Why Monaco rams home the reality of F1's hiatus

Right about now, were it not for the coronavirus pandemic, a few lucky people (maybe even myself if the work load allowed), would have left the Monaco paddock by the harbour entrance, turned left along the waterfront and headed up to the outside of Rascasse to watch free practice.

From there, we would have turned right along the water's edge, behind the huge grandstand and, with a knowing nod from the sunglasses-wearing security guards who checks you are wearing the right pass, entered the hallowed turf of trackside by the Swimming Pool.

Standing anywhere here, as close as you dare to the catch fencing as the cars blast past, is one of the greatest thrills that you can get covering F1. Sure the challenge of the complex has been taken away over the years as the barriers have been moved back for safety reasons, but the commitment required from the drivers is still immense. And the speed and intensity of F1 cars at such proximity is unbelievable.

Yet, it's perhaps only when things go wrong that you really come to appreciate just how fast this place is. I remember at the end of Thursday practice in 2001 when Ralf Schumacher misjudged his entry and slammed into the barriers on the outside. I was standing at the second part of the Swimming Pool complex and recall seeing his Williams smash into the armco momentarily before I heard the shattering impact.

As the car's momentum carried it towards me, instinct took over and I turned and ran. Luckily, I am not a photographer so didn't have to face any questions later about why I hadn't stood my ground and got the picture!

It's closeness to F1 action, whether it be trackside or watching on TV, that every fan is starting to really miss right now. As coronavirus took over the world, and attention rightly shifted to more important matters like saving lives and protecting our health systems, the absence of races wasn't too overwhelming.

The boom in Esports certainly helped fill the gap too. It provided some entertainment, some controversy (think Lando Norris versus Simon Pagenaud), plus last week's drama of the F1 driver market shake-up has given us plenty to think about it.

This week, though, has felt very different. For Monaco's position as one of motor racing's great Triple Crown events, along with the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours, is perhaps the first time that there has been some pondering about just what we are missing. And deep down, it almost hurts that it's been taken away from all of us.

By the time the coronavirus pandemic is over, and normality returns to F1 races, that the moment will have passed and the raw emotions of all that has happened will have calmed a lot

As the world's attention shifts to how we get out of the lockdown and adjust to a 'new normal', the absence of Monaco for its on-track and off-track moments has smashed home how much of F1, which we took for granted before, was so special and so impossible right now.

From the journalist's perspective, imagine what the media day alone would have been like, for example, as drivers and team bosses were finally thrust in front of us to talk at length about the changes that are coming for 2021.

Would Vettel have had a few choice words to say about why he and Ferrari did not share the same short term and long term ambitions? How would Daniel Ricciardo have responded to Cyril Abiteboul's pointed comments about unity and commitment? And what would Carlos Sainz have said about potential number one and number two status at Ferrari going forward?

It's such a shame that by the time the coronavirus pandemic is over, and normality returns to F1 races, that the moment will have passed and the raw emotions of all that has happened will have calmed a lot. This is the sort of thing that will be lost forever.

When I think forward to the things that will be cherished the most when F1 is back - and it will be back - it's the personal snapshot moments that stand out far more than the obvious bigger picture stuff.

Yes, I want to get some real racing underway again, but it will be standing there on the grid - amid the hubbub of the build-up, as the national anthem blares out, and the air display jets swoop low overhead - that F1 will only properly feel real again.

It's hard to believe that in this time of global concern and social distancing that once many hundreds of people would cram so close together on the grid without a concern in the world. And sure, things down there are going to look very different to begin with if two-metre exclusion zones are put in place. But over time, we will get there.

And it's important we do, because for all the reasons why global lockdowns and stopping sport has been essential, once we are out of the other side - and it is the right moment to do so - having F1 back is as big a deal for the fans as it is for those who attend the races.

There is a connection that bonds fans, the drivers, the team bosses, the engineers, the mechanics, the media, and the countless other members of F1's travelling circus: the love of racing, competition, brilliance, rewarding the best and the conflicts that come from that great competition.

It's why missing Monaco this weekend isn't about wishing to be there on a yacht sipping champagne as the sun goes down, or celeb spotting, or chewing the fat with friends at a Red Bull Energy Station party (even though all of those are quite fun things to do).

It's about the absence of seeing the world's best drivers in the most technologically advanced racing cars performing their stuff in the most challenging of environments.

It's about feeling the roar of the engines through your chest as you stand in awe inside the tunnel.

It's of seeing the focus in drivers' eyes as they point their cars to the apex at Tabac with full commitment.

It's of standing there in the moments before the start; crushed and bundled about by F1's most craziest of grids, as drivers put their game face on and look towards Ste. Devote and the battle that lies ahead.

And it's of those two crucial hours on Sunday afternoon where all that matters is racing.

It's why I'm going to miss Monaco a lot this weekend and why I so can't wait for it to happen again.