The human touch

Sir, As a confessed petrolhead, I have found myself becoming ever more alienated from Formula One, an arena that should be the pinnacle of the motorsport world. The truth is, for a long time this feeling of general disgruntlement has left a sour taste without me being able to work out exactly what was wrong.

However, this year it finally hit home what was missing: a driver’s ability to control every aspect of his race. In one GP, when a car spun, the comment was that an error in the traction control was the cause.

Am I the only person who feels that ‘driver aids’ not only turn the sport into one long bore, but intrinsically demean today’s F1 drivers? Michael Schumacher can never say he is the equal of past greats because he can never powerslide his car, he can never miss a shift, and it would appear with traction control he is less likely to throw it off the road.

Please believe me, I am not trying to demean today’s F1 drivers, I am only pleading that the technical aspects be reigned in to allow the humans a chance to shine.

David Smith, Bournemouth