Three years ago, during the European delivery of my m235i, I was very lucky to have the opportunity to attend a Formula One race at Monza. After we planned the car pickup date and made all the hotel arrangements though Italy and Switzerland I found out that the race was on the day we were passing by Monza on the way to lake Como. I had to go and we only needed to leave earlier and arrive later in the evening at our hotel in Bellagio Italy.
For this year’s Europe trip, my wife Chris was looking at Mediterranean Cruise lines as asked me why would a cruise ship stop for two days in Monte Carlo in May. That was the launching point for planning a combined trip to France and Monaco which included three days at the Monaco Formula One race. Chris searched through options and found the tour group Motoexpress operating out of the UK. They specialized in tours to selected Formula One races and Moto GP races. We tied this trip together with 10 days in southern France in the Provence area along the Mediterranean. Chris planned an extensive driving schedule though southern France Provence area for the 10 days prior to the Formula One Event. We rented a car and GPS for the trip. We stayed in three cities and made day trips through the country side. Driving there was amazing. The roads seemed to follow old trails. Sometimes you could see for a few miles and the road would wonder back and forth. A straight section for over ¼ mile seemed rare. It was an enjoyable to drive and I wish I had my BMW rather than the rental. We visited many charming mountain top villages during the 10 days. Most were from Medieval time built in the 1300 and 1400’s. We visit historic site, villa’s and enjoyed the drive thorough the country side.
After 9 days, we headed toward Nice to pick up our son who was joining us for the race weekend. We drove to our resort set up by our tour group. We decided to stay at the resort a night earlier and do some local touring on Thursday. Thursday, I drove into the gorges to view the scenic view and waterfalls and yes, to drive the mountain roads. Every time I have been in the European mountains I have been surprised at the difference between Europe and the US. Rural Europe has minimal protection from driving off the cliff’s which does grab your attention. Thursday night we headed for the local mountain town, St Paul De Vence, for dinner. We walked into the village through the main arch way and was amazed at how charming the village was. It is the most charming village I have visited in the 8 trips we have made to Europe.
Now Friday morning has arrived and we are meeting for breakfast with the others in the Motoexpress tour. Friday morning schedule started with a side trip to Cannes to catch the end of the Cannes film festival. Shortly after noon we got back on the bus and headed for Monti Carlo along the coast line which provided frequent views of Mediterranean. When we reached the city limits, the bus was directed around the many streets closed to vehicle traffic for the weekend. After parking we trekked through the city following our tour guides. It was over a mile hike up and down hills. We arrived at one of the entrance to the Formula One village. We passed through and headed toward the entrance to the pit’s. Since we had tickets for Sunday race, we could visit the pits and walk the track. Groups of fans waited at the pits hoping to see a driver. Our decision was to take to the track walking to the starting grid and stopped at starting position 1 and 2. It just didn’t seem real that I was standing on position 1 of a formula One race track in Monte-Carlo of all places. We continued to walk down the water front looking for our Sunday seats, checking other location for views and admiring the yacht’s and yacht’s and yacht’s. Eventually we headed back to our meeting point. We found out later that Daniel Ricardo was the only major driver that did come out and sign autographs.
Friday night we returned to St Paul De Vence for dinner and enjoyed character of the city.
Saturday morning the group met for breakfast, loaded on the bus and headed for Monte Carlo. The city was more crowded Saturday. The buss traveled around more to get around the blocked streets. The parking spot was in a different location so we saw a different area of the city as we walked through. We passed by exotic car dealers. Could have picked up a nice Porsche GT3, Aston Martin, Lotus or Ferrari. Our walk seemed longer but that could just that is was hillier. Our seats we were at Casino Square. We were directly across from the casino looking at the front entrance. The track at this point was a U shape. The cars turned toward us onto to a short straight made two right turns in front of us and made a left and disappeared toward the tunnel. We watched the F1 time trials, watched some and heard a lot of the Formula Renault, Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup time trials and a Formula 2 race. The blistering roar of the cars echoed through the city. We soaked up all the experience we could during the time trials. On our way back to the meeting point, we stopped frequently to look at the many vendors selling the F1 merchandise along the street, trying to decide what items to bring back.
Returning Sunday morning, the bus was directed to a different location and we walked through some new parts of the city. As we walked the roar of the Porsche Cup Car echoed off the buildings elevating the anticipation of the race. Sunday schedule was the Porsche Mobil 1 Super Cup and Formula Renault prior to the F1 festivities. The super cup and Formula Renault are the standard brutal non-turbo charge beast which raddle your fillings. After the morning races, we went out and found a table at a street side cafe and enjoyed lunch. We returned for the start of the race activities. The long-anticipated time has arrived. The F1 cars went by on the reconsent lap and it was only minutes until the start. Then the leaders race by and the crowd came alive. Now I could soak up the experience of Monaco F1 race. Our seats were in section K2 over half way up the stands. The view was excellent, no the view was amazing. We could see the cars racing uphill towards Casino square. After the cars exited the tunnel, we could see them weaving through the Nouvelle Chicane and then race downhill to the harbor directly at us. They turned at the harbor and raced pass us and we could see them weave around the swimming pool. We could see about 20% of the track. Section K1 and K2 are excellent places to view the track. We spend the time watching the multiple location but mostly watching from the Nouvelle Chicane down to the harbor, turning and racing by directly in front of us. The Monti Carlo street course is a difficult place to pass. We saw a lot of attempts and a few successful passes at the corner in front of us as they entered the harbor. There are 78 laps on this short 2.06 mile street course which provided more continuous flow the cars. I was quite pleased to have Ferrari win and have both Vettel and Kimi on the podium. It would have been fantastic if we could have worked our way to the winner’s circle and enjoy that experience but that was impossible to accomplish with the mass of people and the need to get back to the bus. After the F1 race, we headed out with the hundreds of thousands of race fans. Being at the race was exciting. But it was more than just the race. When I attendee the Italian F1 race at Monza in 2014, I just attended the race on Sunday which was still quite an experience. Here at Monaco, we experienced the entire event. It was three days immersed in the track activities and walking through Monti Carlo which is hard to describe all the architecture and the views. It is truly an event to remember. If you are interested in attending the Monaco F1 race I really recommend us a tour group such a MotoExpress. It is an experience you will enjoy.
