What is there left to say about the Monaco Grand Prix that hasn’t been said already? The glitz and glamour, the rich history and controversy; Monaco is a reminder that amidst races held in deserts in front of freshly finished concrete grandstands, the heart of what made formula 1 great in the first place still beats strong.

And so comes the 2011 instalment. Can this years race live up to expectations in the gigantic shadow of its illustrious past? All indications point to yes, with tyres and racing aids like DRS and KERS combining to produce scintillating racing while runaway championship leader Sebastian Vettel is yet to register a win in Monte Carlo – could this be the race that blows the title race wide open?

Tyres are the key – again

It may have been said many times before, but tyres are the key to winning the Monaco Grand Prix. Pirelli have garnered a reputation this season for producing dramatic races (whether you are a fan of the races they have produced or not is a different matter) and they have really thrown a cat amongst the pigeons for the Monaco Grand Prix.

On a Monte Carlo track not known for high tyre wear Pirelli have opted to debut the supersoft tyre – the quickest of all the different compounds the Italian company produce for formula 1, and teamed it with the soft that has been used all season so far.

With the supersoft expected to last only 10 laps, these tyres will be like gold-dust with few teams willing to give up an extra set in qualifying. Teams have so far in 2011 looked to save a set of soft tyres for race day by not going out for an extra quick lap in Q3 , but will the able to get the balance between qualifying and race day right?

The need to qualify highly in Monte Carlo is greater than most other races because of the difficult nature of over-taking and the expected reduced impact of DRS; some fascinating outcomes should be thrown up as the result of a wide range of strategies.

Hamilton can put Vettel under pressure

On the long sweeping corners of the Spanish Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel looked untouchable, even as Lewis Hamilton swarmed all over his rear wing.

The reigning world champion could easily pull away from his rival in the final corner in particular because of the greater downforce the Red Bulls have in the high speed corners, meaning no matter how hard Hamilton tried he couldn’t get close enough to pass – their stunning performance in qualifying last week was  a testament to just how quick they are in high speed turns.

“Vettel is winless in Monaco while Hamilton and Button have both tasted success here, and stripped of their major advantage for this race, this won’t be a procession for Red Bull – in fact expect to see Vettel under more pressure than ever before.”

Now the tight turns and twists of Monaco will take them out of their comfort zone. This is not a circuit that will particularly play into their hands (although a one-two last year may suggest differently) and tips the balance between raw speed and driving ability towards the drivers – something McLaren in particular can take advantage of.

Vettel is winless in Monaco while Hamilton and Button have both tasted success here, and stripped of their major advantage for this race, this won’t be a procession for Red Bull – in fact expect to see Vettel under more pressure than ever before.

If Vettel can respond to this pressure and win then he would have proved himself a worthy champion before we hit the half-way point of the season. But Hamilton loves it here, and will do anything to win the race for the second time.

The Old Guard may still have their say

While the battle between Hamilton and Vettel is being billed as the next Senna/Prost, there  are plenty of others who could still have a say in the outcome of the race.

Button, Webber,  Alonso , Trulli, and of course Michael Schumacher have race victories here and Schumacher in particular forged his reputation on the streets of Monte Carlo.

The German has improved since his season low point in Turkey, while team-mate Nico Rosberg has also impressed and can count himself lucky he hasn’t found his way to the podium in 2011 as yet. Set up is all important here rather than all out speed, meaning there is an opportunity for those who have themselves down on pace in the first five races of the season,  good balance and high downforce to shorten braking speeds will work wonders here.

Ferrari have not won in Monaco for the last decade and with both Alonso and Felipe Massa off the pace in Spain, that looks unlikely to change however.

Mark Webber showed he can out—gun Vettel in a head to head during qualifying in Spain, but his disappointing result has left him at a crossroads. Time is running out for the Australian to prove his worth in the Red Bull team while rumours swirl around the paddock of his departure from the Milton-Keynes based team – if he can come up with something special here he will go some way to silencing his doubters.

DRS impact will be limited

The statics tell all you need to know about Monaco and the importance of qualifying. Six of the last ten races have been won from pole, meaning qualifying is all important. While a similar story was told in Spain before a race which saw over 80 manoeuvres, there should be less passes completed this Sunday as DRS struggles to make its influence felt- so expect a fully functioning qualifying on Saturday after the cat and mouse sessions that have become common this year.

“Passing will not be easy as ever, but with the Pirelli tyres it will be easier than recent years and there should still be plenty of action.”

The DRS activation zone is not allowed to be in the famous tunnel for safety reasons, meaning it will be on the start/finish straight, one of the shortest on the race calendar that enabled minimum acceleration. Passing will not be easy as ever, but with the Pirelli tyres it will be easier than recent years and there should still be plenty of action.

However should DRS cause a stir once more, then it will be a defining moment for the technology that has had its critics this year. It proved its worth on the notoriously difficult to over-take on Circuit de Catalunya, and should it succeed again then its critics would become much less vocal.

Statistics

Neither McLaren or Ferrari made the podium last year

McLaren have won 15 of the last 27 races in Monaco

Fernando Alonso has won twice in the last five races

There are around 55 gear changes a lap, with an average speed of 182kph

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