For those of you out there, reading this that are around the same age of me would have had their first real F1 gaming experience on Super Monaco GP. I forget now the exact machine I had at the time but I think it was a Sega Master System.

Ever since playing that game, the words ‘super and ‘Monaco’ have always gone hand in hand. This was echoed in some fantastic races around the streets of the principality, especially when the rain came down.

Sadly however, it seems that for a race to indeed be ‘super’ around Monaco, we need some sort of divine intervention to spice things up. For the past two races there, the car’s have been armed with DRS, KERS and the awesome rubber provided by Pirelli. Although it is great seeing the top 5 cars split by only a couple of seconds, you know that there is absolutely no chance of any one of them getting passed!

Just look at Jenson Button’s plight in trying to get past the Caterham of Kovalainen. Even with a car that was several seconds faster, on fresh rubber, with KERS and DRS, he was unable to pass! Frustration got the better of the Frome Flyer as he spun out, exiting the Swimming Poll complex.

As much as I’ve disliked the last couple of races at Monaco, I can still see why it is the jewel in the F1 crown and why the driver’s want to win there more than anywhere else. The challenge of threading a F1 car around these narrow streets, millimetres away from the most of unforgiving barriers must be the biggest challenge of the year for the teams and drivers alike and they certainly produce the best on board footage of the year!

It is fair to say that we will always have a Grand Prix in Monaco. Even though it doesn’t stand up to the requirements of modern F1 racing but I’ll always watch, just for the on board footage.

Although my alarm was set for 5.50am, I was wide awake for the best part of an hour before that in anticipation of the biggest event on my working calendar.

Brand Hatch had been transformed into little Germany for the weekend and boy don’t they go to town! The week before, I was there working the BARC Dunlop meeting and the circuit was already teeming with German workers, piecing together their huge travelling circus. Nothing however, could have prepared me for the scale of the circus when we rolled up, midmorning on Thursday. Huge two storey hospitality units were next to the main grandstand for Audi and BMW with two more set further back for Mercedes and for the DTM race organisers.

Upon arriving in the outer paddock (our place of work for the weekend), most of the overseas based championships had already arrived and were setting up. We started preparing for the two championships that we were to look after, Formula Ford and Volkswagon UK Cup. Parking up for these two championships was 2pm, giving us 3 hours to get everything ready.

After a manic three hours or so, everything was where we needed it to be. Our part of the paddock was looking very smart, especially compared to what our continental counterparts had managed. It was safe to say that our lines of trucks were far more in line than theirs, (not that it was a competition).

With only a quarter of the paddock to look after, the rest of the time was spent just being on duty, in case of any problems from any of the teams, MSVR or DTM. This included setting up an arm wrestling arena where the ‘British Legends’ competing in the Sirocco Cup could do battle on German TV. The legends comprised of, Damon Hill, Martin Donnelly, Julian Bailey, Perry McCarty, Mark Blundell and David Brabham (I know, he’s an Ozzie!)

It was great to be able to work and chat with these guys, all were enjoying themselves and were having a real laugh. Along with these legends, there was plenty of other ex F1 drivers around. DC and Ralf Schumacher were, in and out on their scooters all the time. Plus current F1 drivers, Jenson Button and Paul di Resta came along for the weekend.

The rest of the time, we could enjoy a little bit of track action. This was my first experience of DTM and in terms of speed, they didn’t disappoint!

I now have two weeks off, my next event will be the British Touring Car Championship from Oulton Park. If you’re going, make sure you come and say hello.

Last weekend saw me return to circuit where my adventure began, Brands Hatch. Eight weeks ago, I started my job as a logistics co-ordinator at Brands for BTCC.

The BARC Dunlop meetings are made up with several club championships. On the race card for the weekend included the production touring car championship, Kuhmo BMW, Classic Formula Ford and Classic F3.

With smaller meets like this, the paddock layout is less important as most people turn up with their car on the back of a trailer. As long as the separate series’ are grouped together, that’s fine.

Friday was a general test day, which meant as well as some of the teams coming to set up for the weekend, we also had some teams turning up for the day. Our main priority during the morning was to try to get the people who were only there for the general test to operate from areas that wasn’t going to be used by the teams who were stopping through to Sunday.

