Everyone in dark over Malaysian Grand Prix

Literally and metaphorically, everyone was in the dark during the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix.

It was no one's fault. Racing's administrators have the right to chart the continued financial well-being of their sport. So when Melbourne was first told that a night race was the path to redemption, a compromise had to be struck and instead the Australian event finished at dusk.

In Malaysia, the cars were flagged off at 5pm and the big gamble was based on the two faces of technology - radar and tyres. Firstly, the teams could see rain on the radar, but were scrambling to predict when the heavens would actually open.

Secondly, there was the tyre choice. With rain approaching, which way would the respective teams jump?

Ferrari sent Kimi Raikkonen out with wet-weather tyres on a track that was initially as dry as an old boot. Bad gamble. Timo Glock, instead, had intermediates on his wheels. Good gamble.

There is a lot to be said for the role of tactics in this sport, but at Sepang the best brains in Formula One were essentially guessing.

Then, when the rain did come, the complexity of the rules seemed to have everyone foxed.

As the BBC's Martin Brundle explained, the major complication stemmed from the fact that the red flag had come on the heels of the safety car shepherding the cars around the track.

We, the global television audience, were left wondering whether the race had been called off, whether it would be re-started or whether - most crucially, if the race was declared to be over, where the contestants had actually finished.

Amid the uncertainty, it is time to acknowledge the fact that Ferrari are in last spot in the constructors' championship. And that Jenson Button, with two successive victories, has his opponents stitched up.

The author is a freelance journalist based in Australia.