Hamilton: Monaco is one of the crown jewels of our sport

Since 1950, the start of the F1 World Championship as we know it, Monaco has hosted 67 Grands Prix, with only Monza on 71 having hosted more. And while the ultra-tight, street circuit, not made for modern F1, is an anomaly amid a calendar packed with high-speed purpose-built tracks and cars built for them, it is nevertheless a race revered by drivers - the one they all want to win.

Not only is Monaco the third element of the fabled Triple Crown of Motorsport, along with the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 hours - a feat only ever accomplished by Graham Hill.

Throw into that more than half a century of enthralling races, including the tragic loss of Ferrari driver Lorenzo Bandini among them and, of course, that mesmerising magical 'Lap of the Gods' by the great Ayrton Senna, one among a rich quilt packed with amazing F1 stories.

Speaking to reporters at Imola, before F1 jetted to the USA for this weekend's Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton spoke of Monaco: "It's one of the crown jewels of our sport. So I'm not really sure it would be great to lose it. There are good bits… I guess that the difficult part is that the racing itself is not that spectacular.

"But everyone that goes enjoys it. It is a prime location. Adjusting the track is not easy, because it's the second smallest country in the world. I think it's the second or third smallest country? Second, right?

"And so, yeah, we don't have a lot of space there. Many of us live in Monaco. But it is just that that icon status it has, the history that it has that is so appealing to drivers, but also I think to those that are watching," ventured Hamilton who has won the race on three occasions, 2008, 2016 and 2019.

Ricciardo, a winner on the streets of Monte-Carlo with Red Bull in 2018, agreed with the seven-time F1 World Champion seated with him: "Monaco is special.

"The thing is, I love the addition of some of these new circuits, new cities that we're going to. I'm all for it, because it's also like new experiences and engaging another audience which is fun, and it keeps the sport growing.

The Australian continued: "I think as Lewis touched on earlier, like kind of sharing the sport with more of the globe, and ultimately sharing our passion with more people.

"So I think with that you still want those core F1 venues and circuits such as Monaco. It's a special weekend. For sure, in the race, it's one of the most tricky circuits to overtake so I'm not sure it provides ultimate viewing on a Sunday but the weekend experience and just everything that is Monaco is special and unique.

"And yeah, winning it or not, I think going there as an F1 driver and having that and experiencing all the emotions that go with competing in Monaco, it's unique.

"And I'm very, very happy to have that, and have experienced that in my career. I guess I would wish, you know, call it the next generation to also experience that because it is special," added Ricciardo.

Notably, both Hamilton and Ricciardo call Monaco home, as do several of their rivals on the current F1 grid including Monegasque Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen and Alex Albon.

Their neighbours include some more familiar names: Antonio Giovinazzi, Daniil Kyvat, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, Mika Hakkinen and Riccardo Patrese.