Monaco 2019 Build Up Thread
F1 is, if not going through a dark night of the soul, then definitely having something of an overcast afternoon of the soul. Faced with another crushing victory from Mercedes, the sport has seemingly given up hyping the idea of a titanic struggle between Mercedes and Ferrari, realising it is probably just not going to arrive in time. This has probably sent people frantically looking for fresh narratives so expect to see lots of stuff like 'Will Lewis find his quali boots before Valtteri fixes his starts?' which frankly possibly lacks sustained dramatic interest. Ferrari potentially not getting a grip on their inter team dynamics and it all going supernova is a possibility but is that really wanted? I think it would be rather like a huge fire in a warehouse, it would definitely be dramatic and draw crowds but then afterwards we'd b all 'yeah, but we needed that warehouse and the stuff in it....' Feel free to suggest your own storylines to watch in the thread that are better than these.
Anyway, we have reached that point in the F1 calendar when space and time become distorted.
- Free practice is on Thursday, not Friday!
- The town of Nice (according to that signpost we see every lap) is somehow in every direction!
- The marshals are so efficient they can return the car to the pits before it has crashed!
- and, most importantly, Saturday is the main event and generally utterly thrilling and Sunday is well, generally something to be endured!
Last year, time and space were also distorted by the arrival of the traditional 'why is this race still on the calendar when it's so boring?' thread being started ahead of the race being run! It would have been lovely if the eventual 2018 race had been a corker just to show us but alas, it merely demonstrated in brutal fashion that maybe its detractors have a point. Daniel Ricciardo won despite only doing about 30 mph in a broken car and still no bugger good get past and everyone visibly gave up and was wistfully dreaming of Montreal by the end. Still, I say again - you make your own fun and nowhere is this more tested than watching the Monaco GP most years.
The track
Every year people ponder about how to make the most famous F1 circuit more conducive to running decent races without ruining the character or annoying a lot of very wealthy locals or having to spend billions of pounds. Until they figure it out (probably never) just relax and take in the scenery and wonder if you've ever seen anything made by Zepter in the shops. You can also view the track online, like you even need to. You can also follow it on google maps!
Tyres Tyres Tyres
Yet more exciting news, hot off the press: selected 
sets for #MonacoGP 
. Delicious. #Fit4F1 http://bit.ly/2YtOCPr
When is this happening?
Still an hour later than it should!
(2.10PM for UK viewers)
Just looking down from the castle with a nice telephoto lens...
