last 20 years has usually involved many late nights, many early mornings, unlike you Brits who have always had F1 as a predominately lazy Sunday afternoon viewing. I’m sorry the coverage was pathetic when you were younger, and congrats to you for sticking with it, but don’t I think it’s reason to be happy about coverage being pathetic today is it? Also my expectations In my middle age is different to what I would have put up with as a 10 year old. If we went back to post war rationing would we say good-o dig it in, people used to live like this? No, we say it’s 2015 ffs it should be better…
Having said all that I do understand your position that as someone who has lived longer than me and therefore have an extra 30 years viewing, you would have to be a much greater fan than I. Us whippersnapper don’t know how bloody easy we’ve had it do we…
The beeb gave half the live coverage away to save money, I don’t see how it had anything to do with the public talking about the licence fee. It probably wasn’t helped by 3 or 4 years of relatively dull racing with Seb out in front at every race, causing viewers to turn off ? I guess the beeb thought for the expenditure, the coverage wasn’t worth it and decided to sell half of it to Sky.
On the contrary Stephen, to me Adam sounds like one of many, many fans, who are finding it hard to justify watching the tv shows. Like you, I’ve followed F1 ( and all other motorsports ) for 50 year or so. There was actually a lot of motorsport on tv in those days, but little F1. If I remember right, back in the glorious Black & White TV age, we would have Monaco, the Nurburgring & Monza as live events, and also The Race of Champions at Brands, The Silverstone International Trophy & The Oulton Park Gold Cup, as F1 events to watch.
Then Dear Old Irreplaceable Murray started the BBC’s 30 minute highlight shows and we suddenly had Kyalami and Jarama etc etc, to watch. All superbly done by that great commentator, whose voice, mistakes and sheer enthusiasm I still miss to this day! Murray could make the most dull F1 race sound like the most exciting thing to ever have happened!
As to the Beeb, I think most everyone thought that they did a great job, although ITV put more into it when they took over, the adverts were a constant pain, and coverage has definitely dropped standards since back then.
The problem for Bernie & the Moneymen, is that while they may get loadsamoney at present, in order to make the tv rights valuable, they need big exposure on free to air. This is now not happening, and obviously people are reaching for the OFF button. As that situation expands, and advertisers find this to be the case, then the rate card value falls, and with that so do the Paywall tv rates, so Bernie & Co are just shooting themselves in the foot right now, but being blinded by greed, they appear to think that it will not hurt their bottom line at all. It will, but the effects will happen slowly at first, and then multiply rapidly.
And losing people like Adam, and you and me, is just the start of it. One hopes that eventually, it will turn full circle, as life has a habit of doing. F1 will revert back to the enthusiasts who really care, and to casual viewers who like thrills, speed, and cars that really look different and are even differing colours! The Beeb will return, Rupert will walk off as there is no money in it, and Engineers and new Team Owners will appear, to produce a formula that people really want to watch. In time, everything that was goes around again, I’m pretty sure this will happen to F1, and motorsport in general. If it doesn’t then the future really would be bleak!
Damian, I really appreciate your support. I do consider myself a fan. If people judge me to not be a fan because I don’t want to give Murdochs Foxtel something in the order of $750 AUD a year to watch F1 then it only reinforces that this is not a sport for the people but for the elite, or at least those that have enough disposable income they can blow it on a Foxtel subscription. As much as I love F1 the money required is committed to my family’s needs not my viewing pleasures. I don’t think being a good father and husband makes me an unworthy F1 fan.
We haven’t always agreed on some aspects of F1 but I think anyone who has read a few of our posts, yours and mine, would know we are both very passionate about F1 and saddened by some aspects of its current direction. Thanks again, I really needed that, I was starting to lose faith and believe that maybe I don’t deserve to call myself a fan after all. That the 20 years I’ve watched, discussed and promoted the sport to friends and family were a complete waste of time as it was never enough to qualify as a “real” fan of the sport. Cheers man.
Adam, I had the mis-fortune to catch some of Fox’s coverage of the Monaco E-prix. The mis-fortune does not lie in the fact that it was Formula E, far from it. It was the dire quality of said coverage. Constant interruptions, summaries from some nobody who’s grasp of facts, motor-racing in general, and Formula E in particular was slack, to say the least. Not to mention the summariser being perfectly happy to talk over the real commentators on the English international feed Fox were clearly wrapping up as their own product.
