Monaco weather

This weekend marks the 79th running of the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the most prestigious events on the global motor racing calendar.

Hamilton himself then arrived, for the post-race interviews, sitting on the roof of a Renault Espace. His flying dismount, Frankie Dettori-style, was a treat to behold! Fortunately his car was undamaged, and the field was so spread out that he only dropped to fifth. The 2008 race was a great case in point. Barrichello was at his best, nipping past the younger Schumacher at Loews, as the rookie driver suffered a half-spin at the hairpin. But for all that the result was an easy Ferrari 1-2 after Mika Hakkinen's retirement allowed Michael Schumacher to score a fourth win in seven races, it does have some redeeming features. And the appallingly wet 1972 contest has to be regarded as one of the greatest one-hit wonders in F1 history. Luckily, the sequel also began in damp conditions; the teams were split on wet and dry tyres, and that played into the hands of those on the former compound as the cars skittered around the Monte Carlo circuit like Bambi on ice. Schumacher, starting on the wets, punished Williams’ decision to start both cars on slicks and easily rounded pole-sitter Heinz-Harald Frentzen into the first corner. Among them, to Walker's disbelief, was Schumacher - who found the Armco on the run to Portier. Jarno Trulli’s win in 2004 has to be one of the feel-good results in recent years. The Monaco Grand Prix remains Formula 1's jewel in the crown, and at some point in its long history it has produced races befitting of all of the above descriptors. But what the Monaco GP does provide is one of the greatest challenges in motorsport, with any mistakes usually punished severely.