Hamilton, who has reeled off a record-breaking run of four podium finishes in his first four races in F1, did his utmost to quell high hopes among his and the McLaren Mercedes-Benz team's followers that he is set for more glory.

The young racing ace, who has won all three of his previous racing appearances on the famous old Mediterranean street circuit in the Formula Three and GP2 series, has stressed that it is important to remain realistic -- and remember how little experience he has of driving an F1 car.

But his pleas for realism, it seemed, had fallen on deaf ears to judge by the enthusiasm to back him generated by his fans and followers in and around the paddock.

The Hamilton story, so heavily-hyped, but backed by an astonishing run of results that have installed him as the youngest leader in F1 history, looks like it has a long way to go.

Hamilton is a well-known success story as a scrapper on street circuits and his triumph in a fabulous GP2 race in the Mediterranean principality last year added to his two Formula Three victories in 2005.

"I am really looking forward to this race. I always run well here," said Hamilton.

"It is one of the tracks I have always dreamed of racing at in F1, particularly having competed there for the past two seasons in the F3 Euroseries and GP2.

"For me it is the best circuit of the year. There is nowhere like it for getting the adrenaline going. I am going to the race again this year with the intention of fighting for the win, but that is the case at everything I compete in.

"However we do have to keep being realistic, this will be my fifth race in Formula One and I am still developing. We have to focus on keeping scoring points for both the constructors' and drivers' championships and take it step by step."

As Hamilton was mobbed by fans, reporters and admirers, his McLaren team-mate, defending double world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain, was able to keep out of the limelight.

Alonso, who won at Monaco for Renault last year, is two points behind Hamilton in the world championship and determined not to be upstaged by the sport's new young hero.

Alonso has been struggling to adapt to the Bridgestone tyres all the teams are using this year following the withdrawal of Michelin.

"I took the victory at the Grand Prix last year and, although it was an emotional weekend, it was an amazing feeling, one that I will race hard to try and repeat again this season," said Alonso.

"I have not had the results I have wanted at the previous two races, but I have kept scoring good points and we have continued to develop the performance of the car.

"At Monaco you have to really keep your concentration at all times and push to the limit. It is very easy for things to go wrong at this track because it is very narrow and the barriers are very close, and this is why you have to stay focused.

"Because of the barriers and the need to be very accurate, you do have to use a slightly different driving style here to perform well over the weekend. You tend to be less aggressive in the braking zones.

"You also need to set the car up with a responsive front, so that you can be on the throttle as early as possible in the middle section of the corner without waiting for the car to turn, it is ways like this that you can find the milliseconds that you need at Monaco."

McLaren's chief rivals are likely to be Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, who between them have won three of the season's four races. Brazilian Massa has won the last two races and is just a point behind Alonso in third place.

Massa believes new tyre and safety car rules, allied to unpredictable weather, could make this weekend's race more of a lottery than usual.

"I have seen the weather forecast for the weekend and unbelievably, they say there is a chance of rain," said Massa.

"Believe it or not, if it does rain, it will be a completely new experience for me, as I have never driven this track in the wet. But when it rains, it rains on everyone!

"Monaco is the sort of track where it is just not permitted to make a mistake and rain always increases the possibility of a mistake. It could make things even more of a lottery than usual, as will the new rules regarding having to use both types of tyre.

"If there is a safety car period, depending on what tyre you are on, it will either help you or go against you. But in a lottery, it is also important to have a bit of luck, so hopefully everything will work out for us this weekend."

Massa's best result at Monaco has been a fifth, but he is more confident of a good result this year after winning in Bahrain and Spain. "Let's just see how we go," he smiled.