What is it that irritates you? You know, the niggly, naggly little things that you know very well you can do absolutely nothing about, which are going to keep on happening whatever you do or say? The REAL niggly, naggly little things in life.

I'm not talking about the niggly things in life that you can do something about. The sorts of things that spring to mind here are the husband who picks his nose, or the wife who dumps her clothes on the bathroom floor (both of which, I am told, are much more common that I thought!).

To get you started, here are some of mine, in no particular order. First of all school kids on public transport who seem to think it is their right to take up at least four seats. That's two seats for their body, one for their school bag and one for their feet. Especially when there are people standing, hanging on to those silly straps. And then, when you ask, politely, if they would mind moving so that some other people can actually use the seats, they behave as though you will owe them a debt for the rest of your life.

Then there are those people who insist on walking three-abreast along a busy footpath/sidewalk where there's only space for three people. What are people coming the other way supposed to do? Throw themselves onto the road and get run over, to make way for this imperious group? Or squeeze themselves against the walls and let the grand three go through?

Next, there are the people who walk along, under cover, when it's raining with their umbrellas open and UP! Why have they got their umbrellas up? They're under cover, so how are they getting wet? And they insist, or seem to, that you go out into the rain to go around them.

Finally, there are manual doors. How many times have you been just behind someone who goes through one of these doors ... who then lets it shut right behind them? Why can't they pause for a second to hold it open for you, especially when it is obvious that you are hurrying to get through the door?

As I said, these are all little things that I know are going to happen to me on frequent occasions throughout the days, and weeks, and months. Hopefully, I've now got you started on a few of the things that really niggle you, too. There's nothing we can do about any of them, so why make a fuss?

Of course, most of us don't. There's no point. It would be nice if everyone had the same manners that we have, but life isn't like that, so we just rock along and save our energies for the things that we think are more important. Unless...

Unless you have a outlet like the Rambles into which you can vent your spleen. Because there is one niggly, naggly little thing about F1 drivers that really irritates me - and there's nothing I can do about it.

Inevitably, at the post-qualifying press conference, or in the press releases from the teams, a driver will say something along the lines of, "I was on a really hot lap, and then I got caught behind some slower cars."

Or, in the same places, but after the race, you'll hear, "I was managing to keep him at the same distance until I came up to some backmarkers who slowed me down."

Isn't that part of qualifying or racing in F1? There may be a time in the future - heaven forbid! - When qualifying in F1 consists of each driver doing three laps as fast as he can with no-one else on the circuit. But today, qualifying sessions are "open", anyone can go out whenever they want and try to set their pole-winning time.

It's a part of qualifying that there are other cars on the circuit. A few may be going as fast as you, but most will be slower - some are slower anyway, some have only just come out, and some are on their way back to the pits.

Similarly, it's part of the race when the leaders come up to the tail-enders. It's another test of the drivers' abilities, of their cars, and of the drivers' abilities to use their cars to the maximum.

The quicker the leader can get past the first of the tail-enders, the bigger the gap he can put between himself and the next car. On the other hand, if he can't get past, then that gives the chasing car a good opportunity to close up.

I've heard it suggested that once lapped in a GP, a driver should be black-flagged and made to stop, since they - surely - cannot win the race and may be a danger to the other cars.

This seems just a little odd to me for two reasons. First, while a lapped car may not have a chance of winning, there is every chance that they will end up being in the top six, and so get some, possibly very valuable, points.

Second, why on earth should the leader of the race be disadvantaged? The leader laps another car, possibly being slowed for a short while, but the rest of the field doesn't then have to worry about the lapped car, and so gain a precious few seconds advantage over the leader.

Personally, I think that it is a mark (one of the marks, mind you, not the be-all and end-all) of a great driver that he can cut through the traffic without losing any time ... and without endangering anyone.

To me, a driver who is unable to get past tail-enders (let alone competitors) with some ease will not win races with any great regularity.

And winning races with great regularity is another mark of the great drivers in F1.

So, why do so many drivers make me feel niggly and naggly when they complain about slower cars? Perhaps because I don't feel that they'll become one of my personal F1 "greats".

But that's just me.