The mystique of Monaco

Ian Ley

• Last Updated: May 23. 2009 9:02PM UAE / May 23. 2009 5:02PM GMT

Chris de Burgh,the internationally renowned pop star,having just flown in by private jet from a Save the Children Fund concert, threaded his way through the celebrity-packed paddock formed up alongside the quayside at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Irishman side-stepped the throng surrounding Hollywood megastar Sylvester Stallone who had travelled up the coast from the Cannes Film Festival and nodded at Manchester United’s star footballer Ryan Giggs. He adroitly avoided getting caught up in the melee of cameramen and onlookers jostling around the movie actress Liz Hurley.

She was standing alongside her ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant – but gazing with unashamed interest at former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine, now a global property owner worth millions.

De Burgh, a long-time friend of fellow Irishman Irvine, but not anxious to deflect Liz Hurley’s focus, walked on neatly by-passing the cliques around rockers Phil Collins and Eric Clapton,on their way to join multi-millionaire Eddie Jordan, the one-time team owner, aboard his luxury yacht berthed in a privileged spot not far from the action.

He was happy to be anonymous in the scramble of celebrities wishing to be recognised or to pay gushing tribute to one another before the real stars of the piece, the drivers, edged them out of the limelight they crave as a career necessity when there are legions of mediamen and TV cameras on hand and their faces are captured for transmission to the farthest reaches of the world.

De Burgh had his permanent VIP pass, issued personally by Formula One kingpin Bernie Ecclestone, draped around his neck, and in the pockets of his trademark black leather blouson were invitations to drop in for drinks or a gourmet meal at any one of three team hospitality units ranged in tight formation along the jetty with its backdrop of a harbour jam-packed with the finest of fine yachts.

This, then, is the annual scene portrayed in the vastly moneyed and independent principality, barely attached to mainline France, when only the cast list changes, usually according to which stars are in attendance at the Cannes Film Festival, an hour by limousine along the coast, and want to seek out and be part of the greatest grand prix show of them all.

Ecclestone’s London headquarters has staff sorting out the applications for passes, not just to the race but to gain access to the grid for a walkabout and to the exclusive hospitality area, ready for his final nod of approval. Few get a knock-back, such is the mogul’s appreciation of the publicity value of ranks of the famous, royals and all, in attendance at his show.

Not all, of course, who flock to Monaco for the most glamorous race on the Formula One calendar, bother to apply for the Ecclestone blessing of a passport to the paddock – many, many more prefer the anonymity and exclusivity of one of the private yachts whose owners are more than willing to pay upwards of £10,000-a-day (Dh58,148) for a trackside berth, providing they can persuade the harbourmaster to grant them space which is at a premium.

De Burghis a self-confessed petrol head and he stresses: “I am not ashamed to admit it.”

The performer whose songs have been sold in millions and form the soundtracks to many peoples’ lives, reckons the music he loves to hear is the sound trumpeted deafeningly through the exhaust pipes of a 210mph Formula One car – and that, he says, is never more thrilling and blood-curdling than when it is is echoing across the waters of Monaco in a two-hour session of excitement, atmosphere and sheer pleasure.

“I just love the place and all the feeling and sensation it generates,” he said.

“It is an extra-special place to watch a grand prix.There is nowhere like it. It has a special buzz. Quite unique.

“And unless I have a commitment, a concert, elsewhere I always put in an effort to make use of Bernie’s very kind gift.”

His fascination for F1’s fast lane and his admiration for drivers’ skills was fired up by former world champion Nigel Mansell in a scary, white-knuckle first-hand demo-drive at Spa, the scene of the Belgian Grand Prix.

“The performance of F1 cars just blows your mind.... standstill to 120mph and back to a deadstop in six seconds is unbelievable,” he said. “And to do it for two hours around a street circuit like Monaco with those very unforgiving barriers only inches from your head and all the other guys wanting your space on the track must be the biggest test of courage you can face in sport.

“When I did Spa with Nigel, and only in a family saloon which at its quickest was only about half as fast a Grand Prix car, I couldn’t believe his control. Even so, at the end of just one lap I was shaking like a leaf. Terrified but thankful that I was still in one piece

“He asked me if I’d enjoyed it and I hadn’t the guts to admit that he had scared me witless so I answered ‘yes’. That was my big mistake because he thought he’d continue the treat and do it all over again with another crazy lap.

