THOSE McLaren-Mercedes mechanics know a good bit of machinery when they see it.

So it was time to down tools and form an orderly mob when Paris Hilton strolled through the pits of the Monaco Grand Prix winning team at the weekend.

The 24-year-old blonde babe went across to celebrate with the winning grease monkeys after their driver Kimi Raikkonen beat German Nick Heidfeld to the chequered flag.

Heidfeld’s Australian BMW-Williams teammate Mark Webber scored his first podium with a well-fought third place.

We’re not sure how much attention Hilton paid to the actual race thingy, but the Simple Life star said she could well become a regular at the most glamorous event in world motor sport.

Hilton had flown into Monaco after her appearance at the Cannes film festival and has promised the principality will be on her schedule next year. “I’ll just pop in from Cannes,” she said.

While she was happy enough to pose at the weekend, she said last year she took racing lessons in Monaco to learn how to outrun the paparazzi.

And apparently the Ferrari-driving hotel heiress has tried out her racecraft on the streets of LA.

“I took lessons in Monaco with real racing cars. I love fast cars,” she was quoted as saying in Britain’s Daily Mirror.

“I’ve driven on the streets at 140 miles an hour (225km/h) when no one’s around. I’ve never had an accident.”

Other celebrities at this year’s race included football legends Maradona and Zinedine Zidane, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, Tom Cruise and Chewbacca.