Although we had no real authority to ask the testers to set up where we asked them to, most understood why we were asking and duly set up out-of-the-way. All except for the from ES Racing Lotus Team! Their chap who was in charge was less than accommodating and set up his 6 car setup right in the middle of the BMW paddock. There was nothing I could do but make sure that all the BMW team that arrive knew that, that chap had an arse hole where his mouth should be, he talked that much crap!

By the end of the test, the Lotus’ had gone and the BMWs could finally get setup for the weekend. With all the teams signed on by 11am, there wasn’t much to do apart from make sure everyone was OK and…..watch a little racing. I watch the opening laps of the Production Touring Car race from the pit wall. At Brands Hatch, the cars pass very close to the pit wall at the beginning of the straight and you can almost touch the cars as they pass.

Sunday was a very short day. The classic Formula Ford 1600 were signing on at 9am meaning that was the end of my duties for the weekend. While we were down there, we took the opportunity to make some preparations for this weekend’s DTM championship. The support package is bigger than anything I’ve come across before which means we had to survey areas of the paddock that hadn’t have been mapped before.

It’s Monday afternoon, the sun is shining here in Sheffield. I should be outside making the most of this rare occurrence but I find myself glued to the BBC red button, reliving yesterdays dramatic Spanish Grand Prix for the third time.

For those of you who regularly read this blog, or follow me on twitter. You’ll know how much of a Williams fan I am. It was the titanic battles between Mansell and Piquet had with the Likes of Senna and Prost that got me hook on F1 all those years ago.

Being a Williams fan in recent years hasn’t been an easy task. Year upon tear, slipping further down the constructors championship after their last title in 1997 and without a win since Brazil, 2004.

2011 saw my team register its worst ever points tally in its 34 year proud history forcing the team to make sweeping changes in personnel to try to stop the rot. And stop the rot they did. It only took to round two for the team to eclipse their meagre return the year before giving me the belief that they can hopefully regularly challenge within the top ten.

But never, ever in my wildest dreams did I think that anything like this would be possible this year. Williams have made huge strides forward since the test at Mugello and unlike Hulkenberg’s pole in Brazil, this front row start was down to the pace of the car.

So, 8 years of winless hurt end for Williams the third most successful team in the history of F1. I can’t tell you how big the smile is on my face as I write this after writing several articles on the decline of my team.

As I said earlier, Myself, along with all the other loyal Williams fans have endured these barren years and I know that there will be many smiles today out there, just as big as mine.

Onwards to Monaco in two weeks. Pastor holds the record for the most GP2 wins there and drove out of his skin there last year in his first year in F1. Could he be the first double winner in 2012? The only prediction I’ll be making is that I’ll not be making one!

The song sang, ‘three is the magic number’, but in F1 after the opening four rounds, four is definitely the magic number.

So significant is the number, that it has given us the most open start to a season since 1983.

So here’s the stats,

1. We have had 4 races so far in 2012
2. The first 4 races have produced 4 different winners.
3. After each race, we have had a different leader of the Drivers Championship.
4. Mark Webber has finished 4^th in all four races so far this season.
5. If you add all the numbers up in 2012, you get 4!

OK, OK I know the last one doesn’t actually add up but I thought I’d throw in there for good measure.

So what has made the outcome of the race’s so unpredictable this year? Why has only Sebastian (The Finger) Vettel has managed to convert pole position into a race win?

I believe the banning of the EBDs has dramatically closed up the field. Red Bull in particular appeared to struggle to find a decent balance in the RB8. But the main reason for this fantastically, stunning, stellar start to the year is down to the rubber provided by Pirelli. The Italian company have carried on where they left off last year by providing the teams with rubber with a very limited performance window and crucially, one that is proving very difficult to predict.

Michael Schumacher criticised Pirelli after the race in China, complaining that he can’t go flat out on them. Is Michael showing his age? Is he failing to keep up with the ever changing world of F1? I for one thank that Pirelli are the main reason that F1 is exiting as it is this year. I can say with full conviction that if DRS was dropped from Spain, I don’t believe that it’s absence would have any detrimental effect on the spectacle.