How anyone could bring themselves to PAY for Fox coverage is completely beyond me after that experience… quite apart from the fact it’s part of Murdoch’s Empire of Evil(tm).
p.s. I’m a fan like Adam – I struggle to get up the motivation to watch races like the Spanish GP. For that matter, Monaco often looks procession on the telly, regardless of how it must feel to be there. Joe, perhaps you should try the ‘at home’ experience of a grand prix weekend via BBC’s iPlayer (or Sky’s equivalent if they have one) next time you a few hours to spend in the UK.
I think it’s fair to say I’m pretty F1 obsessed. I watch every race I can I catchup when I can’t see them. I talk about it every chance I get etc. etc. so I think I could be classed as a fan!
However! I’m also a person with principles. As such I would not countenance giving Murdoch any of my money.
Does that make me less of a fan because I won’t give money to someone of dubious ethical/legal standing? No, of course not!
If you think you’re a fan of F1, then you’re a fan of F1. No one else can dictate ones own level of ‘fandom’ for something!
Stick to your principles Adam- they do you credit!
Hi Daniel and Damian – the Beeb has been under constant pressure (I’d say whinging if I was feeling less charitable), much politically motivated of course, to cut costs. The general public have been a party to that. The UK’s license fee is not the most expensive in the world (easy to check on the Internet) yet it has to pay for BBC TV and radio (which free to air, no license fee) without adverts. I’m certain we’d pay a fee even without the BBC. Anyway, accordingly they compromised and did a deal with BE – there’s the connection Daniel, you get what you wish for sometimes.
Damian, I agree with most of what you say (other than your comments re Muarry Walker – not a fan). But, call me fashioned, I’ll stick with it until either things improve or I’m left with my old scrapbooks!
On reflection, I agree with your comments about MW. I have just been listening to his commentary – Mansell qualifying – Monaco 1991. After about 10 seconds, it just starts to grate & gets irritating!! I guess it’s just that I’ve now got used to the more measured style of Brundle, Coulthard, JA & Ben E…..;)
I’m with Damian C & Adam. Like Adam, I AM a true fan – passionate about the sport. The loss of live coverage from the ‘ordinary’ TV channels has killed it for me also. Like Adam, I too have family commitments and have far better (more essential) uses for my hard-earned than donating the money to Rupert/Bernie & the rest of the gang. In my ‘heyday’ when I had the resources, I’d attend 3 of 4 of the European races each year – Senna/Mansell/Prost/Hakkinen all at their peak – enough memories to last a lifetime. And of course, was able watch Murray (and the peerless James Hunt) every Sunday. Being ‘tossed’ the odd morsel be the Beeb doesn’t do it for me – the comparison of an F1 season to a book of many chapters is bang-on. At the risk of embarrassing Joe, if it wasn’t for this unique blog, I probably wouldn’t be following the sport as closely as I have during the past 4 years or so, let alone staying as well-informed as I feel I am.
Don’t you think though there’s a time when some naturally lose interest be it for whatever reason, family or business for example? One can’t always blame the sport – or example MS used to always win when he set out in a Ferrari (more or less anyway!) but viewing figures were higher then, particularly in Germany. Whereas now…… All televised sport has changed, money changes hands and viewing drops but the owners get more money (Moto GP?). Take soccer as an example, or cricket – free to air is disappearing whether we like it or not and I can’t see F1 spearheading any campaign to the contrary.
DearJoe, all
Stephen- to quote that old Secret Policeman’s ball ‘4 Yoorkshiremen ‘ skit -‘ LOOXURY!’
My f1 fan-ship, down here in the Antipodes, involved shelling out 40c per fortnight, out of an allowance of $1pw, and reading a monochrome newspaper called Auto Action.
That continued till we finally got FTA F1 in about 1980.
So, given that I haven’t shelled out for pay TV, because I don’t want to send a brass razoo in the direction of Citizen Rupert ( who renounced his Australian citizenship over a decade ago, and was not mourned by this little black duck).
With deepest respect, I don’t think it is either relevant, or worth the time to pass judgement on the quality of anyone’s love of f1. It is, after all, a leisure activity, and, how any of us choose to engage that activity is entirely up to each of us.
Again, I stress, with deepest respect.
Cheers
MarkR
Dear Joe, all
Well, if they admonish you when you can’t afford it, Adam, they can admonish me first, because I can, and haven’t shelled out- even though I could be cheering Will Power on at Indy this weekend. I may decide to shell out and get it installed before LeMans.
