By Mitchell McCann, U.S.A.
Atlas F1 Columnist

Hands up all those people that want to write a light-hearted column this week. No, neither do I. But, as we've heard a thousand times in the last week, life must go on.

Hands up all those people that want to write a light-hearted column this week.

No, neither do I. But, as we've heard a thousand times in the last week, life must go on. From the highest paid sportsman to the lowliest scribe, (well one out of two ain't bad) we must hurl defiance in the teeth of terrorism by refusing to be cowed, refusing to be terrorized. As some of you may know, contrary to the by-line on this column, I am not an American. However, my wife is, my kids are now (I suppose they always were but I just wouldn't admit it) and for the first time since I moved here I'm beginning to feel just a little American myself.

I am not going to attempt to describe the horror of September 11th or my reaction to it. I feel as all right-thinking people do and other, much higher paid, writers than me have struggled with the inadequacies of the language in an attempt to explain what we all feel in our hearts and our guts. All that we lowly minions can, and should, do is to ensure that the terrorists aim of instilling terror is a complete failure. I guess that the elite of Formula One are above all that. After all, they have REALLY nice houses so it would be a REAL shame if real life actually tapped one of them on the shoulder.

I was reminded of Sylvester Stallone this weekend (no, not because the race was really boring). In 1986, shortly after the US bombed Libya from British bases, Rambo refused to visit Europe because he was scared of terrorists. This time it was the turn of the brothers Schumacher. Apparently, they're brave enough to compete in one of the world's most dangerous sports but a trip within 1000 miles of New York City is just far too horrible a risk to contemplate. Perhaps Michael would like to swap salaries with those that have no choice but to be within 1000 miles of NYC.

I thought Major League Baseball and perhaps even the National Football League had over-reacted a little given the length and timing of their cancellations but the prima donnas of Formula One have their American cousins beaten hands down. At the very best of times, sport is a distraction, a welcome distraction. We are now over the initial moments of shock and it is time for us to get on with our lives. Is there a risk that the large crowd will be a tempting target for terrorists? Sure. Should we wait until we've captured or killed every last one of them before we dare start gathering in groups of more than 10? Of course not.

Now if you'd just suggested that Jenson Button not go to Indianapolis....

One good thing to come out of the weekend was Bernie Ecclestone agreeing with me on something. While somewhat comical, I thought his implied threat that Michael could be stripped of his world championship if he did something silly was a classic. Somewhat along the lines of Max Mosley promising harsh punishments for any infractions shortly before Jerez 97. Whilst I would certainly see the funny side rather than losing any sleep over Michael losing his championship, this would be a pretty meaningless gesture. No-one will ever doubt who won the 2001 season on merit and I don't think anybody, David Coulthard included, would take any satisfaction from being awarded a championship they didn't deserve. Well maybe Ron Dennis.

Let Michael stay home. If he's going to lolly-gag around for the next couple of races he won't be missed. Sunday's race was exciting enough without Michael's assistance. Hey, Alain Prost said that he'd like to drive Michael's Ferrari. Let him do it for the last couple of races and see if he can't move the goalposts again. (I know, I know. Stupid idea. I just got carried away).

I wonder if the truth is that Michael isn't really scared of terrorists or of crashing like Zanardi or of the first two chicanes at Monza. What he's really scared of is the fact that he's starting to feel jealous of Mika Hakkinen!

ALEX ZANARDI

Although I didn't see the accident, this news alone would have been enough to put a damper on any other race weekend. Alex Zanardi was universally liked in F1 and CART circles and from everything I ever read or saw he seemed like a genuinely good man, full of life with a great sense of humour. At the time of writing, it appears likely that he will recover but obviously his career is over and he is facing years of painful rehab. I'm sure every race fan the world over joins me in wishing Alex the speediest and most complete recovery possible.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Congratulations to Jenson Button on being the fastest driver through the turn one braking point.

Hands up all those who believed the "we're waiting to finalize our test drivers before making an announcement" line. I look to forward to seeing Mika return to his world championship form after a well-deserved sabbatical. I also look forward to overnight bacon delivery.

Funny that Rubens should credit equal treatment from the team for his great performance in qualifying. I guess old habits die hard as they felt obliged to give the Brazilian the duff pit-stop during the race.

Does Jacques Villeneuve just disagree with Michael Schumacher on principle now? It is nice to know that when Michael stands up and says that a spade's einen spaten, Villeneuve will always be there to contradict him.

God bless America. Ready, aim......