But given that the Prancing Horse came out and demolished all comers last year in pretty much the same way that they did in 2003, this book doesn't seem to have aged a bit.

In all seriousness, the fruits of Ferrari's labours since 2000 have been something to behold. As disturbing as it is that there are a whole generation of kids growing up who have seen Michael on the top step of the podium so often that they think that the Italian national anthem is simply the second verse of the German one, this kind of dominance is, at best, a once-in-a-generation thing.

As welcome a thought as that might be when it is lap 46 of round 13 and the two red cars are droning around 30s ahead of everyone else, this is the kind of thing that your grandkids will be asking you about in reverentially when you are 70 (and no doubt referring to the early 21st century as the 'good old days').

Anyhow, back to the point. Nick Garton was the writer behind the frankly disappointing book 'Formula One Young Guns', but this effort finds him in rather better form. 'Cavallino Rampante' doesn't really set out to break any new ground ­ it simply acknowledges the fact that nine teams have been beaten senseless by the guys from Maranello over the past few years, and tries to do a little bit of digging to find out why.

It was written with at least some degree of co-operation from Ferrari, which guarantees that even if it was possible to pin down why it is such a good team, there's no way that Garton would have been allowed anywhere near the answer. But it does offer some insight into the general workings of a top outfit that would otherwise be denied of the average fan. The book is structured pretty much as you'd expect, with chapters devoted to such elements of the Ferrari tale as its relationship with Italy, the beginning of the Todt era, its drivers, and the various partners, particularly Shell, that help to make it all happen.

It's all handled more than competently by the author, even if there may not be a lot of ground-breaking material for the better-read fans out there. There is a lot of new interview material here, but it's rare that it produces much that is revelatory. There are some neat little gems tucked away here and there though, such as Luca Baldisserri's assessment of Eddie Irvine's failed bid to take up the banner after Schumacher was injured in a crash at Silverstone:

"I don't think he was able to work as the first driver … he had these things in his mind that he was always under Michael and, psychologically, it was completely different when he had to do the job. When you have to work at the top, you need a completely different mentality to drive yourself and the team, and I don't think Eddie was ready for that. Ultimately, our weakness in 1999 was Eddie himself." (p.109).

Ferrari's uniquely long tenure in the sport presents a golden opportunity to put what is happening now up into a special historical context, and it's good to see that Garton has made some effort to take advantage of this. A discussion of Schumacher is often tempered with comparisons or examples from his predecessors, whether they be as recent as Jean Alesi, or as mythologised as Gilles Villeneuve. (You're pushing your luck if you want to go further back than that, though).

The book is littered with images, as you'd expect, although this reviewer was a little taken aback by the poor quality of some of the photo reproductions. (The shot at the top of page 101 being a particularly notable example).