Formula One 
/ Ralph Ellis / 25 May 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Lewis Hamilton at Monaco last year
“It’s a downforce track, and there are no high speed corners in either race. The gap between my car and Vettel's will be closer.”
He drove superbly in Barcelona but Lewis Hamilton is 41 points behind Sebastian Vettel in the Drivers' Championship. Ralph Ellis believes this weekend's Monaco race is a chance for the Brit to turn his season around.
Monaco has always been the Grand Prix of the season. There's just something about the glitz and glamour of the street race that captures your imagination.
If you've ever driven into Monte Carlo on holiday you'll know the feeling. Come down the windy road wrapped around the hillside, and suddenly you find yourself going through the tunnel leading towards the harbour where the multi-million pound yachts are moored. You're on the track. Can you resist opening the window a bit more to let the air rush through, and putting your foot down to go that bit quicker? Not a chance.
The event ticks every box of what Grand Prix racing should be all about. It oozes excitement, drips with wealth, with the luxury boats and blue sky as a stunning backdrop. It's the one race of the season you watch on the telly and think: "I wish I was there."
Just to add to the iconic feel, this Friday sees the general release of the movie Senna, a moving tribute to the man who was king of the Monte Carlo circuit, winning a record six times around its twisty, steel-lined streets.
But this year Formula One wants more than just a glamour movie from Monaco. If there's ever been a time when the sport needed to grab our attention with its Blue Riband event it's now. Five races in, Sebastian Vettel has won four of them and has a 41 point lead in the Drivers' Championship. He's [2.0] favourite to make that five wins in six. The season is in danger of being over before it's barely started.
So Monaco, with its twisty street circuit where a driver's ability is more crucial than his car, needs to come to the rescue. And more especially so does Lewis Hamilton.
The McLaren star drove a fantastic race in Barcelona last week to push Vettel all the way to the finishing line. But the result pretty much summed up how you fear his season will progress. Good, but not good enough. Monaco probably represents the only chance to turn that round.
Sunday's race will be followed by another street circuit in Montreal, and Hamilton says that's two chances to collect 25 points. "It's a downforce track, and there are no high speed corners in either race. The gap between my car and his will be closer," is his verdict.
Let's hope so, and not just because you can back him at a very healthy [6.0] to follow his words with actions. Pirelli's new tyres have added some good action to this season, but the battle has to happen at the front of the race and not just through the middle ranks to make it interesting.
In short we need one of Monte Carlo's champagne moments. And Hamilton is probably the only man who can make it happen.
Five things you might not know about Ayrton Senna
1. Born in Santana, a region of Sao Paulo, in March 1960, his father Milton da Silva was a wealthy landowner. Mother Neide Senna da Silva's family were originally from Italy. He took mum's name when he started racing as da Silva was too common
2. As a child he was a brilliant gymnast, but he developed an interest in motorsport after his dad built him a Go Kart using a lawnmower engine.
3. He was South American Karting champion and twice runner up in the world championships, but his first move into motor racing was halted when his parents insisted he return home from a trip to England to work in the family business. Thankfully for the world of Formula One he rebelled a few months later and returned to Europe
4. During his life he insisted on keeping secret his charity work for poor children in Brazil. He had actually donated millions, and the fund he founded with sister Vivianne has now invested more than 80million dollars in various long term projects.
5. He was a keen fisherman
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