1. Never mind the race, what about Bernie?

Ah, Formula One, you can’t beat it. True, the action, if you can call it action, tends to be mesmerisingly dull, but who cares? What’s action when you’ve got stories about sadomasochistic orgies, spying, ridiculous sums of money and Adolf Hitler? I don’t know much about sport, but I know what I like.

I once made headlines all over Germany: “Times says Michael Schumacher is like Gestapo officer”. It was shocking, dreadful, gross, insensitive — all Germany was outraged. Actually, I had compared Schumacher to Herr Flick. I had a surreal conversation with a German journo, in which I attempted to explain ’Allo ’Allo and why Nazis are, er, funny. Don’t mention the Führer. That is about as basic as it gets if you want information on how to get on with Germans. And if you can’t help mentioning Hitler, don’t start approving of him. But Bernie Ecclestone, the Führer of Formula One, tells The Times about his admiration for the way Hitler could “get things done” and then is astonished when Germany gets a bit upset.

So it’s essential to watch the German Grand Prix this weekend, just to see what sort of reaction Bernie gets.

2. England women a genuine phenomenon

The problem with mentioning women’s cricket is that you have to say nice things about the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and that does rather go against the grain. But let’s bite the bullet, for the England team continue their own Ashes contest in Worcester today and are warm favourites for the one-match “series”. They have become a modern sporting phenomenon, and it’s all because the ECB decided to get behind them with real support and real money.

If you seek a winning culture, use the England team as a template. They hold the Ashes, they hold the World Cup, they’ve just won the World Twenty20. They’re loud, they’re feisty, they’re great and they win stuff. They’re also athletic, committed and are all absolutely fizzing with that team thing. They are an inspiration to watch, largely because of their certainty that they are the best and their deep confidence in their corporate ability to win stuff. They are so much more fun as themselves than they are as a stick with which to beat the men’s team.

We may be hoping for a double Ashes celebration by the time the summer ends, but it’s the women who inspire not so much confidence as something dangerously close to complacency.

3. Ohuruogu preparing to come good again

One of the great duels of the summer is taking place in slow motion in front of us. But its conclusion will be devastatingly swift when Christine Ohuruogu, of Britain, meets Sanya Richards, her American rival, in the 400 metres in the World Championships in Berlin next month.

Of course, a million things can go wrong with any super-fragile athletes, but it’s one to start savouring now — especially with Richards running at the speed of light.

Ohuruogu runs in the Aviva World Trials in Birmingham today and will look to set down something impressive. She will be pushed hard by Lee McConnell and Vicky Barr, something a champion will be trying to put to good account. She has been trying to improve her speed by racing in sprints — she even ran the 60 metres in the indoor season.

But now she has stopped messing about and is back at the distance at which she won her Olympic gold medal, so, naturally, everyone is gunning for her. But Ohuruogu is a sticker. She hasn’t shown much yet this year, but she is awfully good at coming good.