The basic architecture of an F1 car has not changed much. Gone are double-deck diffusers and F-ducts (and with them the hideous engine cover fins), but the engine formula is the same, tyre sizes are the same, and front and rear wing dimensions are the same. What is different are all the additional factors and variables - some would say gimmicks - that are designed to insert unpredictability and more positional changes, either by genuine overtaking or just from mistakes being made.

The most notable of these, and the issue that has attracted the most talking points during pre-season testing, is the switch in tyre suppliers from Bridgestone to Pirelli. The Italian company has heeded the call for tyres that wear - perhaps too well, even. For all the inevitable moaning you will hear from the drivers, Pirelli is to be supported and congratulated for putting the excitement of the sport first, rather than its own reputation and marketing agendas.

The drop-off in tyre performance has been spectacular, even amongst the harder compounds. Two stops per race might be a bridge too far; most are predicting at least three, some even say four. What this has meant is that there's been no time to worry about whether the tyres suit the drivers who prefer oversteer or those who like understeer. Wear, preservation and strategy have become the key issues, and so finally the current no-refuelling and tyre compound rules can start to have their desired effect.

KERS makes a return, and this time the majority of the teams will be running it. In 2009, the Mercedes system in the McLaren was easily the best; will there be a clear disparity between the different KERS designs again? Or will the fact that virtually all the frontrunners will be using it, and that the system is used both in defence as well as offence, mean that the effect of KERS is somewhat neutralised apart from the fact that it's just another variable which could cause mishaps?

The item which is arguably the most artificial of the lot is the adjustable rear wing. Unlike KERS, which could be deployed in any situation, on race day the adjustable rear wing is specifically an attacking weapon, which can only be used in a certain zone on the track, when the following car is within a certain distance of the car in front. You can't simulate how it will work in tests or in practice sessions, but it looks sure to be a source of drama, misjudgements and controversy, especially in the early races.

And bearing in mind that there's still no in-season testing to perfect parts, skills and techniques to the nth degree, there's still no refuelling which means that constantly changing fuel load is yet another variable, and there's still a limit to the number of engines and gearboxes with grid penalties for exceeding them, and the emphasis is back on the driver - not so much for his driving ability, but for his ability to multitask, to keep all the different factors in mind, and to press the right button at the right time.

This has been the beauty of the pre-season tests, which have surely been the most inconclusive ever. On one hand, there are so many variables hardly anyone was doing anything truly comparable at any given moment. On the other hand, you just know that the one thing you can't replicate in testing is the white heat of battle. You simply can't create that split-second pressure-cooker like the hypothetical I've just posed above. Which means that race day in Melbourne will be the first real gauge of the year.

The other really pleasing aspect is that the more variables there are, the more variety in designs. In the past most of the cars in the field have looked all too similar. That was because everyone knew what the safest, most optimal solutions were, and it was not worth deviating from them. But this year, no one really knows what will and won't work in terms of the Pirelli's characteristics and in terms of the KERS hardware, and so teams have been able to experiment as they try to steal a march on their rivals.

There's a veritable menagerie of nose widths and heights. There are creative airbox solutions, including McLaren's twin airbox and both Lotus and Force India adopting Mercedes' split airbox design from last year. There are McLaren's L-shaped sidepods, and Toro Rosso's massively undercut sidepods to the point of having a virtual second floor. And the most daring of all, there's Renault's forward-facing exhaust system to channel more air under the car. The grid hasn't looked this wild for a very long time.

Put it all together, and it's going to be a season that rewards the coolest heads both in and out of the driver's seat. Processional races might become the exception rather than the norm. And that's what makes this season impossible to pick. Last year was epic enough - not because there was all that much craziness on the track itself, but because the contenders kept stumbling anyway. How much more topsy-turvy might this season be when the races themselves really start throwing curveballs?

And it's this air of uncertainty which means that some of the other sideshows aren't generating as much attention as they normally would. Like whether World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber can really coexist at Red Bull. Like whether the second year of Michael Schumacher's comeback will be any better than his first. Like the ridiculous spat between the Group Lotus-sponsored Renault team, and the outfit called Team Lotus running Renault engines.

Or like how Renault will fare with an aggressive car but without their spearhead driver in Robert Kubica. Or whether Kamui Kobayashi can maintain his banzai style. Or whether the new teams can get into the midfield. Or how the four rookies in the field will go. Or whether there will be a Bahrain GP, and how the new Indian GP will be received. It says a lot when there's hardly time and space to think about these issues, because there are so many other fundamental questions still waiting for answers.