Formula 1 descends on Monte Carlo

MONACO, the little principality where the big deals are done! Like the one Lewis Hamilton made last Wednesday when he ended the speculation and signed a new, three-year contract with Mercedes.
Obviously the great news fuelled him up for this week’s battle on his own turf, as today he was left sitting pretty atop the timesheet, seven-tenths clear of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, and over a second ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Although Rosberg has won the last two Monaco Grand Prix, luck wasn’t on his side in testing on Thursday as rain hindered the field half way through leaving Hamilton’s early times unapproachable.
However there is a long way to go until Sunday’s race, and possibly a few upsets on the way as F1 newcomer Max Verstappen, competing here for the very first time, was just 0.149 seconds behind him.
And with Button getting back into the McLaren after his so-called ‘scary’ drive in Spain, and Fernando moaning about the new regulations, it doesn’t look like the McLaren boys are focused enough to be in contention.
But who knows? This is Monte Carlo. The Monaco Grand Prix is the one race of the year that every driver dreams of winning. Like the Indy 500 or Le Mans, it stands alone, almost distinct from the sport from which it was born. Anything can happen, and frequently does.