At least, in Oz, Monaco will be live and free, or, whatever it is the FTA stations boast about, when Fox allows them.
The thought that 50% of the $750 goes to Citizen Rupert is hard to bear.
Churlish not to…????
Glad to see you are enjoying a working holiday, Joe.
Cheers
MarkR
Thanks Mark, I appreciate your comments as well. I’m hoping to get LeMans coverage online and avoid giving Murdoch any money. After the millions his companies received from the Australian Tax Office I don’t understand why any of us in Oz should be paying him anything… miserable old prune owes us something of value in return for the money he has already taken, and the democratic processes he has fouled along the way. I don’t begrudge anyone their Foxtel subscription though, sop lease understand this is an attack on the Murdoch empire not on those who choose to use it’s services.
Dear Joe, all
Adam, I have just discovered a great way to view F1- on Friday, I hand over on 8gb thumb drive to a mate, who has Fox- on Mon I get it back, load it into the laptop, burn a couple of DVDs, and Voila!!! Cost- taking my mate to lunch at work!!!!
Thus, no money shelled out to Citizen Rupert (who, for the edification of all, is NOT an Australian Citizen.
As to LeMans- am exploring similar options- once I divest myself of my mobile BB and get 50gb for a tiny bit more than my current 5.
Cheers
MarkR
Nice place Joe. The first time we went to Monaco we drove the circuit but couldn’t find a place to park anywhere – and this was out of season! I’m sure you’re not, but if you fancy a trip away from F1 try the Hanbury Gardens just across the border – lovely location on the shores of the Med. Enjoy your stay.
Enjoy your week, I hope the weather and racing are both kind to you. Two laptops? your other half or one of your army of helpers or are you ambidextrous?
I’m hoping for a Nico win on Sunday to close it up a bit. I will have to watch the Beeb having given up Sky this year – this is the one race that they don’t cover live that I hate missing live
It is a His and Hers laptop situation
Perhaps a NowTV box is your solution? It works well once set up, although you’re still lining Murdoch’s pockets, albeit without a contract.
Let’s hope one of those bloody laptops illustrated actually works this weekend…
It does…
Hi Joe….lucky ***!!! What a great view….I’ve passed through Monaco twice, and driven round the circuit each time, it really is mind blowing, all of it, but the rise and turn into Casino Square and the Loews Hairpin plus the Tunnel, standout for me……it hasn’t been a sensible place for an F1 car since probably 1975/76, and although only highlights in the UK, I shall be watching the whole of them, which will constitute the first time this year that I’ve watched a whole ( although truncated ) GP. For a bloke that used to go to GP’s in the 70’s/80’s and missed only 3 BBC F1 televised events over some 30 years, this is a sad measure of how far my interest has now declined.
However I shall watch because it is a circuit that demands the highest possible level of skill sets from the drivers, and maybe, just maybe, something mad will happen and a rank outsider might win? My next viewing will be Silverstone, and the remainder of my season will be Spa,Monza Suzuka……won’t waste my time on the others..Hope you and your wife have a great week!
If you’re coming past Lyon on the way back up, pop in and I’ll gladly share a bottle of the good stuff with you.
Or, you know, just give me a wave on the way past, I’m sure you have better places to be and things to be doing.
I turned off before Lyons and went by ay of St Etienne
As my sister should say, ‘Well Jel’!
Lovely piece, makes a dreary UK Tuesday a bit more bearable!
We are off to Holland & France on Thursday, wifi on the ferry but then nothing until next week when we get to France, so will pick up GP+ then.
Elsewhere on that Internet the canonical response has three letters, starts with “G” and rhymes with “bit”.
Great post, Joe. Can you tell that I’m a tiny bit jealous?
My first trip to Monaco in ’88 was following a shakedown test at Paul Ricard with Leyton House. As a fairly inexperienced HGV driver at the time, I took the wrong turning in the transporter and ended up on the Alto Corniche, which is a mountain goat track! I was on my own, in a right hand drive truck, peering down at obvlivion, and I can honestly say that I have never been so scared driving anything as I was trying to get that thing down the mountain! I can see why Grace Kelly met her end up there, as it was hardly fit for a car, let alone a 40 foot artic!!
‘. . . epitome of glamour . . .’
Historically due to cleverly targeting and attracting the wealthy, I assume.
If only F1 could learn from Monaco and do the same it wouldn’t be in its current hole.
As for the view – La Turbie beats Monaco hands down as far as images go.
Nice lemons!
A great view – you deserve it. Enjoy!
