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Can't believe we're already a quarter of the way through the season. It's going much too quickly! 6 weeks today and I'll be setting off to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, which if last year was anything to go by, will be an amazing long weekend. I'm planning on buying a sm*rtphone for the weekend so I can still blog while I'm there, and post pictures and videos etc. to give a sort-of-real-time idea of what it's like to attend a Grand Prix - will be interesting to see how that works out. Tickets have started shipping out today, so I'm writing this sitting at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for the postman to arrive...

Monaco - the capital of glamour © Rainer Brunotte

Q1) The tight and twisty nature of the Monaco circuit is known for difficult overtaking. Do you think we will see drivers take more risks like Hamilton did in 2011, or will it be more about strategy and pitstops?

A: I think we'll see both, but it'll be more skewed towards strategy and pitstops. With Monaco being the prestigious race that it is, drivers will be more willing to take risks to try and move up the order and with overtaking being so difficult, gaining even one position during the race would be an achievement. However, with the way the Pirelli tyres have been this year I think teams may want to be a little more conservative. This of course all depends on whether there's going to be a safety car and the weather, which going by current reports isn't looking too good for practice and qualifying at the moment.

Q2) What is it about Monaco that makes it so special, or do you not feel the excitement for Monaco?
A: One answer always seems to crop up - 'it's Monaco!'. No other race on the calendar has so much behind it to create its unique buzz; the history, the prestige, the glitz and glamour, the skill that goes into the preparation of the drivers and teams for the event, the celebrities trying to sound knowledgeable when they're being interviewed for Martin Brundle's gridwalk (and failing miserably - yes, I'm looking at you Nicole Scherzinger and Geri Halliwell):

Q3 [as suggested by @AilishCatherine]) What is your favourite corner on the Monaco Grand Prix circuit and why?

A: There's a couple that stand out from the rest, like Casino Square, as it looks like a real challenge for the drivers coming into it from the top of the hill. The Lowes hairpin is always cool for seeing the cars so close together and snaking slowly and carefully through the streets. And The Tunnel needs no introduction. But I like all of them - the whole track flows brilliantly despite overtaking being impossible, so I guess they're all my favourite.

BONUS) Which Monaco race that you have watched is your ultimate Monaco Grand Prix and why?

A: I'm having to work from word of mouth here as I don't remember watching it myself, but from what I've seen of it now that I'm older, the 1996 race was immense. A real survival of the fittest battle in very tricky conditions, showing just how tough Monaco is on the drivers and their machinery - and Olivier Panis won in a Ligier, with the three drivers on the podium being the only ones to actually finish the race. What's not to like?

*Rainer Brunotte has taken some stunning photographs of Monaco's cityscape, harbour and parts of the Grand Prix circuit as part of the build-up for this year's race, you can see more of his work here