Monaco Grand Prix: Who'll Take the Lead in Monte Carlo?

The Monaco Grand Prix.

Held in the glorious streets of Monte Carlo, easily the most glamorous Grand Prix on the calendar.

We enter the Grand Prix off the back of the Turkish Grand Prix, which gave us what Lewis Hamilton called his finest performance in a Formula One car yet. I don't think it was his best yet, but it was undoubtedly one of his best.

I do agree with a few people in the industry who believe that had Hamilton not had the problem with his tyres, he may have won the race. It did seem the turn eight was the main culprit in his immense tyre wear.

I have quite a bit of knowledge on the tyres, and I would have thought that Hamilton would have gone for two short stints on soft tyres, then change to hard tyres.

Obviously McLaren have more knowledge than me, but two short stints would have helped overall pace by being quicker on soft tyres.

I now move on to the subject of next weekend.

Hamilton adores the tight streets that line the circuit that runs through the super-expensive neighbourhood. He feels he can take bigger risks.

I do think that he can take another bite into Kimi Raikkonen's lead next weekend. I can see Hamilton winning it next weekend, and it could be a vital win at the end of the season.

Naturally, Kimi Raikkonen will continue to keep up the pace, and will make sure that he doesn't drop too many points, especially to teammate Felipe Massa, who has been in tremendous form as of late.

I believe we will see a big comeback from Heikki Kovalainen next weekend. He is another lover of this track, and put up some strong performances in other racing classes.

After his disastrously unlucky race in Istanbul, he will be looking to bounce back in a big way.

The fight for the final podium place will be an interesting one. We have Felipe Massa, Heikki Kovalainen, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld all battling for that place. It should be an intriguing battle, but we could see another great performance from BMW Sauber next weekend.

The German outfit have put in some great performances this season, and have been very consistent with their points scoring. It's believed that they have a great package for the twisty street of Monte Carlo.

It shall be interesting to watch when the cars roll out for Thursday practice on the 22nd of May.

So, what do you think will happen when these 750bhp cars blast through Monte Carlo? Will Hamilton take more out of Raikkonen's lead in the Driver's Championship?

Are McLaren (42 points in the constructor standings) starting to bridge the gap to Ferrari (63 points)?

Use that handy little comment box below to give me your views.