I have been an avid F1 fan in Hong Kong for more than 30 years and I only attended the Monaco GP for the first time a couple years ago. It was a pilgrimage for me and the experience was so amazing that, even though it really stretched my finances, I would like to go there one more time before I die.
Nice…
I have studied this article twice now and clearly the message is : that BMW are about to return to F1 aided by money from Miramax.
Hi Joe, on a practical note, how do you transport yourself down to Monaco from La Turbie?
When I stay in Eze Village, I drive down to Eze Bord de Mer, park for free, and get the train to Monaco. The trains are full and don’t always stop, so can spend an hour+ waiting. Is there a better way? Busses?
Sadly not going this year, but will do next. Enjoy the amazing roads!
Drive and use Press parking
Maybe next year I will make it to that sleepy Mediterranean fishing village.
Joe, what a lovely piece really evocative.
Joe,
Thanks for sharing your real Monaco experience and for including the historical perspective as well. Truth + Context = great journalism.
Bonjour!
Sir, I think you deserve to be enjoying yourselves so much. Good Job. Have a few more.
Wow – a hillclimb up Mont Ventoux! I am supposing it is the same Mont Ventoux that is an “insane hillclimb” in the Tour de France cycle race these days and I am also guessing it was not surfaced in the early days? I wonder if the local motor club has considered organising France’s answer to Pikes Peak? Maybe Sebastion (Loeb, not the other one) would fancy a sprint up that one in his Peugeot? Great article, enjoy your Monaco GP preparation.
Yes, the same road
Enjoy life Joe! This is what its al about. The rest is just business….
Which one is the smoker ?
Not me
“because one rents from Saturday to Saturday”
So where do you stay Saturday night, or do you rent for 2 weeks?
A week and a day
Joe, do you drive down to the town or taxi? I am sure the parking rate for the day is eyewatering!
Any chance you are invited onto a boat or two over the weekend? or are the F1 specialist press part of the unclean 🙂
I have far too many invitations to go to all of them.
Casino Square parking is cheaper than Cambridge city centre!
Just getting there sounds like a lot of fun, and I know you’ve adventured to many of those random spots on past trips. So I don’t want to hear any more grumbling about layovers or visas. Well, ok, you’ve got decent humor about it all so nevermind that part but seriously enjoy it Joe…for the rest of us.
Looks lovely joe. Hope you enjoy your stay to the fullest extent!
I’ll drive down from Paris to Monaco on Friday on that very same path, Joe. Now, thanks to you, I know what to look for while en route! The Saward app is a very good idea!
This will be my second Monaco GP and this time I have a flat at Quai Albert 1er for free, offered by a friend of mine (who certainly became a dear friend of mine after his most generous offer!). I have a resident’s parking pass and I still can’t believe I’ll be a few steps away from La Rascasse. On Sunday my tickets will take me to the grandstand at Ste. Devote so I’m really having a blast this year and a great contrast with my first GP where I spent the weekend in a cramped hotel near the gare at Nice and climbed the Rocher to watch the race (2007).
For those of you interested to go to Monaco, you can easily stay in Nice or other villages nearby, at hotels or B&Bs and take the train to Monaco. I’ve done that in 2007 and spent maybe 180€ in EasyJet tickets out of London Luton to Nice, 350€ for three nights at a hotel in Nice (arrived Thursday, left Sunday) and 75€ for the cheapest ticket (Le Rocher, unmarked seating / general admission). It’s well worth the experience and everyone who loves motorsport should do it at least once in a lifetime (together with Monza, Spa and the Goodwood Revival, but that’s another subject).
Joe, please excuse the length, but:
While it’s not the GP, the Monaco Historic GP, held every two years two weeks before the GP, is a real blast. The next one will be next year, 13 – 17 May 2016. From the ACM website:
“Some changes are noted compared to the 2014 edition.
“Race A, reserved for Pre-war Grand Prix cars, loses his race status and becomes a race parade . It was officially replaced on the track by the Race H , called ” Solo Ferrari ” , reserved for Sports an GT cars of the Italian brand with front engine and drum brakes built after 1955.
“This edition of this Grand Prix de Monaco Historique will be an occasion to distribute the fiftieth’s cup in order to celebrate the Formula One – 3 liters – including the cars involved in the F1 Grand Prix between 1 January 1966 and 31 December 1969 (Race F – Class 1). Please note that the two races for Formula 1 – 3 liters – will not accept cars after 1976 (1978 at the latest edition).
