McLaughlin 'there to do a job' on Monaco debut

With the countless expensive yachts and celebrities, the Monaco Grand Prix is as much about the glitz and glamour of motorsport as it is about the on-track action.

But once Fionn McLaughlin is strapped into his Hitech Formula 3 car, none of that will matter.

The 18-year-old resumes his Formula 3 campaign on the iconic streets, which wind and twist their way around the Principality.

Having made his F3 debut in Melbourne in March as he supported Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix, there's has been a prolonged break after the race in Bahrain was called off because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

But now Formula 3 will return to F1 weekends at Monaco from Thursday.

"To be at a place like that was just an incredible experience and I loved that," Red Bull Junior driver McLaughlin said on his debut in Australia.

"I don't think about what was the atmosphere is going to be like or what it is like racing on a F1 weekend.

"I'm there to do my job and that's it."

It will be a similar approach this weekend.

While Monaco is one of the crown jewels of motorsport, the racing product does not always deliver the most exciting racing because of the tight nature of the circuit, which limits overtaking opportunities.

Even Formula 3 cars, smaller in size and with less power than their Formula 1 counterparts, struggle to pass on the narrow, barrier-lined streets.

That places a large emphasis on qualifying, as drivers push to the limits against the armco barriers to extract the maximum from their cars to secure the best possible grid position.

The flip side of that is, with danger lurking at every turn, any mistake will be punished.

"It'll be something that I haven't experienced much because normally everywhere I race you can overtake, and Monaco's just mainly going to be about qualifying.

"There might be a couple of options to overtake, but it's very risky.

"In Monaco, you kind of put your whole weekend around the qualifying and it's important to make the most out of the car, try and make the setup perfect for you and put the perfect lap together because, if not, it's going to be a very long and hard weekend."

After winning the British F4 title last year, McLaughlin took the leap up to Formula 3.

It was a big step up but he managed well in Australia, where he finished just outside the top 10 in both the sprint and feature races.

The teenager, from Magherafelt in Northern Ireland, said it was "definitely a great start".

"Jumping from F4 straight into F3 is not easy and the experience," he said.

"The grid is very high and the level is very high, so for me to start off that well was a strong point."

After the round in Bahrain was cancelled, McLaughlin was able to get back behind the wheel in a test at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, which allowed him to "get a bit of the cobwebs off".

He has also been practising in the simulator at Red Bull Racing to stay sharp.

Despite being out of the car after the Australian Grand Prix, McLaughlin said "you don't lose it" after being away from the track.

"It just came back to me straight away and it was just nice to get a feel for it again before Monaco.

"When you test you can because this is where you can test and that's where you need to make your mistakes because heading to Monaco you can't.

"So it was nice to get a bit loose and get pumped up for Monaco."

After two months off, Monaco will kick off a busy stretch that will see rounds in Barcelona, Austria, Silverstone, Belgium and Hungary crammed into the space of seven weeks.

It is a challenging that McLaughlin is relishing.

"I feel like this is where all the drivers will be getting to their peak in the year as they keep driving every week.

"But that is very exciting".

While McLaughlin says it would be "nice to get a podium or win" in Monaco, his ultimate target on an ultra-competitive grid is to keep growing as a driver.

"I just want to keep improving. Like I said previously, this year is just all about improving and showing to people that I belong.

"I just need to keep working hard, progressing and just hope that I keep finding small details to make them better and better every day.

"Monaco will all be just about putting the lap together and the weekend will be sorted from there."