Only 11 days to go before the glitziest race of the F1 calendar. Sorry if I'm early with this thread - just can't contain my excitement! Is anyone here going?

The Hamilton-mania here is being ratcheted up even higher by the media in the UK. I read somewhere that "Hamilton has never come lower than first at Monaco". Hello?? That wasn't in F1!

Don't get me wrong - I really, really like Hamilton very much. He has issued a definite 'wake up call' to the underperformers in F1. Even Alonso is under some pressure and I don't believe his denials of this. Sir Jackie Stewart has said that Hamilton will set new standards in F1. Yes, for rookies 'hitting the ground running' due to the fact that he has been 'groomed' from a young age for this.

I should clarify that. If another driver (not in his debut season) finished 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd in 4 races at some stage during a F1 season, he wouldn't be doing anything that hasn't been done before. All one could say is that those are 4 very good, soild performances.

All that makes Hamilton's achievements a bit special is that (1) these are the first 4 races in his debut season, and (2) it indicates that he has the potential to achieve much more. But he has not won a race yet. Alonso already has in 2007 at Sepang. Massa has won 2 races now back to back.

Plenty of drivers have been in awe of Schumacher and now Alonso. I think it's great that young guns like Massa and Hamilton don't just bow their heads in deference to Alonso. They are making him fight to defend his title. Good for them!

Fisichella never put enough pressure on Alonso and one could even argue he was much too subservient like a 'domestique' in a Tour de France cycling team. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Fisi routinely sacrificed his own race for his team leader but he certainly seemed not to have the stomach to challenge him.

Makes me think about the empty platitudes that Alonso uttered at Renault as he was leaving about how "If he couldn't win the title at McLaren, he would want Renault to win because you guys are the best". Groan. Such transparent superficiality. It makes me doubt what Alonso says in public. So I don't believe his statements about Hamilton not being as big a threat as the Ferrari drivers.

I think we're really seeing what Alonso is made of here. He is being tested by his team-mate. Something's gotta give eventually. I think Alonso is mentally very tough but he isn't fooling anyone with his media denials though. His ego is being bruised - we can all see it. Not on pole in his home GP and not winning there must have hurt big time. The fact that he even attempted such an unlikely overtaking manoeuvre on Massa in turn 1 at Barcelona shows how much pressure he put himself under to succeed. We are seeing what his mettle is made of now. He tried to drive in a 'bullying' fashion towards Massa since he is the 2 time champion. It didn't work. Afterwards, he downplayed the threat from Hamilton in the media. That too shows his immaturity. He needs to react maturely to the threats he is facing. He is instead letting his ego get the better of him.

The guy who is no doubt really happy is Ron Dennis. His gamble has already paid off handsomely. Poor Pedro De La Rosa (such a nice guy but an underpeformer) seems destined now to spend the remainder of his career as a McLaren test driver. He must be cursing his luck that a rookie could be this good.

So what about the race? IMHO it's again a straight fight between Massa, Alonso and Hamilton with Kimi bringing up the rear in this quartet. I think Heidfeld and Kubica may well spring a surprise or two as well.

I think on a tricky street circuit like Monaco, Alonso will probably win with Hamilton next. I don't think the Ferraris will have the advantage here. Monaco is all about driveability, handling, cornering and traction out of slow corners. Straightline speed should count for much less here. I also think the McLaren drivers will fare better than the Ferrari drivers because Monaco is all about precision. Touch that armco and you're history.

Hope the weather is good there - looking forward to a more entertaining race than Barcelona although overtaking is virtually impossible in Monaco.