Murray's rich, unless he's mistaken

Nobody wants to see the same person winning all the time."

Walker agrees no driver has been so pre-eminent since Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950s. By then Walker himself had already been a motorsport commentator on radio for a decade, continuing until his retirement from ITV just a year ago.

Walker said: "Fangio is still the greatest of all time, with Schumacher a very close No2. But if Schumacher keeps winning, he will become the best. He's so much better than the rest at the moment. He won the world title in 1994 and 1995 driving a Benetton, which wasn't the best car. His talent more than compensated.

"When Damon Hill said earlier this year that he had noticed a change in Michael's body language and wrongly forecast he would retire, I thought: 'How the hell does he know?' Anyway, what change? And why would it indicate he was about to retire?

"As for team orders, I see nothing wrong in favouring one driver over the other in order to ensure success. F1 is a business as well as a sport. Livelihoods depend on getting sponsors' money, which depends on success. Team orders bring that success.

"David Coulthard will never be world champion. He has such a bloody good team-mate in Kimi Raikonnen, who is younger than DC and prepared to take more chances. But it will be awful if Raikonnen becomes world champion. He's deadly. Compared with Mika Hakkinen, Kimi is a charismatic chatterbox. He's not paid to be a comedian, but he should be.

"Schumacher understands, like Nigel Mansell did, that he's in showbusiness.

"Eddie Irvine is the only true character left, although I'm always reluctant to approach him in case he's brusque and curt. I've got a thin skin. I don't like being rejected. I suppose I should grab him by the lapels and tell him I don't like his attitude.

"But at least he says things worth quoting. You get more out of him than all the rest of the politically correct crowd together. It annoys me when drivers don't want to talk to the media. Too bloody tough. That's what their sponsors pay them for."

But Walker doesn't miss his old line of work. "I still watch it on ITV, of course. I don't watch the subscription coverage on Sky. I'm not surprised it hasn't got many viewers. Ordinary Mrs Buggins in Wigan can't be bothered fiddling about with a zapper, opting into the pit lane and telemetry and God knows what.

"She wants one picture, with some bloke shouting at her telling her what's happening."

That's why you can bet that when Murray Walker reaches Wigan on his promotional tour, Mrs Buggins will be first in line to get her copy signed.

Unless I'm Very Much Mistaken: My Autobiography by Murray Walker is published today by CollinsWillow at £18.99.