Full Throttle

As I sat down to write the obligatory post on this weeks Monaco GP, called the Crown Jewel of Formula One by many, I was rudely interrupted by reality, reality as lived by reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.

It seems Hamilton has had a run-in with Italy’s water borne Polizia di Stato.

Hamilton was slapped with a 51-euro ($70) fine after his luxurious yacht (pictured above) was spotted 23 meters inside the lovely Bergeggi reserve on the Ligurian Riviera, the local edition of La Stampa newspaper reported.

Hamilton was said to have been ‘’surprised’’ when he saw an Italian port authority launch bearing down on him and his American girlfriend, Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger. The yacht was escorted into the nearby port of Savona and released upon payment of the fine.

Poor guy just can’t catch a break can he?

His title defense has been relegated to mid-pack status by an almost-never-was upstart, possibly surpassed as the U.K.’s most popular F1 driver and has been labeled a cheat and told to just shut-up and grow-up.

As if that isn’t bad enough Hamilton’s main squeeze Nicole Scherzinger is in a fight for poll position by Jense’s Arm Candy as determined by the Paddock’s Paparazzi.

How the mighty have fallen!

Although, if fallen means riding the waves in luxurious yachts large enough to carry jet-skis and a Pussy Cat Doll so be it, let me fall.

Meanwhile back in the real world, as real as it gets in Monaco, Jenson Button has every reason to be cheerful as Formula One hits the streets of Monaco this weekend.

As a “local’ enjoying the benefits of being based in the billionnaire’s playground, he should know his way around the tight street circuit.

Going into Sunday’s big race, Button has four wins out of the first five grands prix, and no driver has missed out on the F1 championship after starting out in such blistering form.

His victories for new F1 outfit Brawn has already bettered the three wins achieved by Honda, the team they replaced, in their eight seasons staggered between 1964 and 2008.

And don’t believe the old adage the best way to win in Monaco is from the front. Only four of the past 10 winners have driven to victory after occupying pole position on the starting grid.

Only the cars of Ferrari and McLaren have committed to running KERS in Monaco. Because the current rules limit how much KERS boost can be used per lap, the extra acceleration doesn’t help much at a track like Monaco. Other teams are more skeptical about the KERS benefits at Monaco and have opted not to install the system.