The Formula 1 circus has mainly arrived in Abu Dhabi for the final race of the season, and judging by the activity on Twitter, it’s pretty spectacular. I’m very jealous.

It’s going to be the end in a number of respects, but the one I’m interested in is refuelling, which is due to be banned next season.

Refuelling was behind a lot of the action at Brazilian Grand Prix a couple of weeks ago, starting with the fireball caused by Kimi Raikkonen’s exhaust igniting the fuel hose Heikki Kovalainen had torn from his fuel rig and driven off with. That would presumably be rather on the dangerous – and if not dangerous, then certainly spectacular – side if it happened in the unique Yas Marina pit lane exit tunnel, so this year will be the only time that will be a risk, however small.

More importantly, refuelling created a lot of the interest on track. Much of Jenson Button’s overtaking was to get ahead of those on longer fuel strategies, and later in the race there was the question of where Button would end up after everyone had taken their final pit stop. Part of that was Lewis Hamilton’s excellent drive on a long strategy from 17th on the grid to finish 3rd.

How much of that would have been missing from the race without variable fuel strategies? Quite a lot, I reckon. To my mind, there’s a serious risk that F1 could be more of a procession than ever next year.

The move to low fuel qualification contributes to that risk. I’m generally in favour of the fastest combination of car and driver being on pole position, and in past seasons I found it frustrating that fuel strategies were kept secret after qualifying. But this year, with the disclosure of qualifying weights, it’s just given us another variable to follow, speculate on and create interest. Next year, with the drivers largely in order of speed, the pack could just spread out over the course of the race.

Refuelling provides interest elsewhere too. After the Brazilian Grand Prix, I caught up with highlights of the IndyCar Series finale. Dario Franchitti secured the title by gambling on there being no yellow flag periods, saving fuel, and making one less stop than his championship rivals. It was tense – even though I knew the outcome – and made for a great story.

But F1 is dropping refuelling for good reasons, chiefly cost – of transporting the many fuel rigs to every venue, and so on.

However, it also comes as the FIA is moving towards making motorsport about getting the best performance from a limited amount of fuel, rather than a certain capacity of engine. Which is, undoubtedly, a good thing.

So I suppose it’s not the lack of refuelling that I’m worried about. It’s that refuelling contributes to the entertainment, and I’m not sure that there’s anything coming in to replace that contribution. And I guess we’ll only find out the magnitude of that contribution next season.

In the meantime, let’s hope the Abu Dhabu Grand Prix is as impressive as the facility seems to be.