F1: FIA backtracks in time for trip down under

However, what the FIA says is, in effect, this: they said they would impose the change but if the teams didn't like it they would not impose it. So what was presented to the world at large as a done deal was subject to veto. But only for 2009.

Teams hated the idea: they had, after all, come up with their own proposal that was much more like the old system of points before the FIA started tinkering with it to help Ferrari gain points when they couldn't win.

Under the old system, the winner got 9 points, and the second place man (it's usually a man) got 6. So winning more races meant a lot more points. The teams proposed a 12 - 10 and so on points split.

But the FIA chose - modified to get rid of the baubles that Ecclestone originally proposed - to take the simple "he who wins most wins the crown" approach.

The FIA still says it will impose its idea from 2010 - but the teams are increasingly exercising their muscle. After all, it's their money, or the money they raise, that pays the bills. And whilst they are happy to work towards cost cutting (but not emasculation of the spectacle) they are not anxious to undermine the competitive nature of a sport which is, essentially, gladiatorial.

But the FIA has also made another, quieter, concession: until now, teams get their travel paid only if they win points in the previous half-season. With the cost of transport being an increasingly large part of the budget, the FIA has agreed to pay the travel expenses of all teams. Starting 2010. With the extraordinary amounts of money that the teams generate for the sport, it's about time that this was the case and it's difficult to see why it is not happening this year.

Struggling teams need all the help they can get just to make it to the grid.

One flight to Melbourne arriving this morning (we won't embarrass the airline by saying which it was) carried no first class passengers and business class was just one third full. With teams, media and supporters all en route to Melbourne for the season opener, that one fact alone should make everyone in the sport sit up and take notice.