Well, wonders will never cease. Some considerable time ago, this writer had the temerity to take a rather jaundiced view of Formula One motor racing.

The attitude adopted then was that it was boring, repetitive and lacked any real sense of competition. The notion was also expressed that it was very noisy and caused a lot of pollution and that the only real excitement came when one or more cars crashed or spun off the track. When those attitudes were aired there was considerable reaction, including at least one letter to the editor, suggesting that the writer was biased at best or not qualified at worst to have any view at all on the matter after it had been admitted that the writer doesn't drive. Now support for the views then expressed has come from a most unusual quarter - namely the president of the controlling body of the sport, a certain Max Mosley. At last somebody has cottoned on to what had always been pretty obvious - Formula One racing is boring.

So don't take my word for it. Listen to Max Mosley who had this to say during the week: "It is now probably a bit too difficult to overtake. It is up to the (car) owners to decide what they want from cars in terms of overtaking possibilities and then, for their technical people to work out how to do it". He was referring to the fact that criticism is growing of the fact that overtaking is well nigh impossible. This means that the dice is completely loaded in favour of the car which gets into the lead at the start.

Only mechanical or other failure or an accident seems to give an opportunity for those who are in the lower positions to get ahead of the car in front. It appears that, in the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, there was only one instance of an overtaking manoeuvre and that was for the seventh position. Of course the "big boys" have it sewn up anyway even before a race starts. This is because the fastest cars in the practice rounds are put on the front row of the grid. This, in effect, handicaps the slower cars when it should be the other way around. When this writer was doing a bit of athletics many years ago it was the stronger and faster people who were put "on scratch" and the other given the advantage of of a handicap. The result was that the best athletes had to try harder to overcome the handicap imposed upon them. It still applies in horse racing today. Perhaps if the faster cars were to be put at the back of the grid they would then be challenged to use all their driving skills to wend their way through those in front in order to get into the lead.

As things stand, it seems to this observer that the driver who wins the pole position is given what amounts to an unfair advantage over even his nearest rival who cannot get past. What kind of a "race" is it when only one overtaking manoeuvre is completed? That is not a race at all.

Many motor racing fans seem to agree. It appears that a straw poll was made recently in which 4,500 were asked for their opinions and 91 per cent agreed that motor racing was boring.

Now Max Mosley has backed up the assessment made here some time ago which ruffled a few feathers at the time. Maybe it will do so again but objections should be made to others this time and not to the editor or even to this column.

Apart altogether from the president of the controlling body, they should take into account the view of one David Coulthard who had this to say on the matter: "It is important to have good races to maintain interest in Formula One. We need to make cars easier to drive so you have the confidence to have a go".

As regards the appointment of Eddie Jordan as a kind of sporting ambassador for Ireland, he appears to be a very likeable, hard-working man but the connection between motor racing and Ireland is, to say the least, tenuous.

The car or cars which he works with have practically nothing whatever to do with Ireland or Irish sport except for some of the advertising slogans painted on them.

One would have thought that horse racing, boxing, athletics, golf or sailing, to name but a few, would have a more Irish identity and there are many who have distinguished themselves in these disciplines who would be more readily associated with Ireland and what it has to offer in tourism terms. But I suppose we must hasten slowly and if some of the top names in motor sport are in favour of taking a look at themselves, we must be grateful for small mercies.