A unique circuit. You’d never design a track like this now, but there’s so much history and nostalgia surrounding the place that the race is allowed to continue. It’s a special weekend; it’s the one to win.

You’re not really racing other people in Monaco; passing is non-existent, so it’s you against the track. You get away with nothing, which means you’re more concerned with the circuit than the people around you. Every year, the first time you go flat-out up the hill from Ste Devote you have to recalibrate. It’s fast and blind and you have to change your head for the four days of the race weekend.

If it doesn’t rain, the grip level increases throughout the weekend as more rubber goes down. You have to get your head around that and it’s difficult to know how much harder you can push from one session to the next. It’s also a real momentum weekend; you need to be on a roll going into qualifying and that means exploring the limits a bit in practice.

There’s always a great atmosphere at this race. When you walk from the paddock to the pitlane, everyone on the hill is shouting at you. That’s something we don’t get at other venues and the interaction is very enjoyable. I’m not big on all the tits and the glamour, but the Monaco Grand Prix a unique sporting event. It’s not as tacky as you might think; they do it right, although you wouldn’t want every race to be like this. I tell people that if they’re going to go to one race, they should go to Monaco.