“It still frightened the life out of me – but when you get that close to watching a world champion driver it does fill you with awe and wonder at their skill. And when the likes of me are alongside them for a demo, believing you are right on the edge, you notice they are driving with only hand and talking to you as they go and you wish they’d shut up and concentrate on where they are going, you realise they are using only a fraction of their ability.

“Translate that to the likes of Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna, all of whom couldn’t stop winning Monaco, and you get some idea of their brilliance and bravery. Not only that, their precision and judgment, just like the guys now, had to be faultless.Throw in a rain shower, as can happen in Monaco despite its Riviera setting, and a slippery track and you have what must be the ultimate challenge.”

From a personal standpoint de Burgh nurses a desire to perform again at the Grand Prix gala, the upmarket bash for the monied and the connected and by far the party that everybody wants to be seen at. “It is where all my heroes are,”he says,”what could be better than that? I cannot imagine What could be a bigger thrill for me than to play and sing for them again.”

Ecclestone himself, a moderately successful motor cycle racer in his twenties, made a bid to race the Monaco Grand Prix in 1958. He switched from two to four wheels with a dabble in a Formula Three Cooper, then a Cooper-Bristol single-seater and a Cooper-Jaguar sports car.

His bid for glory in Monaco fizzled when he failed to qualify his Connaught. But if his experience was only one of abject failure and disappointment it served to spark his enthusiasm for a unique event which grew and grew under his subsequent guidance and absolute authority within F1.

“I hear all the nonsense about the track and its shortcomings compared with modern day circuits, that it should be scrapped, it is outdated, too dangerous, nobody can overtake and we should move on to tailor-made tracks,” he says.

“But Monaco is a fixture on the F1 calendar and always will be if I have any say in the matter.

“It presents a special sort of challenge. And I don’t know a single driver who does not enjoy the place, the atmosphere, the thrill, the set-up and the privilege of racing around where most of them live in great comfort.”

A double-billionaire, Ecclestone is fiercely defensive of Monaco.

“As for people arguing that you can’t overtake here, that’s rubbish. Any driver, given a lot of determination, can overtake anywhere and on any track. And over the years we have seen some real ballsy passing manoeuvres that have made a nonsense of that opinion,” he said.

It is worth recording that the unsung heroes of F1 must be the hospitality unit caterers who work under extremely stressful circumstances in cramped conditions, often from before dawn and late into the early hours, provide around 2,500 fine meals over the four days that Monaco is active.Talk about pressure.

David Coulthard, now retired from racing to take up a Grand Prix pundit’s role with BBC TV, has been a resident in Monaco for 15 years and enjoyed every moment – and not just for its tax haven demands on what was a £12m-a-year wage.

“The Monaco lifestyle suits me,” he says, “and it’s nice to have neighbours like lots of other drivers I can mix with when I’m relaxing.

“Now I’m settled, with a kiddie, I don’t go looking for the livelier bars and restaurants when I’m here. But when I do want some fun and company I make for Stars and Bars.”

That’s a sprawling pavement eating and drinking establishment on the quayside.

“I like to drop in now and then for their sports quiz night,” he says. “In fact, the place is often packed with famous people so the regular customers are used to personalities and well-known faces and don’t bother us.

“I was in there one night and so was Shirley Bassey. And she gave us a song. How about that? Justin Hayward from Moody Blues was another pop idol in the pub and he sang ‘Knights in White Satin’. I got a cassette and he signed ‘vroooom’ across it for me.

“I know that outside Grand Prix weekend people reckon it can be a boring little place, but it is nowhere near as dull and as numbing as some make out.

“Just to ride out on a motorbike and get up in to the hills and picnic overlooking the sea is brilliant.”

Added Ecclestone: “The whole scene is one of style, anticipation and excitement and in the regular manner of Monaco the races always seem to manage to throw up some new level of interest or drama. There is rarely a dull moment.”

With this year’s championship chase developing into a classic, with last year’s underdogs and new boys Brawn GP, with resurgent Jenson Button and veteran Rubens Barrichello in fine form and youngsters Sebastian Vettel and title-holder Lewis Hamilton, all looking in good form Monaco, again, could be an exciting and crucial focal point.

“So what’s new?” smiles Ecclestone.



iley@thenational.ae