But then the rest clambered over each other to get on level terms, and in the remaining ten events, Button won - and led - none of them, yet hung on to his points lead. Brawn took the flag in only two more races, and Red Bull, McLaren, even Force India had weekends when they had the fastest car. In the end, no driver took two consecutive wins from Turkey onwards, and over the course of the season the field was sensationally close, with all teams bar Toro Rosso scoring at least a podium, a pole or a fastest lap.

That the traditional pecking order was overturned - to the point where Button became the first non-Ferrari, McLaren, Williams or Benetton/Renault drivers champ since 1983, and Brawn the first constructors champion outside of the big four since 1978 - was due to the new regulations for 2009, and the fact that once again, as in 1994 and 1998, radical new rules devolved down to a battle between Brawn and Adrian Newey. But, disappointingly, that was just about the only really noticeable impact of the 2009 rules.

Yes the cars looked dramatic with their wide front wings and narrow rear wings, but despite the efforts of the Overtaking Working Group, there was still too much aero turbulence which limited passing opportunities. Braking distances remained too short and adjustable front wings served little purpose apart from maximising lap times by a few fractions of a second in qualifying. The return to slicks had no discernable impact either, nor did the gap between compounds which Bridgestone introduced.

But by far the biggest white elephant was KERS. Max Mosley was correct in some areas, but this green initiative will not be amongst his memorable legacies as FIA president. Developing KERS was at odds with cost-cutting in the GFC. KERS added too much weight to make it worthwhile for teams trying to optimise weight distribution. Most teams didn't use it, Renault and BMW abandoned it, and in the end only McLaren and Ferrari used it to artificialise results, and as much for defence as for attack.

The story of KERS took a back seat though to four other major off-track controversies that kept the headlines flowing despite no in-season testing. First there was lie-gate and McLaren's attempt to mislead the Melbourne stewards, which saw Ron Dennis and Dave Ryan moved on and Lewis Hamilton chastened. The issue over double diffusers pitted FOTA unity against competitive self-interest and arguably decided both titles. And enough has already been said about Renault and the Singapore crash-gate saga.

The other seismic story was the FOTA breakaway series. Who was a winner out of that? Anyone? Consider the key figures involved on the FOTA side: Luca di Montezemolo has resigned from his role as FOTA head; Flavio Briatore has been banned for life - FIA vendetta, question mark, notwithstanding - and Renault's future remains cloudy; John Howett and Mario Theissen came from two teams, Toyota and BMW, which will not be on the grid in 2010 (at least not under the names of those automotive giants).

FOTA may have been an association that included 'privateers', but in reality it was driven by manufacturers who were in the sport for commercial reasons. Behind the façade of press releases, behind the altruistic talk, it was all about money and personalities. It was about Bernie Ecclestone and CVC getting what is probably an unfair share of the pie. It was about Mosley's dictatorial and at-times vindictive leadership style. The trigger points, such as the issue of cost cutting, were often things on which both sides actually agreed.

But eventually, in order to quell the revolt, Max had to agree to leave his post as FIA president and not seek re-election. FOTA got their man in the end. But the battle took a bruising toll on the key FOTA figures as well, such that no-one can be sure about the future influence of the organisation. And ultimately, Bernie and CVC still hold the purse-strings, but the blood-letting and settling of personal scores has at least cleared the decks and allowed new personalities - and perhaps a new F1 - to gradually emerge.

To that end, in 2010 USF1, Campos, Virgin GP and Lotus, plus Mercedes in place of Brawn and Sauber in place of BMW means the biggest grid since 1995. And then there's the return of Michael Schumacher, and all the subplots that creates. How will Schumi fare against Hamilton, Button and Fernando Alonso? Schumacher versus Sebastian Vettel is a battle of the old and new guard. Can Schumi and Brawn create more magic? Will Jean Todt's relationship with Michael raise eyebrows now that Todt is FIA chief?

There are so many positive and exciting stories but there are still other issues about F1's direction that need to be addressed. The sport continues to move away from its heartland - both in terms of locations and in terms of fan access - and the spectacular opulence of places like Abu Dhabi not only boggles the mind, but shows that almighty dollar hasn't stopped ruling yet. And there are yet more rule changes for 2010, for example with the biggest shake-up of the points system in championship history.

The banning of refuelling in particular will add cost as teams have to arrive at new design concepts, but it does not guarantee any better racing. In fact many fear that this move will reduce the amount of on-track action, as there won't even be pit-stop sequence leapfrogging to speak of. In our 2007 review we suggested that it was the beginning of a new era of F1. That was inaccurate. It was the beginning of a period of transition that may only start to calm down from now on.

And just to prove that the convulsions of change haven't finished just yet, witness the state of the drivers market. In the last off-season, Red Bull and Toro Rosso were the only teams to make one driver change each. This off-season, they look like the only teams that might not be revising their line-up. 2009 and onwards is a time when no-one has got everything right on track, and no-one has always been on the right side of the fence off the track, and everyone will keep on adjusting to ever-shifting goalposts.

All in all, 2009 will be remembered as a complex but intriguing year, with the one-off fairytale of Brawn and Button, and other feelgood moments for Rubens Barrichello, Vettel and Mark Webber. There were low points like Felipe Massa's dreadful accident and some severe underachievers, but also some pleasant surprises, from Sebastien Buemi to Force India, from Luca Badoer's sensational (and sensationally hapless) comeback to the banzai-ness of Kamui Kobayashi. F1 simply keeps churning out the headlines.

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