FORMULA One can be mind-numbingly boring if all race starts are clean.

If there's no overtaking.

If there are no accidents (despite our basic human hope that no one should get hurt).

If drivers have no reactions to each other's antics.

And if there are no politics, and yes, spy scandals.

Well, if yesterday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix - won by McLaren's English heart-throb Lewis Hamilton - was anything to go by, then I don't think I'll be sleepwalking through the entire season.

The race start was full of drama.

There was overtaking from start to finish.

Accidents. See the above two points.

And oh yes, Red Bull's veteran David Coulthard threatened to kick "lumps of sh*t" out of Ferrari's Felipe Massa after the latter tried to go down the inside and overtake, shunting a turning Coulthard out of the race on lap 25.

Now that's what I call Formula One.

It's a dog-eat-dog world. The Piranha Club, as McLaren boss Ron Dennis once famously called it

Why can't these guys drive our taxis?

Formula One shouldn't be about one driver winning all the time, from start to finish, and sweeping all records before him.

F1 fans will probably know I'm referring to the great Michael Schumacher's reign from 2000-2004.

He was special, oh yes, perhaps from another planet.

But what was missing was the competition. And isn't that a key ingredient of sport?

F1'S BIG THREE

Last year saw the rise of the Big Three in F1 - namely, Hamilton, Spain's Fernando Alonso and Finland's reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen - who snatched the title from the warring duo in the final Brazilian race last year.

Finally, I could afford to wake up from the Schumi-induced fan coma he had put many of us into.

Make no mistake, when Alonso dethroned Schumi in 2005, it was monumental, and then, he signalled the end of Schumi's era a year later.

But the prospect of three fighters for the drivers' championship is always better than two.

Still, this year, I hope it doesn't descend into only the Hamilton show.

Alonso showed his true class as he brought the clearly inferior Renault - as compared to McLaren and Ferrari - home in fourth spot.

But in qualifying and race trim, Renault have a lot to do, despite Alonso's ability and controlled aggression.

What about Ferrari then?

Well, the new ban on "traction control" electronic aids will test more drivers' skills and show the difference between the best and the rest in F1 this year.

Here's where Massa bungled up big time at yesterday's race start when he spun out going into the first turn.

Raikkonen's speed on track and his audacious overtaking moves - though he overcooked it one too many times for his own good - was definitely a by-product of a new world champion's "get out of my way" attitude. But wasn't it riveting?

I just hope Ferrari - which had a bad day overall in terms of race results and points standings - can challenge the McLarens at Sepang in Malaysia this Sunday and for the rest of the season.

Hamilton simply cannot have it too easy, as he did yesterday.

And for stiffer competition's sake, let's hope the impressive BMW Saubers starring second-placed Nick Heidfeld and qualifying star Robert Kubica, and the Williams car featuring third-placed Nico Rosberg, keep improving.

For they can all add more spoilers to Hamilton's early championship charge, and spice up the sport for us viewers.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Mar 17, 2008.