Experience the Thrill: A Mystery F1 Star Takes SunSport for a Spin Around the Iconic Monaco Grand Prix Track!

SUNSPORT was buckled in for a hot lap around the iconic streets of Monte Carlo with a mystery F1 driver.

Our reporter Isabelle Barker was plonked into a luxury Vantage capable of going from 0-60 mph in just over three seconds.

Our F1 reporter Isabelle Barker was taken for a spin in an Aston Martin Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Three-time podium finisher Lance Stroll whizzed round at high speed Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk

In the driving seat, the driver was revealed as Aston Martin’s , who has started 194 Grands Prix and stood on the podium three times.

By that point he was the only F1 driver taking part in the hot laps.

And you could instantly tell by the way he expertly threaded the car around every corner before flying down the straights.

And it didn’t take him long to be right up the jacksie of the car in front like a tailgating on the M25.

I even managed to crack a smile out of Stroll when I said: “You made the drivers in front look like absolute mice.”

He replied: “They were holding us up. Need to find out who’s driving this thing and give him some crap!”

We soared off from Rascasse, where famously got it all wrong in 2006, locking his front right tyre before veering off line and parking just by the barrier.

Soon we are hurtling down the main straight where all the celebs will totter over before Lewis Hamilton and Co start Sunday’s race.

Stroll races for Aston Martin alongside Fernando Alonso Credit: Splash

The podium, which stood on top of this time last year, flashes by on the left too quickly for me to catch a glimpse.

By this point Stroll is already hot on the tail of the car in front and probably itching for an overtake, which to my relief is not permitted during the hot-lap experience.

We blitzed past lavish hotels, exclusive restaurants and breathtaking penthouse apartments before the famous Casino Square comes into view for a split second.

Stroll then slams on the brakes, hurtling me forward into the seatbelt before he tackles the infamous Fairmont Hairpin.

He has to apply the maximum steering lock to thread the luxury Aston Martin around it.

A millimeter off the racing line or misjudging the steering wheel lock would mean almost certain contact with the barrier, but he makes it look easy.

F1 cars are doing just 30mph through this tight turn, and for a moment it feels like we are back to normal.

We continued downhill to Portier, which was made famous by Ayrton Senna who crashed here in 1988 while ahead of his teammate Alain Prost by more than a minute.

Monaco is the epitome of F1 glitz and glam Credit: Getty

After the crash, he actually walked back to his apartment nearby and was not seen for several hours.

It really feels like we are in a film as we fly into the tunnel with our eyes adjusting from bright daylight to the dark and back again.

To be honest, throughout the whole thing I thought we were going to crash so I’m screaming and flying around while Stroll doesn’t bat an eyelid.

We make it through the Nouvelle Chicane, clipping the kerbs, before heading to Tabac which is named after a little tobacco shop on the corner.

Then it’s into the Swimming Pool section that features two chicanes and is predictably named after the turquoise blue swimming pool in the Rainier III Nautical Stadium.

Yellow flags signal the end of the hot lap and I breathe a sigh of relief that I’ve made it out alive.