Before I begin to Ramble, an apology.

Due to a number of circumstances, I have only been able to get, read and reply to my messages on a very few occasions over the last few weeks ... perhaps even months. I am NOT proud of this.

So, anyone that has written to me and expected a reply but has not yet got one, my apologies. I am now down to some 500 (proof than fact is stranger than fiction?), and will reply as soon as possible.

Well, it's a little early in the season, isn't it? After all, the season has only just started, hasn't it? Not unless you count the first launch as being the start of the season ... now that's a thought!

I suppose I could get around to Rambling on about last season, but we've all forgotten it by now, except that Villeneuve and Williams won the titles. And every person and their dogs have had a bite at reviewing the races, the drivers and the teams, none of which I particularly agree or disagree with.

We're done with Melbourne, on that Albert Park circuit. Frankly, Albert Park does nothing for me. In a way it's an interesting circuit because while it doesn't really have any straights, some of those long curves get the cars nearly wound up. And this strange idea of not naming any parts of the circuit ... except by nearby stands. I don't know what's missing about the place, but it does seem to be missing something - a bland circuit, that I can neither love nor hate.

Then we sped half-way around the world to Interlagos. At least this has a couple of decent straights so that the drivers can really wind the cars up. But the curvy section round Pinheirinho all comes together. And, it's one of those circuits that has a sharp corner just at the end of the start line.

For the rest of the season, Buenos Aires has sweeping curves and some straights, but it's become one of those "modern" circuits which I loathe, even though it was originally opened in 1952.

Imola. Now there's a circuit ... well, if they put it back to the way it was a few years ago and start by taking out the Tamburello and Villeneuve chicanes. Fascinating circuit with a good mix of straights and corners, and also with good use of natural elevation. There aren't many circuits that can boast a drive like that of coming out of the Piratella and then down to the Acque Minerale and whipping through. One of my favourites.

Monaco. I love it. This is a real driver's circuit. If, as I've said before, he doesn't get the car set up almost perfectly and he doesn't drive it almost perfectly, then he's out of the race. This one is a real test of the driver being to work out what he wants, telling the team, and the team being able to do it. Sure it's one of the slowest circuits on the calendar, but this is one of those (few) where real driving mastery comes through.

The Catalunya circuit at Barcelona always interests me. There's the long, long main straight and then some curvy bits around the back. I suppose it could be an interesting circuit but, like Melbourne, it doesn't really do anything for me.

The Canadian GP's Montreal circuit makes me yawn. Basically, it's two straights connected by hairpin turns. Oh, they've stuck in some chicanes to break it up a bit, but doesn't really compensate. Despite Olivier Panis' accident, about the only bit I really like is the chicane just before the start line.

If there is a circuit that is my least favourite, it has to be Magny-Cours. A string of short straights connected by tight (hairpin?) corners. Just as the driver gets the car into top gear, it's time to start changing down again ... if not sooner. How a driver can ever get into a rhythm here is beyond me - all those straights look the same to me.

Silverstone has the advantage of being flat. Flat as a pancake. Almost boringly flat. This place used to remind me of Hockenheim until the Silverstone people started to emasculate it. To be honest, I find it quite difficult to say anything nice about the place now.

Hockenheim. Take out the Stadium section and all that's left is a grunt circuit - if your engine is down a couple of HP, you might as well pack up and go home. The Stadium makes Hockenheim. And I wish they'd take out those chicanes.

I used to hate the Hungoraring. Now it's one of my favourites. There's one straight where they can wind the cars up. But the bits around the back make, for me, an interesting mix, allowing a driver to get into a swing of the circuit. And the combination makes the setup of the car a very interesting exercise.

If Monaco is my favourite, then Spa-Francochamps is a close second. At the other end of the scale in many ways to Monaco, Spa has an excellent mix of straights and corners. Throw into that the difficult - almost impossible - weather that prevails at Spa, and it all comes back to the driver. Michael Schumacher showed at Monaco and Spa last year what a difference the driver can make. As for Eau Rouge, you really don't appreciate just how steep it is until you actually see it; it reminds me of the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca and the Dipper at Bathurst.

For Imola, take my comments about Hockenheim, but take out the bits about the Stadium. Let's face it, this is currently THE grunt circuit in the calendar. A lot of delicacy is not needed here, just plenty of horsepower.

The new Austrian circuit, the A-1 Ring doesn't seem to know which way it's going. I suppose the main problem it faces is the old Osterreichring - there are too many people around who still remember that circuit with great affection.

Nurburgring is another circuit that lives under a cloud from its illustrious predecessor, rather than being taken in its own right: but with Spa as a model of what can be done, why not?

I remember the first time that I heard that Suzuka was going to be used for a GP, I thought it was a joke ... after all, Suzuka is a figure-eight circuit! But it has turned out to be one of my favourites, with a good flow of fast bits and curves, challenging the driver.

Finally, Jerez. Certainly one of the modern circuits, opened in 1986. Guess what I think of it?

Well, that's what I think of the 1997 circuits. Just my opinion, of course.

But that's just me.