Engine failure unlikely to put out the fire in Schumacher's belly

By now you've probably read all the headlines, how Schumi blew it, how his title aspirations have gone up in smoke. There were certainly a lot of predictable lines going around in the wake of the drama of Japan. But it was certainly a shocking sight to see smoke pouring out of the German's Italian engine with victory in sight.

Shocking because it was the first engine failure he'd suffered in six years. Amazing given the stress and punishment a Formula One engine is put through, especially now it has to last for two races.

Watching races on TV can make you feel that you are witnessing a computer game. From the comfort of your armchair you can see that the V8, 2.4-litre engines are reaching 19,000 revs before another gear kicks in. You can see that the cars are tipping over the 300km/h mark along the straights. Watching from the on-board camera, it all looks so effortless.

You can see the action, but you can't feel it. Only if you have heard a Formula One car fire-up or scream along the track do you start to get a sense of the power, of the deafening violence of machinery at full tilt. Which makes it more astonishing these things don't blow up more often than they do.

Ferdinand Porsche perhaps understood the nature of the beast when he declared that the perfect racing car crosses the line first and then falls to pieces.

At 19,000 revs, the modern Formula One engine takes in 650 litres of air every second. The petrol consumption, at no more than 1.70km/litre is equally extravagant. The engine is an integral part of the car, meaning it is bolted to the transmission and gearbox - a fact that adds a lot more stress to it.