“Please noted finally that the Formula 3 cars give way to Formula Junior (with front-engine, equipped with drum brakes – Race D) who will be celebrating their Diamond Jubilee.”
There is further info on the website. The best thing is the informality, wander in and out of the grandstands as you please, and the prices. Can’t find them online, but last year we paid 100 euros each for three days in K3 grandstand, about midway between Tabac and the swimming pool, a great viewing spot in each direction. About 1700 euros each for the GP…. No numbered seats, and a slight problem of people who WILL stand at the front to take photos, but the sound of Cosworths blasting around the harbour again makes up for everything !
Joe, raise a glass of Domaine Ott for me…
Ott is overpriced!
I’m not coming to Monaco this year but if I was we’d be celebrating with a bottle of the local pink – Minuty. Send Tremayne out to the shops immediately!
I might ask him nicely but he’s a clean living fellow so I’d go myself…
I’d love to know your recommended alternative(s)…
Joe
do you know or can you find out?
Why the Radio 5 coverage of this weeks event appears to only cover Qualifying and the race itself their team of reporters will be there and normally cover the practice sessions .
Is it a contractual problem or just the BBC letting us down ?
IMO it will be to late when the powers that be, finally understand that more than anything else it is the loss of free to air TV coverage of the show ;
that has lead to the major loss of corporate sponsorship to the individual teams
Haha Monaco is expensive! so is Blackpool if your a tourist.
I have lived in Monaco for 28 years. There are several weeks every year you just got to get out of there. GP week is one such week + build up weeks to the race. Also those huge cruise ships arrive Monaco its just a mess with people.
I agree with Pedro if you love motor sport once in your life you have to have the Monaco experience. I’m sure as a spectator it’s great fun watching people just ripping money up and throwing it away. I’m an old retired racer been here for years I have loved every minute the life style, racing, parties, etc. But now the hype has got too much for me.
it will never be like the old days. Ronnie Peterson chasing Jackie Stewart side ways most of the way. Senna going round like an express train, awesome sight.
When ever you attach Motor Sport to an event prices will rocket nowhere more than Monaco. One time not long ago you could find reasonable accommodation locally in Beauliea but now just as mental as Monaco, race weekend at the Palace Hotel on Kennedy Blvd. Average room price 3 nights £7500 if you book early; closer to the time will get hyped.
Over the last few years Monaco has become a nightmare for its residents. Vastly over developed for one purpose only; fast becoming over run by eastern European money and bad attitude; the real class of Monaco is quickly evaporating becoming another no go area for your average person to visit and an even more uncomfortable place to live.
I think soon a very expensive duplex apartment in Casino Gardens might be for sale; open to offers.
Grand Cayman Islands sounds a good idea! But I bet you Bernie is there trying to sell them a GP
Dam it you still get those huge cruise ships there as well!!!!!!!
This morning, just before punching in for work I escaped to the Mediterranean, courtesy of Joe. Thank you for this.
rather pleasant up at la turbie joe , you are not exactly roughing it ….just make sure you don’t go zipping up to the golf course and doing a princess grace
Yet another lovely post which educates & informs about the big wide world away from F1. La Turbie is somewhere I’d never even heard of and prompted me to look on the www. The views of the principality look stunning. My biggest regret remains NOT travelling to Monaco to watch Senna during the glory years. Monaco has always been on my places-to-visit list and I can now add La Turbie. You mention ‘Mont Ventoux’ in the post. If I’m not mistaken, that’s also one of the famous climbs of the TDF?
It is
since posting the above BBC website now say BBC sport will broadcast
Monaco Grand Prix: First practice
Thu 21 May, 08.55 BST, BBC Radio 5 live (online-only)
not that much notice but better than nothing .
Joe have you got a motorsport event/circuit/hill climb book in the pipeline (this post reminded me)? I got a book called Motorsport Explorer by Julian Hunt for Christmas (over 800 historic locations in the British Isles and ireland). While it is good, it is a bit concise and let down by a lack of a map showing the locations of the events. I know you have your out of print World Atlas of Motor Racing (just bought a second hand copy from Amazon to be delivered). It would be good to have a guide like this with your own personal entertaining musings and recollections of the modern day status of the locations (like the blogs). When I’m planning road trips in the future it would be great to go “off piste” and drive up one of the original hill climbs!
Thank you for the pictures! I had to laugh watching Ted’s Qualifying notebook. I take it that you two disagree a little on customer cars…
Enjoy your stay there!