MONTE CARLO, Monaco — On the track, McLaren and Ferrari will be battling for victory at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend. Off the track, all eyes will be on the return of embattled FIA president Max Mosley.

McLaren goes into Formula One's signature race on a high, even after Felipe Massa notched Ferrari's fourth straight win of 2008 at the Turkish GP and the Brazilian's third straight at Istanbul.

Lewis Hamilton's drive to a second-place finish was one of his best considering his tire problems, while Heikki Kovalainen's 12th-place finish came only two weeks after a violent crash had McLaren believing the Finn could have won it if a tire puncture hadn't mired his start.

With no tire problems, improved pace and only the winding streets of one of the world's smallest principalities to navigate, McLaren must show it can again win at the circuit where it has done so in 14 of the past 25 races.

"This is the race to win, and one of the races I've always wanted to win," said Hamilton, who triumphed in Monaco in GP2 in 2006 before finishing runner-up to former teammate Fernando Alonso last year.

The 23-year-old British driver will not have to yield to Alonso this year and is eyeing his first win since the season-opening Australian GP.

"Unpredictable is the word that sums up Monaco from a performance perspective. It is very exciting to drive, there is no room for any error all weekend," Hamilton said. "You are on the limit the whole time ... It is so tight and narrow, and when you consider how quick you are driving it is unreal."

Meanwhile, Mosley, who lives in Monaco, is due to appear at the race.

The 68-year-old Briton has missed three races since being exposed in a British tabloid for participating in a sadomasochistic sex session in London with five prostitutes in an orgy that reportedly had a Nazi theme. On Sunday, it emerged that the prostitute who set up the sting was the wife of a British MI5 intelligence agent, who has since been fired.

Mosley, who is suing The News of the World newspaper, will be expected in the paddock as he conducts "business as usual."

"The FIA president will attend the Monaco GP in his official capacity as expected," said the governing body, which is scheduled to hold a vote in two weeks to decide whether Mosley can stay as FIA president.

Defending F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen leads the overall drivers' standings with 35 points, seven better than Hamilton and teammate Massa.

Raikkonen would like to add his name to the list of greats - Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Graham Hill are a few - with multiple triumphs at Monte Carlo.

The Finn, who won here with McLaren in 2005, knows qualifying will be important for the Italian team, which have five victories to show for in the last 30 years at Monaco.

"The car is stronger at this type of circuit - slow and bendy - compared to last year," Raikkonen said. "I think that Ferrari has made a big step forward in the areas where we weren't strong last year. Monaco can always be good for a surprise - it's the most open of all the races this year."

The Finn was fastest in testing last week at the Paul Richard circuit, which was set up to emulate Monaco's slow corners. With so little room for overtaking, Ferrari's consistency could be the difference should anticipated showers come over the weekend.

BMW Sauber continues its challenge to the top two teams and will take any points missed by McLaren or Ferrari, while Alonso will likely need the rain to win here for a third straight year.

"We have some confidence that this track - this race - will be good for us. It will be a little opportunity to fight with the top teams," the two-time world champion said Wednesday. "I don't think that we will risk too much in terms of strategy because ... pole position is important, but we know that the longer you go the better it is here."

Nico Rosberg of Williams and Red Bull's Mark Webber are podium hopefuls, and the glamour of Monaco will mark Force India's Gianarlo Fisichella 200th F1 race. McLaren has also been move back up from the last garage - as it was assigned at the Bahrain GP - to the middle between Williams and Red Bull.

Toro Rosso will finally debut its 2008 car - at the sixth race of the season - but Sebastien Vettel will incur a five-place grid penalty since the team has a new gear box.

The racers get to practise on Thursday, with a traditional off-day on Friday. Qualifying is on Saturday, and Sunday's race is 78 laps.

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