The Hindu : Sport : Monaco — toughest race of the season

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Sunday, May 22, 2005

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Monaco — toughest race of the season

It's more of a mentally-tiring circuit rather than a physically tiring circuit

NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN

Its round six and we are at Monaco, the jewel of the F-1 circuit. The season so far has been very good and encouraging and I have been getting positive feedbacks from both the team as well as the paddock. I was especially happy with my performance in Australia and Imola but there is no doubt, that the last race at Catalunya, Spain was my worst of the season. I had both engine and tyre problem which saw me finish thirteenth. However, having said that we still remain positive and hopeful of a good result for the races ahead.

In the past two weeks except for the practice sessions, we have done no track testing. I have spent most of my time at the gym in preparation for this race and for the season ahead. In a sport like Formula-1, fitness is a very important factor and I have been training hard for the same.

The Monaco circuit is a street circuit and is very narrow. It's my first time here and I am the only driver this season that hasn't been at Monaco before and that's a big disadvantage. It's a very challenging circuit, definitely the toughest of the lot. It's very bumpy and slippery with manhole covers in the middle of the race track. It's more of a mentally-tiring circuit rather than a physically tiring circuit. It's very easy to brush the barriers here and be out of the race. I had one such incident on Thursday morning and since then I have had to play catch up. Going in speeds of around 300kmh in such a narrow circuit is a challenge on its own.

Another challenging thing about the circuit is the long sweeping tunnel. It is the only track in the entire Formula One fixture, which has this feature, and though it is very well lit there is still a huge contrast in the lighting. The turns are lot more sharper inside the tunnel in real, than they actually look on TV and we have to constantly control the steering wheel.

In the last race at Spain I had some friends who came to support and encourage me, but here in Monaco it's much quieter. The Renaults and the McLarens are again looking really strong, but the same cannot be said for Ferrari. It will be very difficult for them to turn the tables around but then again anything can happen in Formula-1.

The plan for today's race will be to stay out of trouble and finish the race. This track traditionally has lot of retirements and non-finishes which means that if I deliver a strong performance I might finish at a good position.

TCM

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