I – like many others – found parts of the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday a bit confusing. I’ve been thinking about why that was.

One way to look at it, as James Allen has, is as a question of whether you can have too much of a good thing. That good thing being ‘action’ – overtaking, pit stops, that sort of thing.

I think that’s missing the point, though. More action may attract an additional more casual audience, and that’s fine; I don’t think it’s incompatible with the more dedicated fan.

For me, the problem isn’t how much is happening, it’s being able to follow what’s happening.

Data

The more casual audience might not particularly care about following the intricacies of the race. But I’m used to being able to use live timing and the like to keep abreast of what’s happening over and above what comes out of my telly box. I couldn’t do that on Sunday.

Tyre strategies have been far more varied this season, and I’m well up for that variety. But since predictable ‘pit stop windows’ seem to be a thing of the past now, I think we need a bit of help to keep up.

The live timing screen indicates how many pit stops each driver has made, which is a start, but how about something to tell us how many laps since the last stop? That would provide clues about the state of the driver’s tyres, how long until they might have to stop again, and what sort of strategy they’re on.

Broadcast

I think the biggest problem on Sunday, though, was the director of the TV feed. For example: when there’s a lot going on on-track, we don’t need to see every single pit stop. It’s a waste of time.

If Formula 1 is going to be more action-packed – and one race is not a trend – then the director for each host broadcaster is going to have to adjust to this. I’m sure they can – other championships cope – but it’ll take time.

The same goes for commentators.

Unreliability

I think there’s one other reason.

If an engine has a problem, it’s usually fairly obvious. If DRS isn’t working, it’s less obvious. If KERS isn’t working, it’s less obvious still.

There were various problems with both systems on Sunday, and trying to work out who was suffering with what and when only compounded the confusion.

Such teething issues were inevitable with so many significant changes to the regulations. It’s unfortunate that they’re so tricky to spot, but hopefully they’ll become less common as the season goes on.

On the other points though, it does rather beg the question: shouldn’t someone have thought about it before the season?