I really do see it being an exciting championship this season.''Coulthard also has a clear vision of his own role in this road show. "In previous years things have been more of a blur, but I've been able to get my head around the job and keep track of things better for this year."I'm pretty relaxed I feel good As if I've been able to find myself Everything looks calm. Instead of going through life on automatic pilot I've stopped, taken stock and set my goal. Whether I will be able to reach that goal this year, I can't say. All I can say is that I will try to get there, and that given the opportunity I can.''* Juan Pablo Montoya has criticised Michael Schumacher's right to be regarded as the world's greatest driver.

The Colombian said Schumacher owed his 53 grand prix victories to being in the best car. "If you put Michael in a Toyota, a Minardi or any car that is not a front-runner, then he wouldn't win," the Williams-BMW driver said of his Ferrari rival. "It is not a question of how good Michael is, but how good Ferrari are. It's not a question of just the driver, but the whole team from the engine manufacturer to the tyres The car is more important than the driver.". When Stuart Spruce and Widnes return to top-flight rugby league on Saturday night, it will feel, in one sense, like they have never been away.

Widnes, arguably the great club of the 1980s, missed out on the introduction of Super League by timing their financial implosion for the mid-90s. Spruce was one of those who had to seek a living elsewhere, spending the whole of the Super League era so far achieving great success at Bradford. Widnes won the Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final last year to reclaim their place among the game's ?te and one of their most significant signings is Spruce. "It's a very different club from the one I left," the former Great Britain full-back said.

"There are none of the players left – just the kit-man." The ground is also unrecognisable, with the homely, low-slung Naughton Park transformed into the smart and pristine Halton Stadium.Spruce was born a mile away from the ground and grew up supporting the great Widnes teams that dominated the Challenge Cup and included mighty figures such as Andy Gregory and Mick Adams, through to Martin Offiah and Jonathan Davies. "But my hero was David Hulme – one of the toughest players I've ever seen," he said. "To get into the same team with him was a dream for me."Spruce never really left Widnes, continuing to live in the town and commuting across the Pennines to train and play with Bradford. "I'll be saving a few hours now, just living five minutes away," he said.His trophy-laden time with the Bulls ended with a serious shoulder injury before last season's Challenge Cup final.