The Formula 1 veteran-turned-pundit can't wait for the new season to begin and reckons the 2010 crop of top liners is the best since the classic Prost/Senna/Mansell/Piquet era.

On paper, this year should be one of the most competitive seasons for many years. When I look back, I think of the late 1980s – Piquet, Mansell, Prost and Senna – in terms of the number of proper teams with great drivers, all with a chance of winning.

From a nationalistic view, you've got an all-German team at Mercedes up against an all-British team at McLaren. You've got Michael Schumacher coming back, Ferrari with Fernando Alonso pairing up with Felipe Massa, and the two most recent world champions – Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton – going toe-to-toe. Add Red Bull into the mix, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, and then consider that only one of them will be first at the end of the season. It's going to be fun finding out who that is when the music stops.

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