I'm sorry to say I couldn't disagree more with Mark Rivlin on his assertion that Formula One racing is not a proper sport.

Indeed, I am quite incensed by his outrageous statement. Motor racing is a hugely competitive pursuit which places enormous physical and mental demands on the competitors and even the smallest lapse in concentration can be -- and often is -- fatal.

To suggest that a Formula One racing driver needs only to sit in the cockpit of his car and watch the dollars roll into his bank account as fast as the odometer ticks over is utter nonsense. F1 drivers are the men who spearhead a huge team of engineers, mechanics, strategists and many others. It is true that the backroom boys' tasks by and large are not sporting, even if in some of the jobs (like changing tyres) they are required to use their muscles.

But a driver cannot perform at any reasonable level if he does not have conventional physical fitness traits and at the top he needs to be in peak condition because he needs to have the reflexes of a Carl Lewis, the stamina of a Haile Gebrselassie, be able to take punishment like a Joe Frazier and concentrate like Garry Kasparov. He needs to do these things all at the same time - and for the entire duration of a race and preceding practice sessions.

Whatever Mark might think about the sporting abilities of an F1 driver, it's very different from the way he cruises calmly down the Seven Sisters Road in his Toyota Avensis with the aircon going full blast while listening to the cricket on Radio 4.

A racing driver must take the punishment of a fighter pilot with G-forces tearing at his body on every hairpin bend and in every chicane, in every acceleration and deceleration. The extreme heat of the engine in the cramped cockpit and the fumes and dust flying up around the circuit don't help, either. With all these difficulties, there is still a race to be won. Note the operative word "race".

Motor racing is a competition in which the fastest around the circuit and first across the finish line wins. It does not require a jury to consider who wore the prettiest costume, or displayed the most compassion for those less fortunate in a forgotten corner of the third world. The achievements of motor racing drivers can be quantified and the pursuit definitely falls into the category of being a sport according to any acceptable guidelines, the minimum of which require that a competitor needs to exert physical force or withstand physical challenges and needs to use hand-eye coordination to overcome those challenges.

The team behind the driver allows him to concentrate on applying his talents - but don't think that it doesn't happen in other sports as well. No professional athlete these days works alone; there is always a backup team taking care of the logistics. Just as an example, Roger Federer has a team of about a dozen helpers who all labour behind the scenes just so that he can concentrate on playing and producing the results which enthrall the crowds. Others are no different.

That is what it is all about really, enthralling the crowds. You could say that a night at the opera is enthralling (and I would agree) but it does not require the participants to compete against each other.

In motor racing hundreds of thousands of spectators turn up for a weekend of excitement and thrills and tens of millions of others concur with them (and with me) by tuning in on television.

It's your call. Is Formula One a sport? Let Sportingo have your views.