ams Grand Prix Diary Monaco 2016
06.12.2016
N ormally I always leave the trip to my colleague Bianca Leppert the French Riviera. After all, our wife in the paddock also has to go to Russia or China regularly, where none of us wants to go. And to compensate, she gets the Monte Carlo highlight. But this year she did the math without Bernie Ecclestone. The F1 boss has put the classic on the same date as the 24 hours at the Nürburgring. And since nobody knows their way around the Eifel paddock as well as Ms. Leppert, she had to cancel the trip to the Mediterranean with a heavy heart.
Your bad luck, my luck, I thought to myself when it was on the longest road trip of the Year went. As always, we made the 800 kilometer journey south by car. And as always, our dear reporter colleague Roger Benoit from Schweizer Blick in Zurich was picked up on the way. The deal was as usual: he gets a lift, but he has to shell out the horrific French tolls.
Expensive hotels on the Côte d'Azur
It's not just the road charges that empty the wallet quickly . The hotel prices are particularly spicy for the F1 race. In order to find reasonably affordable living space, we always spend the night a few kilometers outside of Monte Carlo in Menton, France. Our Best Western hotel, where we've been staying for years, is now charging 1,650 euros for a week. And you can't book less than 7 nights for the Formula 1 race.
Because I can no longer see the madness, I have already made reservations elsewhere for the coming year. Unfortunately, prices are rising everywhere. At some point we will have to arrive in our own motorhome like Norbert Vettel and look for a campsite. Sebastian Vettel's father explains to us every year how fun the trip in a caravan from Heppenheim to the Mediterranean is - and above all how cheap. So if you are wondering why we have so many annoying advertising banners on our website: Formula 1 trips are expensive!
However, as is well known, exclusive information is only available when you are there. Just like exclusive pictures. And so, in addition to the sporting reporting in Monaco, a stroll through the port and through the streets of the principality is a must every year. Yacht and car spotting is on the agenda every free minute. The camera must always be ready to fire. Nowhere is the hunt for expensive boatsand cars as much fun as with the extroverted millionaires of Monte Carlo.
This year, however, it was not the big steamers in the harbor that attracted attention, but power boats and designer yachts from Mercedes (see Gallery). The best place to look for fat booty on 4 wheels is in front of the casino. However, word of this has already got around to other fans. And so the noble bodies of the super-rich are always surrounded by many onlookers. You have to extend your elbows a little to get a clear field of fire.
Sutil comes from the supermarket
If you want to photograph not only parked but also moving cars, it is best to go in the tight St. Devote curve. This year I got an exotic Koenigsegg CXX in front of my lens. It was only after we published the Carspotting Gallery that a reader explained to me that this was Adrian Sutil's car. The ex-Formula 1 driver has an apartment in Monte Carlo and has just come back from driving to the supermarket (or something like that).
In addition to the show outside, the entertainment on the racetrack was also great. After the Mercedes collision in Barcelona, qualifying already looked like the next silver bankruptcy. Daniel Ricciardo secured pole position ahead of Nico Rosberg. But in the race the Australian was unable to use his superior speed. When the weather conditions changed, not only the cars started to roll, but also the Red Bull command post.
At the pit stop, a new tire selection was ordered at the last second. However, the mechanics couldn't react that quickly. And Ricciardo was suddenly standing in the pit lane without any rubbers. The mistake served Lewis Hamilton the victory on a silver platter. Rosberg, on the other hand, drove the worst race of the year and only ended up in 7th position. The World Championship was much more exciting again.
Who cares about Justin Bieber?
After crossing the finish line, I waited in the Mercedes Motorhome of the two Silver Arrow pilots who were a little late because of the winning photo. Justin Bieber fooled around with his entourage at the next table. I can still remember the thought that now probably thousands of girls would like to swap places with me. But I was interested in the fully tattooed blond with his baggy clothes. I just wanted some information from the drivers so that I could get on the way home as quickly as possible.
There were enough topics. Discussions were about the management of the stables at Mercedes, the start behind the safety car, the collision between the Sauber two, Sergio Perez's podium, Max Verstappen's crash and Hamilton's shortcut in the chicane. Like 5 months later in Mexico, there was no penalty for the world champion, although he had left the track under pressure from his pursuers. We definitely had enough good stories before the next race in Montreal. Before the trip over the big oneTeich, however, it first went the 800 kilometers back to Stuttgart.
In the gallery you can find some personal impressions of the auto motor und sport reporters of the events behind the scenes.
