Over the years we confess to having given Monaco a lot of stick. Part of this, we admit, was due to the Principality losing its lustre having sold its soul to Russian oligarchs.
In terms of the racing, in the same way that our beloved Monza has become nothing more than a 'point and squirt' fest, so Monaco has become a high speed traffic jam.
However, not for nothing is the race regarded, along with Le Mans and the Indy 500, as a significant component in motor sport's Triple Crown.
As observers it might do little for us, but clearly, for the men driving those tight, twisty, unforgiving streets it is one of the ultimate challenges... a win you really want on your CV.
How sad therefore, that the powers that be are threatening to drop the event, not over safety concerns or the failure to put bums on seats, not even for the fact that overtaking is nigh impossible, but simply because they want a significantly higher hosting fee and various other 'rights'.
Aided and abetted by the usual suspects in terms of the media and team bosses, the heat is on.
In reality, it is somewhat ironic, for F1, under Liberty, has much in common with Monaco, for both have sold their souls.
Rather than drivers, TV pundits and - God help us - celebrities eulogising the place, what we really need today is for Monaco to weave its magic, to produce one of those truly dramatic races the like of which we are talking about for years to come... and not in the Abu Dhabi 2021 sense.
Be it Scott Stoddard driving up the wall on the approach to the Nouvelle Chicane or Pete Aron doing an Alberto Ascari and going into the harbour, 'Black' Jack Brabham losing it at the final corner and disappearing into the straw bales, 'Our Nige' suffering a phantom puncture and gifting the lead to Ayrton then spending the remaining half dozen laps trying to take it back again, Riccardo Patrese in 1982 or even an Olivier Panis... what we need today is that level of drama... a tale of the unexpected.
The bigger cars of 2022 are already proving to be a handful on these twisty little streets, but thus far the weekend has been relatively incident free. Therefore, we have to look to the skies and hope for some divine intervention in the shape of those pesky Weather Gods... who have been remarkably quiet this season.
Not wishing to rain - no pun intended - on Charles Leclerc's potential moment in the Monaco sun, we want a race that has us all talking tomorrow... and for all the right reasons.
Race after race, our poll for 'who do you think will win...' features the same four or six names, how great if today's podium could feature some names outside that little cartel. Monaco was always famous for its Casino, how apt if today one of the 'little guys' got lucky.
There are a few drivers out of position, most notably Gasly and Ricciardo, while Bottas and Magnussen will feel they deserve to be nearer the front. The ever-frustrated Verstappen is hardly likely to 'settle' for anything, especially with teammate Perez on the ascendant.
Then there's the Mercedes pair, with Hamilton seeking get one over on his new teammate, while Sainz also needs to get one in the bag.
However, on a track where experience is key, could the likes of Alonso spring a surprise, or even Vettel, or is it going to be another one for the cartel.
Assuming its dry, the only certainty is that this should be a one-stopper, under normal circumstances. However, wear is slightly higher than expected, although degradation is manageable. As a result, the hard becomes a viable race tyre: giving teams plenty of options both when it comes to the timing of the stops and which compounds to use.
There's a high safety car probability in Monaco with the walls being so close (although the marshals are experts at removing stranded cars quickly) so teams aim to capitalise on those moments for a 'cheap' pit stop. The problem is that these moments are by nature unpredictable...
The fastest way in theory would be to start on the soft and then finish on the hard but starting on the medium and then finishing on the hard is very close to that too - with the bonus of offering maximum flexibility, given the wear rate anticipated.
If it rains however, that's another story entirely - with the potential to do the entire race on just one set of wet or intermediate tyres...
As a result of those incidents in qualifying, a number of components have been changed under parc ferme conditions including a new gearboxes for Perez and Sainz together with news suspensions, wings... while Alonso takes on a new steering and front wing assemble among other things.
The pitlane opens and the drivers begin to head out. As the clock ticks down, there are spots of rain in the air.
Indeed, according to Race Control the risk of rain is 80%.
And ahead of the formation lap, up go the umbrella and on go the pac-a-macs.
"This is pretty wet," says Hamilton.
At which point the start is procedure is suspended, Max Verstappen advised that there will be a 10-minute warning before the start.
Sorry, but that is all wrong.
In terms of tyres, the teams appear to have been caught off-guard, with Leclerc, Sainz, Perez, Verstappen, Tsunoda, Bottas, Gasly and Zhou are on mediums. Alonso, Ocon and Schumacher are on hards. Albon and Latifi on softs and Norris, Russell, Hamilton, Vettel, Ricciardo and Stroll are on Inters.
However, it is anticipated that all will now start on full wets.
It is expected that the rain will stop just two laps into the race.
The formation lap will get underway behind the safety car as the race director appears to have gone overboard with his safety concerns.
In his cockpit, Hamilton shakes his head at the pandemonium around him.
Bear in mind that we are not talking torrential rain, or cats and dogs, we are talking just a few spots.
Still no discernible downpour but the formation lap is further delayed.
At which point it really does begin to rain.
"This intensity will be like this for ten minutes, then lighter for three minutes," Leclerc is advised.
Air temperature is 22 degrees C, while the track temperature is 30 degrees.
"Everyone take a deep breath and cool down," advises Hamilton.
The safety car leads the field off on the formation lap.
"Heavy rain now and a lot of water generally," reports Vettel.
At the end of the (first) formation lap the safety car continues on as the rain intensifies.
In the aftermath of last year's #race' at Spa, these formation laps - no matter how many - do not form part of the race.
As Leclerc reports "It's raining like crazy", the formation lap is red flagged - not the race, mind you - the formation lap has been red-flagged.
"I don't ever think I've gotten this wet in a Formula 1 car... ever!" says Schumacher.
The worrying thing is that there are no updates coming from race control.
The 10 minute signal will be shown at 15:55 advises race control... at around 15:54.
Needless to say a number of drivers are caught off-guard and are seen running to their cars.
As Ocon climbs into his car he is advised that there could be further rain later on.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Monaco, here.
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