WHEN Michael Schumacher spent more time out of his car than in it last season, the cheers from the grandstands were almost as loud as they were when he was lifting his seven World Championships.

From Formula One's darling, the German automaton had become the villain of the piece.

His, and consequently Ferrari's, stranglehold was such that it was squeezing the very life out of the sport and in so doing turning off more fans than it was turning on.

So when Schumacher spectacularly failed to add to his tally last season there's no doubting there was a collective sigh of relief, not only from those still following F1's fortunes, but also the powers that be.

Ferrari and their mercurial talisman tasted just one success last season and that at a US Grand Prix robbed of all but three teams after an embarrassing and hugely damaging row over tyre safety.

Much of the thanks for that must go down to two men, eventual world champion Fernando Alonso and his arch rival Kimi Raikkonen.

Renault and Alonso went toe to toe with McLaren's flying Finn from circuit to circuit, leaving all other contenders trailing in their dust.

It truly was a watershed moment for the much-maligned sport and, with any luck, it is a trend that will continue when the new season gets under way in Bahrain tomorrow.

With changes ranging from drivers, to regulations to even new teams, 2006 is, on paper at least, shaping up to be one of the most exciting for many a year.

Alonso and Raikkonen, whose title charge was blighted by reliability problems, will definitely be contenders once again - whether Schumacher will be remains to be seen.

He is certainly determined to give it his best shot.

"The consistency that we have shown during the winter demonstrates once again the reason why Ferrari is so surprising," said Schumacher.

"I am certain that our 248 F1 has the potential to challenge for the title. Though we have not managed to run as many laps as we would have wanted to, owing to the weather, we will go into the season with high hopes.

"Even if we do not win in the opening few races we have, because of the work we have carried out, concrete ideas of the technical levels our car has to reach this season. This is very important.

"The ideal scenario would be to score some early points. In any case, we will be very motivated for Bahrain and Malaysia."

Alonso is equally motivated as he sets about the defence of his maiden title.

After winning seven races last term, and having only failed to score in three, the 24-year-old, who is moving to Ferrari in 2007, is odds on to retain his No.1 status at the end of the year.

"The team has done a good job with the car, the R26 seems very competitive, and we are ready to go to the first race to try and score a lot of points," he said. "I think we have done what we needed to.

" The car is ready to race: it has done a lot of laps, on all types of circuits and conditions. Now is the time to measure ourselves against the others in the first race. We have done the maximum possible, so I am relaxed going into the season.

"Honda, Ferrari, McLaren and Renault have been the four big teams in winter testing, and now we must check in the opening races.

"For sure, Renault are the ones to beat because we are the world champions and I am confident we have done a good job."

Raikkonen, meanwhile, is at the centre of heated transfer speculation, with the 26-year-old rumoured to be on his way to Ferrari if, as expected, Schumacher hangs up his helmet at the end of the season.

If so, what better way than to mark his swansong at McLaren than landing the title for Ron Dennis' outfit.

However, the driver himself is cautious of his chances, rightly so, it would appear, after a disastrous practice session yesterday saw him come to halt part way round the circuit.

"We have had a productive couple of days in Valencia this week, we had some good pace with the car and I set the fastest time," he said.

"But testing is very different to being on the race track.

"I am now looking forward to getting back behind the wheel in Bahrain and driving the car in a competitive environment to see where we really are performance-wise."

When you add into the equation Jenson Button's quest for his first grand prix win, a reinvigorated David Coulthard and the novelty of a first American driver for 11 years in Scott Speed, it's certainly a recipe for one of the most interesting seasons for a long time.

But paddock talk is cheap and the acid test for everyone comes tomorrow when the lights turn to green.

Published: 11/03/2006