Two exciting finales to the preceding Championships have meant the 2009 Formula One season has been awaited with bated breath by it's millions of followers. Since the moment Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 Championship in breathtaking circumstances, however, F1 has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
First, following the credit crunch, Honda declared itself unable to continue to fund a Formula One team that was ultimately failing to compete at the front of the grid. Months of talks, rumours and haggling took place before Ross Brawn, the ex-Ferrari supremo stepped in, and Brawn GP was born.
In a twist of fate of course, Brawn GP is tipped to be the fastest car on the grid come Sunday, and it's leading driver, the much-maligned Brit Jenson Button is favourite to take the chequered flag. Not that that is without it's own controversy, however.
There was of course also the saga with regards the point-scoring system. For the first time in over ten years, the 2008 season saw Lewis Hamilton crowned despite the fact Felipe Massa had won more races than he did (itself was down to a controversial ruling). With this in mind, the powers that be decided a rule change was in order - that the Championship would be decided on race victories, while the rest of the Championship was decided on points won.
In any case, the new ruling was meant to see drivers racing for victory and not remaining sensible in order to secure second places. This ruling was then thrown out last week following a protest from teams which did not agree with the new system.
Today, it was announced that 3 teams (Ferrari, Renault and BMW Sauber) have protested against the use of the controversial 'diffuser' system which is largely behind Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota's good times in testing. They argue it fails to conform to the new regulations the FIA put in place for this season. That protest has officially been thrown out, with the appeal made by the 3 teams to be heard after April 5th, and the second race in Malaysia.
So, in spite all the optimism for the new season following last years dramatic climax, the off-season has been shrowded in both mystery and controversy.
Now, any points Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams score in the first two races of the season, will be held under appeal. No-one will officially know who is where in either the driver or constructor championships, and what's more, it will be decided in a courtroom, not out on the track.
And it is that which will upset Formula One's follwing the most. The FIA wanted to change the points scoring to make for more dramatic races. What they need to do is change something to ensure all the drama is on the circuit, and not off it.
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