The FIA questioned engineers and team principals and consulted hours of data, but nobody thought to ask the drivers of Formula Ones 200mph machines what they thought of the new rules. The result was almost two hours of tedium.
Jenson Button, Britains world champion, believes that his opinion could help the sports world governing body to avoid another big mistake if there has to be a revision of the new regulations. The drivers were not included in discussions that led to the banning of refuelling and new, narrower tyres, seen for the first time at a calamitous Bahrain Grand Prix ten days ago.
The race, a dull procession, was adjudged one of the most boring on record and even Button said that he was on the point of yawning as he sat in the cockpit of his McLaren lap after lap behind Michael Schumachers Mercedes, unable to attempt overtaking.
The problem is that sophisticated aerodynamics that hold the cars to the track at high speed are useless when in the wash of the car in front, making them unstable. The narrower tyre also means that there is less mechanical grip for the drivers as they approach to overtake. The two factors in tandem mean it is almost impossible to get by.
Related LinksDriven towards channel changer by Formula OneEcclestone wants to rule the boffinsAlonso storms to victoryThe FIA is resisting calls for a change to the rules before Sundays the Australian Grand Prix, and Button believes that they should be given a chance here this weekend and in Malaysia a week later. But he thinks that the men who handle the machines could have foreseen the results of the changes and they could help the sport to avoid further embarrassment if there have to be more significant revisions.
The drivers have a good understanding of the possibilities of improving the car, as we know what we need to overtake, he said. We have taken away a lot of mechanical grip with going to a narrow front tyre, but we have more downforce on the car than we had last year, so the problem is when you come up behind someone, you lose that downforce and you dont have the mechanical grip you had last year.
Lets not get too carried away, though, and if the next two races are also not very exciting then we need to look at the options. Last year I feel the racing was some of the best weve seen. We have got these new regulations and we are trying to make the best out of them. Hopefully the next couple of races will be more fun but, if not, then we can all work together to improve it.
Button offered his counsel yesterday as he showed what a good ambassador as world champion he has become to help to overcome the battered image of Formula One.
Television crews milled around him as he watched Jamie Whincup, Australias champion in V8 saloon cars, tearing around the Albert Park circuit. Whincup, a big name in motor racing Down Under, was offered a drive of Buttons championship-winning car and returned from his four laps proclaiming the McLaren a rocket ship,and with his awe of the abilities of the Formula One drivers increased as he understood the immensity of machines that are half the weight of the cars he usually drives but with around a third more engine power.
For Whincup, it was a ten-minute excursion in one of the fastest machines with four wheels on earth; for Button on Sunday, it will be a 200-mile drive to what he hopes will be a repeat of his victory here last year in a race he believes should offer more excitement than Bahrain.
The converted street circuit through Melbournes Albert Park should shred tyres quicker, forcing more strategic calls from teams and more mistakes from drivers, the kind of racing that Button revels in. But he will fear another day at the office at his mobile desk, stuck behind another rival because Formula Ones rulers did not grasp the basics of Buttons job. Next time they should ask a man who knows.
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