Formula One...And so it begins

It's here, I can't believe it, it has finally arrived. I speak of course, of the 2010 Formula One season. Oh Gawd I hear the groans, and the screams of agony from the greenies, but hear me out.

I revel in the achievement of mankind, of the might of man's mind and the pursuit of excellence. Thus, Formula One as the pinnacle of man's technical auto design, engineering and physical ability to operate at speeds in excess of 250 mph with millimetric, metronomic precision in 50 plus degrees heat for over 2 hours and is about as good as it gets. Put any footballer in the cockpit of a Formula One car and he would probably die at the first corner. A cricketers hand eye coordination would probably save him until turn three, Tiger Woods would stall on the grid. Then ask them to repeat, within 5 thousandths of a second, that same lap time for the next two hours and I see full hospital beds and bereaved spouses.

I often tell my First Aid students the fact, scientifically measured, that entering the first corner of the Grand Prix, a driver's heart rate is hovering around explosion - that is 200 bpm. As you sit there reading this yours will be around the 75 - 80 mark. The remarkable thing about a Grand Prix driver is that, as is the case with the likes of Lance Armstrong, they can control their heartbeat and the hugely increased stresses that accompany the increase, far better than you or I.

They can return their heart to relatively speaking, controllable levels and operate in a sphere I suggest only modern jet fighter pilots can relate to. Or the magicians of the Red Bull Air Race. Go Matt!

Every ounce of toil and sweat from thousands of the brightest and best drawing breath will culminate tomorrow afternoon in the first race of the season. And, And that bloody german is back, you know...what's his name, that Schumacher bloke. In a german powered car, in the historical and motor racing's historically signicant national colours of Silver. In the early days of this amazing sport, teams entered in the national colour of their country and Germany was assigned Silver, thus we gained the magnificent history behind the Silver Arrows motor racing dynasty of the 30's, 40's and 50's.

Don't get me wrong Schumacherphiles, I don't like the bloke that will spearhead the rejuvenated German attack on the title, never did, there was something almost sold my soul to satan creepy about the luck Schumi carried in the car with him. He never had to race against the likes of Mansell, Senna (OK but for what 1 season?), Prost, Piquet, Rosberg or Lauda - all of these guys were in the same field together, something Herr Schumacher never had to contend with.

That said, I will cannot argue his brilliance in bringing a Grand Prix car home in third place locked in second gear. Or his 7 championships - something we may never see repeated - at least not for another 8 years or until Lewis Hamilton turns 30, whichever is the sooner. I just believe circumstances gave him a break that others will struggle to emulate.

And I absolutely salivate at the thought of Schumacher up against a crop of drivers almost half his age who have demonstrated during the German's absence that they will be very tough to beat. Having said what I have about Michael, I know that such is his talent he will not only win races this year, but I believe he will figure in the title race. New cars, new reg's that banish refuelling - requiring a whole new car design, race tactics and driving style, the return of the famous Lotus name. Oh Boy, bring it on.

Alonso in a Ferrari, Lewis in a McLaren with current World Champion Jenson Button alongside, don't you dare scoff at or underestimate Mark Webber - he is worthy of lining up alongside these names and will be in there in the mix, and his very quick and race winning team mate Sebastien Vettel is just as likely to win the title as anyone...Yahoo.

Let Battle commence, Forza ferrari, Go faster than that Lewis!

Think Long and Prosper

Biggles