After eagerly anticipating the German Grand Prix, I found it over within the first couple of minutes. Regardless of what Schumacher said in the post race interview that he felt pressure from Coulthard, the race was not a race. Coulthard really was no threat, probably because he is interested in finishing races as opposed to winning them! I find it very strange that there are only two drivers challanging at the top.

Alain Prost, interviewed in England after the testing at Silverstone was quoted as saying: "When I was racing, there were more drivers competing at the top. I raced against Senna, Mansell, Piquet, and Lauda, and all of us, except maybe Senna, were a long time in gaining experience in the middle of the grid. But now you have Hill and Schumacher, realatively inexperienced, yet they are fighting at the top and maybe that is part of the problem. They don't have the experience so they tend to make more mistakes." Well said Alain. I agree with you that there must be a maturing process in Formula 1, but you have to admit that Schumacher is no rookie, nor does he "make mistakes" anymore. And, it could be argued that when Schumacher joined Bennetton, it was not a top team.

While I agree with Alain that new drivers should start with a middle-ground team (Tyrrell, Minardi, Jordan,etc.), we must not discount past driving aces like Gilles Villeneuve. He first tested with McLaren, and was snatched up by Enzo Ferrari almost immediately. From Formula Atlantic to F1, and he did a relatively good job in his first year. Yes, the learning curve was costly that year, and he banged up the car a lot, but he was thrilling to watch, and earned everybody's respect. Ferrari constantly defended his star to the mechanics by saying that: "If a small Canadian could do this much damage to the car, it isn't the driver, it is the car! Fix it!" The point, of course, is that when teams recognize talent they try to make it make part of the team as quickly as possible, and this makes sense. I feel for Damon Hill, he went from a second-rate driver to England's hero overnight, by no doing of his own. After Mansell's leaving for Indy cars, and Senna's death, Hill found himself carrying the glory of England on his shoulders. This is more pressure than Schumacher has ever felt. Let's not forget that Schumacher had the time to mature in the Benetton, and is currently driving the best Formula 1 package. He has won the World Championship, but with only one driver (who some people say was a rookie, and I agree!) competing against him. Hill is a very good driver, but he needs to be freeof the pressure which is contributing to his many mistakes. Would a team change help? Who knows? It might, however, result in a different form of pressure, and would surely not help his ego and self-esteem.

With Jacques Villeneuve's recent testing results, in the Williams, I am sure that one of the top teams would be interested in signing him (editors note: between the time this was written and publication, Villeneuve had signed a 1996 contract with Williams). This makes sense, after all he managed to do a very good job keeping up to both Hill and Coulthard. But here we go again, an inexperienced driver starting at the top? Remember he has had one full year in Formula Atlantic, followed by two years in Indy Cars. But it seems that this is the trend of the nineties and the F1 community is going to have to adapt. It is now make it at the top or move to the bottom, as opposed to start at the bottom and work your way up. But this is the sign of the times, I think that if Jacques did not get a serious offer from a top team, he may very well stay in Indy Car and await a top drive offer.

I hope that excellent drivers like Villeneuve, move to F1 and start the maturing process (approximately 5 years), so that F1 will become the super-competitive sport that it has been in the past!