Cathy Sorbo's Formula One Drive-Through

Steeped in a tradition of opulence and luxury, the Monaco Grand Prix is quite possibly the most anticipated event of the F1 season, attended by the uber-rich, regional royalty and entertainment industry superstars.

Race day is witnessed by beautiful people on the streets,in the stands and perched on balconies. The most exclusive spectators are splayed across the decks of yachts on the Cote d'Azur where the Mediterranean Sea sparkles like blue champagne in the sun -- unless it's overcast with on again/off again rain.

The pre-race track was decidely half-dry and half-wet but rain did arrive by the start of the race. No automatic traction control and wet conditions on a street-circuit that has pretty much zero-tolerence for error makes for an exciting race -- the first wet race of the season.

Ferrari sat in positions one and two on the grid, with pole-sitter Felipe Massa still high from his huge win in Turkey. Not since 2001 has Ferrari secured pole-position in Monaco. Kimi Räikkönen lost a position at the start to Louis Hamilton and never really recovered. As his tires weren't ready by regulation time before the strar of ther race, Räikkönen suffered a drive-through penalty.

Even after qualifying it seemed to me that Räikkönen wasn't fully happy with the performance of his Ferrari, which might explain the uncharacteristic loss of control that sent him into Adrian Sutil who, while holding onto a strong 4th place, was smashed into and taken out by the reigning world champion.

It has been reported that Sutil will need grief counseling for life.

Pushing the limits while remaining on-track is what this race is all about. There have been some fairly dramatic crashes here, and limited run-off for the cars can turn even a small mistake into a very large problem for multiple drivers.

While roaming the grid for Speed TV, Peter Windsor spoke to Renault team leader Flavio Briatorre, who summed up the Monaco Grand Prix vibe saying, "... the more danger we are, the more people love it."

And we are very danger indeed on the damp, oily, uneven supertwisty streets of Monte Carlo, the circuit where an overly cautious driver is referred to as a "grandma" or "old lady" within the teams.

Lewis Hamilton drove a brilliant race, taking first place for McLaren-Mercedes with no grandma moments. He now leads Kimi Räikkönen in the championship by 3 points. Robert Kubica took second for BMW Sauber and Massa managed to hold on for third place on the podium.

This race made me look forward to September for the new street-circuit night race in Singapore -- yummy.

The next race (seen on FOX) takes place in Canada, June 8th. Montreal. Be there.