Schumacher impatient for Monaco

The Monaco Grand Prix is fast approaching and Michael Schumacher is impatient to get going on the unique street circuit. The narrow, twisty track requires a great deal of driver skill and the smallest of errors can result in an abrupt meeting with ...

The Monaco Grand Prix is fast approaching and Michael Schumacher is impatient to get going on the unique street circuit. The narrow, twisty track requires a great deal of driver skill and the smallest of errors can result in an abrupt meeting with the barriers. David Coulthard took victory last year but Schumacher, and everyone else, wants to win at Monaco.

Michael Schumacher.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

"Whatever else one thinks about it, the Monaco Grand Prix is just special," he said. "Rushing round the track almost touching the barriers not only increases one's motivation but is also a real challenge. The real peculiarity about it is that it is really narrow. There are some parts where you cannot even see the apex of a corner until you are actually on it and that adds to the excitement."

"Even the slightest error here is punished. Finding the limit on a road generally used for normal traffic, which is completely different to a usual race track, is always difficult. You also have to consider how much you can let the car slide, which it wants to do all the time. It is very exciting and I can't wait to get there."

Monaco, when one considers it, is really not a suitable place to hold a motor race but F1 returns every year. Safety is always a high consideration but Schumacher thinks the added risk on the street circuit is part of the attraction. "I feel we should discuss this subject in depth," he said of the safety issues. "Ever year, Formula 1 asks itself why it races in Monaco and every year it decides to return. Yes, it can be a bit risky, but that is part of the attraction of the circuit."

Monaco is renowned for being practically impossible to overtake at and with the new rules, strategy will be difficult to decide. Schumacher is not sure how the new rules will come into play: "I don't know," he admitted. "If Monaco had been the first race under the new rule then it would have had an enormous effect."

"But now, everyone has got used to running under the new rules, they know how it works and what to do. At the end of the day, the same rules apply to Monaco as they do anywhere else: it is best not to make a single mistake in any area…"