Like flying a helicopter in your living room.

[guylian]

The Monaco F1 Grand Prix is always worth watching, if not for the sight of 20-odd cars battling to get past each other on the narrow street course, then certainly for the picture-perfect location - gorgeous old buildings, Casino Square, and the blue Mediterranean Sea.

Renault's Fernando Alonso won, which I was quite happy about, but that was by no means the most interesting part of the weekend....

Best things about the 2006 Monaco GP:

• Proving the adage that English is simply French badly pronounced, the health warning under the Marlboro sign read 'Fumer Provoque des Maladies Graves'. : )
• Rubens Barrichello switching his helmet with his fellow Brazilian racer Tony Kanaan, who was competing in the Indianapolis 500 that weekend.
• David Coultard wearing a red 'Superman' cape on the podium, after a fairly superhuman effort to get his damn Red Bull Racing car to actually beat a few better-built competitors.
• Kimi Raikonnen ditching the traditional return to the garage after his engine blew in favour of joining his friends on his boat in the harbour. And then taking his shirt off. : )

Worst things:

• Rubens Barrichello losing 3rd place after a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane during his one and only stop. Dammit, Rubens!
• Mark Webber's car breaking down, again. Can you get fined for tossing your steering wheel when your engine's on fire?
• The Michael Schumacher qualifying debacle. Driver error? Maybe. Not being a driver, and especially not being a Formula One driver, I can't really say. But the majority of the other drivers called shenanigans on the move, and I'm inclined to trust their judgement. Plus, all the cars now have anti-stall technology built-in to prevent them from blocking the track - the track only became blocked, and the other drivers' qualifying time ruined, when Schumacher switched off his engine himself.