Why Monaco 'madness' will be F1 at its best

Lewis Hamilton's recent offer to contribute to the design of the Miami Formula 1 circuit inevitably drew support, but setting aside the many practical limitations that constrain the design of any street track, there's another problem that means it's no forgone conclusion he would generate a track that's a hit with the fans.

Take Monaco, where F1 returns this week. Despite it offering a unique challenge to the drivers, who must thread the needle for lap after lap within millimetres of the barriers, there will be endless criticism of the race for a lack of overtaking.

This is because there is a dichotomy implicit in circuit design that means what represents a great driver challenge does not necessarily create a spectacular race.

That tracks must be demanding for drivers is one of the few statements sure to gain unanimous support from the fans, but plenty among their number will criticise Monaco as a track grand prix racing has long since outgrown. Yet it showcases the skills of racing drivers in a way no other circuit on the calendar can.

The problem is this is not always conveyed from the trackside cameras, for even though the onboard variety do give a good feel for what the drivers put in, things are still a little lost in translation.

Watching from trackside in Monaco is a mind-blowing experience that exhibits the precision, consistency and brilliance of grand prix drivers. Watch the early laps of the race from the exit of the fast left/right sweep into Swimming Pool and you are left in no doubt of the almost superhuman qualities of the drivers, even the so-called 'bad' ones.

From close range, the eye picks up what the television cameras don't. Back in 2014, on the first racing lap through this section, Daniel Ricciardo clouted the inside kerb and kicked the rear of his Red Bull out. In the fraction of a second it took to register this and that he might be headed for the barrier, he had gathered it up and continued on his way.

For the quickest drivers, laps of Monaco are full of these kinds of moments at a track requiring supreme confidence, technical skill and precision - as well as the ability to correct when things go awry. Watching Robert Kubica on track in the Renault in 2010, the year he finished third behind the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, was unforgettable.

It's the images of the way he drove through the right-hander at Casino Square that cannot be shaken. He carried enormous speed, maximising the rear-end grip of the car while the left-rear was visibly teetering on the tightrope between adhesion and breaking away. No other driver could match that.

The same year offered a reminder of how badly things can go wrong, even for the best.

Seen from the outside of Massenet, the left-hander that leads to Casino, Fernando Alonso's commitment in the Ferrari was breathtaking as he squeezed the car onto the right line after coming over the crest that unsettled the car. But on Saturday morning, he crossed the line and piled into the barrier, the result being a damaged chassis and a starting position at the back of the grid.

Tabac, the brisk, narrow left-hander between the chicane and entry to the Swimming Pool, is not often talked about, yet it can bite. Ralf Schumacher's shunt there in 2005 reveals just how fine the line between triumph and disaster can be.

Monaco is the kind of unique configuration that asks things of drivers other tracks cannot

This is a corner where the best can point the car just inside the apex and know the understeer will allow the front end to slide just past the edge of the barrier. Back then, Schumacher tried that and a fractional misjudgement meant he hit the barrier with the front-left wheel. Monaco is full of such corners.

Then, of course, there is the part of the track that has bitten so many times - the chicane. Karl Wendlinger's crash here in 1994 is the most infamous in the modern era, but since then we have seen so many similar accidents - those of Sergio Perez and Jenson Button stand out in the years since. Even with work being done to smooth out the bump that has triggered so many offs, it's still a daunting challenge.

Does any of that sound boring? Is this a dull track that F1 would be better off without? Of course not. It is the kind of unique configuration that asks things of grand prix drivers other tracks cannot and will not. Carlos Sainz Jr reckons qualifying on hypersoft Pirelli tyres this year will be "absolutely madness" because of the speeds the cars will reach in such close confines.

Monaco is also the kind of circuit a driver like Hamilton loves, which brings us back to the problem of driver challenge versus spectacle. The Miami track footprint, with all the limitations of a representation that inevitably sucks the character out of a circuit that is still to be, looks mundane but does appear to offer overtaking opportunities.

Hamilton is no fool and, were he to have free reign to create a track, he would presumably design it with passing in mind. But at the best tracks these often have to be independent to the parts of a circuit that make it demanding.

The trend recently is to try to combine different sections. Baku is a great example of this, where the long straights allow cars to slipstream and overtake, with tighter, challenging technical sections demanding a great deal of the drivers.

In that respect, some have likened it to Macau. The narrow and tortuous section that makes up much of the lap in terms of time could not be less well-suited to overtaking - there's even a permanent yellow flag at the hairpin given how ill-advised it would be to pass there.

But the long blast from the last corner to Lisboa is ideal for slipstreaming and passing, which might be termed the overtaking zone.

There has been a conscious effort to introduce these parts to tracks, and some of the previous-generation circuits, Barcelona for example, lack the obvious places to pass despite otherwise having decent configurations.

Spa, one of Europe's grand old circuits, also has a great overtaking section to go with its fast turns. The long run up the Kemmel Straight to Les Combes is ideal for it, doubly so given the speed differences that the run through Eau Rouge and Raidillon can generate.

There are other, more modern, examples. Austin's Circuit of the Americas is a track of 'three halves', with the fast and sweeping sector one, the long run to Turn 12 making up sector two, then the mix and match of medium speed turns in the final sector.

It's a style the little-remembered Korea International Circuit also made use of, with the first sector for passing, the second sector featuring more sweeping corners and the final part a 'street' circuit around which the conurbation that never was should have sprung up in place of scrubland.

There is still much potential to be explored in terms of circuit design, creating configurations that offer good overtaking opportunities as well as unique driving challenge. The temptation is to clamour for every track to be like the Nordschleife or that other great German forest circuit, Solitude, but it's a blend that's needed to create great racing.

Monaco may lack the variety that the ideal circuit would have, but as part of the wider calendar it is an example of the diversity of track that makes F1 so appealing

Circuit design is often passed over when it comes to the unending circular discussions about how to make F1 better, and for good reason: because changing tracks is a hugely expensive business, let alone building new ones. But it would be wrong to neglect it, as the field of play is crucial in all sports.

Monaco may lack the variety that the ideal circuit would have, but as part of the wider calendar it is an example of the diversity of track that makes F1 so appealing.

If every track were Monaco, it would be dull. But it is unique. There may not be much overtaking, but anyone who fails to appreciate the skill and courage of the drivers who must hurl the fastest racing machines in the world around the narrow and completely unsuitable streets is missing the point.

You can justifiably argue that qualifying is the greater spectacle than the race, and it's true that no track privileges grid position so strong as Monaco. But that's also part of the appeal.

Webber, one of the Monaco Grand Prix greats as a member of the elite club of 16 drivers who have won the race more than once, summed up the appeal of that hour on Saturday afternoon and how drivers must flirt with disaster but not be seduced into striking the walls.

"Confidence is very important," he said. "When it comes to qualifying and knowing how hard to push, it is part about calculating and part about feel. You get some feel for it on the out-lap.

"You're just looking for that sniff more in terms of confidence and the way you drive the lap. There is a bit more risk but the grip level is higher, but you can't get caught out by the corners that are calling you to go in deeper and harder because it can go wrong."

This is a pure, unadulterated celebration of driving. Forget about all the glitz and glamour that is always talked about at Monaco - at its heart this race is about pure driving virtuosity.

Appreciate it, because grand prix racing would be so much poorer without it. And if you really think it's easy, perhaps you need to take a closer look.