I remember watching the Monaco GP when I was about 8. It was one of the first races I watched on TV and Nigel Mansell was leading in the Lotus. It was pouring down with rain and he crashed out on the hill which was my most vivid memory as a young lad. Monaco for sure is one kind of a race. Anywhere where you have such an impressive setting with the ocean and the cliffs going straight into the backdrop of Monte Carlo is massively dramatic. Then you’ve got the boats parked in the bays of the harbour and in the middle of all that lies the racing track. For a driver it certainly is a special setting. You come through a tunnel, go past a casino and all these very famous landmarks are part of the track.

I’ve raced in Monaco in different categories and had some interesting moments. Back in 2000 I raced there with the F3000 European Formula Racing Team. The paddock used to be up by the tennis courts where they play the Monte Carlo Masters. We were sitting under awnings all day with not much to do and then just got ready for the race. I was super naïve and drunk a lot of water during the day and what it looks like happened is, that I washed out all of my minerals and felt horrendous in the race. I was in a lot of trouble in the last five laps. It was a hot race and those cars were quite heavy, physically quite demanding to drive and I just started to shut down. The concentration was an enormous issue and I struggled with my balance and ultimately I crashed. That was poor preparation back then and I had a lot of questions to ask myself after that race really.

The following year I was determined to come back, this time with the Super Nova team, and master the track after such a poor performance the year before. We were quickest for the whole weekend and I got it fired on pole, which was nice. The race went seamlessly well and that was a massive win for me. F3000 is one of the biggest junior category races you can win so that was definitely a highlight for me.

In 2005 I had my first ever F1 podium finish there with BMW Williams. We were quick all weekend and even though I felt that we left a bit of change on the table that day in terms of the result, it was nice to get my first F1 podium in Monaco.

It’s not easy to put the whole weekend together at Monaco, so whenever you get a nice result it’s an accumulation of not just what happened on that day but the previous four days. Even if it’s a dry weekend the track conditions change so much around Monaco, you don’t need any rain but you just need to be super versatile with the track conditions and with the amount of rubber that goes down because it’s a street circuit. On Thursday the track is nowhere so it’s very easy to panic with the set up and to lose your composure and make too many changes. The driver really has to be at one with where he wants the car to peak for qualifying and then you need to arrive in qualifying in a very confident frame of mind and with the car in one piece. If you lose any track time through technical problems or even crashes that can hurt you because you have to be involved in every session as the weekend evolves to be able to take a step forward in Monaco.

My biggest highlight in Monaco certainly was my win in 2010. I remember the race was broken up quite a bit with a lot of safety cars and I had to constantly reset my concentration. In Monaco the most important thing is the next corner, so don’t get too far ahead of yourself. We had just a seamless day really and a lot of it was in my control. The penny really does drop after the race and for me to win the way I did, from pole and really have the whole weekend in great shape, that was certainly one of my best GP victories and one that I will never forget. It was also great for the team as we had a 1-2, which is very rare to achieve around there, so we had some fun at the swimming pool after the race and a big party later. I also went to the awards night that evening. Although I am not big on black tie functions, it was very nice to be there. They do really respect what the drivers go through that day and they respect the other categories as well not just the F1 drivers which is nice.

The race in 2012 was a bit of a different scenario. It was on Pirellis and the pace management was very heavy early in the race so we couldn’t drive that quick. But having said that, the last ten laps were probably one of the hardest ten lap stints I’ve done in my career in terms of closing a win out because it started to rain. We were all on slicks, I was the first guy through most of the corners and I had everyone behind me looking for an opportunity. But to be honest the last two laps I pretty much drove around in the middle of the track and didn’t risk anything and it turned out well.

I had two interesting conversations after the race. Ari Vatanen, the rally legend, just shook my hand and said ‘respect for bringing that home in those conditions on the slicks, that was great to watch’. Fernando also told me that first he was praying for it to rain but then he was praying for it to stop as he started to get very nervous.

To win in Monaco is certainly very special. To stand on those famous steps and have the cars parked on the track and all the team in front of you, the history that’s gone before, the great drivers that have won there. It’s really like no other race! I think the podium in Monza comes close to it for sure. The key ingredients are the people at the podium and the atmosphere and having that opportunity to be on their level. You can’t design and build that stuff now, that’s what happens over the years with all the greats in history.

Looking back, Senna in his yellow helmet around Monaco, is such a powerful image for me. The cars were very tricky to drive, with a massive amount of power and it was in that era, the late eighties/early nineties, when I was very influenced as a young lad. I think also the V10s in the mid 2000s, when the cars were at their quickest were fantastic to watch. The fight between Senna and Mansell in 1992 was very famous, when Nigel was trying to pass Ayrton at the end of the race but despite fresher tyres couldn’t overtake him, that was probably one of the most dramatic finishes to the race. And if you go back further in time, I never saw it obviously, but the old harbour chicane used to be a quick left right and sometimes the cars ended up in the water. It’s incredible to see how safety has improved since then.

I remember in the F3000 race at the old swimming pool section, which was much tighter and the barriers were a little bit closer to the track, you could see the photographers actually leaning over the barrier and you were worried about the camera clipping the rear wing. In Monaco sometimes you can notice the photographers on an in-lap or out-lap in practice. I’ve recognised photographers around there in the past and that’s quite an interesting experience as you’re driving.

Even though I went to the Australian GP earlier this year, it will be the first race I will watch at the track on race day. I always said to my dad, when I’m not racing there anymore, we come back and watch the cars on the track, and that’s what we are going to do this weekend, I’ve got my parents and some friends from New Zealand and the UK coming and we will watch the race on a boat, which is a little bit unusual for me to be honest but you may as well do it all properly and be part of the whole atmosphere.

I just love how the cars are driving around people and under the grandstands. It’s a big box office, it’s very intimate and it’s a very unique sporting event. Obviously during a race weekend when it’s all going on you’ve got different people there. You’ve got the rich and the famous but then also it’s still a track that motorsport fans can attend and come and watch the cars and that’s what’s great about it. You have the people up on the cliffs near Rascasse and they’re blowing the horns and they are waving at the drivers when they walk to the garages and that’s still good. It’s not all pink champagne, Monaco can still work for everyone.

Ends//