The racing may not be the most exciting, but the Monaco Grand Prix is always an exceptional event. Tony Dodgins relives the highlights of his weekend

You don't get many days like last Thursday. Monte Carlo has the slowest average lap speed on the calendar but it looks the quickest. It's the backdrop, the closeness of buildings and barriers that give you a meaningful reference of a grand prix car's capability. Going trackside on the opening day in Monte Carlo is always one of the year's highlights.

I always like to glance down the first session lap times, just to see the different approaches. There's no prize for going quickly straight away. In fact, if a driver slings a car into the wall early doors on Thursday, he will incur the unending wrath of those who have to bolt it back together and will be playing catch-up thereafter.

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