Ayrton Senna: The Last Night

I'll let you into a little secret. The moment I pick up a sporting biography I immediately turn to the photo sections of the book. From a young age I loved nothing more than analysing the minutest detail of every picture, picking out the expressions of the athletes involved, and assessing the mental state of the protagonists and spectators.

Therefore, when I was asked to review Ayrton Senna: The Last Night, I jumped at the chance. A photographic portrait of the great man's career, the book, edited by Giorgio Terruzzi, contains over 150 images taken by Ercole Colombo, covering Senna's journey from Formula Three to his three Formula One world championships, and, as the book title indicates, the tragic events of Imola 1994.

1980: Argentina Grand Prix

The first Grand Prix of the 1980 World Championship was anything but dull. Taking place at the Municipal Autodrome in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the number 15 version of the Oscar Galvez circuit, the track surface may have been far from ideal, yet it helped to create an entertaining spectacle, that just 13 days into the new year, gave a reasonable indication of what was to follow in an exciting decade for the sport.

An Ode to Billy Joel

Something a little different for my last blog of the year, and apologies if this is not your cup of tea, but this week I am paying tribute to my love of sport in the 1980s by butchering Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire.

I had great fun putting this together, and please don't be too harsh.  After all, I'm no Stock, Aitken or Waterman.

1984 Formula One World Championship: Lauda v Prost

Half a point. Just half a point. Sixteen races taking in four continents over seven months of intensive competition, and at the end of it just half a point separating the two protagonists. The 1984 Formula One World Championship season would involve a battle between two legendary drivers that would go right down to the wire, the pair finally separated by the tiniest of winning margins. To the winner the spoils, and one last championship to crown his career that was inevitably drawing to an end. To the runner-up, more heartbreak, as for the third year in a row he was denied the title and the chance to be the first Frenchman to win the Formula One World Championship.

1982: Formula One World Championship

Some F1 seasons are slightly more eventful and exciting than 2013. Take 1982 for example. What it may have lacked in out and out quality, it certainly made up for in incident and talking points. It was rarely dull.

This week we're going to take a look back at the 1982 F1 World Championship. A year that started with a drivers' strike, contained a Grand Prix postponement, involved controversial disqualifications, a boycott, tragedy, last lap dramas, and a world champion who only won one race. Never mind a blog, there is enough material for a whole book from this entertaining period in the sport.