When Free Practice 1 started on the dot of 11 am in Monaco on Thursday, it will have been a surprise to no one. This was the beginning of a carefully orchestrated timetable running throughout the weekend. Along with the entry list, the F1 schedule will have been carried in the official programme and published in local newspapers.
It wasn't always like that. Fifty years ago this weekend, when I made my first visit to the Monaco Grand Prix on a coach trip from London, the race appeared to run despite itself. Which, in the more relaxed times of 1968, was also a surprise to no one.