Carlos Sainz has called on F1 and the FIA to be open minded, should modification of the 2026 regulations prove necessary.

Like many of his colleagues, the Spaniard is concerned over various aspects of the new regulations, and fears that Melbourne will highlight one of the most controversial aspects of F1 2026, energy management.

"Melbourne is going to be more challenging for sure," said the Williams driver, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, "but I cannot tell you by how much because I haven't been in the simulator with what we're going to find in Melbourne.

"My message to FOM and the FIA is that at the start of the year, we need to stay open-minded in case the regulations we've come up with are maybe too exaggerated on the amount of harvesting and deployment we do on a lap," he continued.

"At some circuits, it will be OK, like potentially here in Bahrain, even though I still think here is not fully OK with what we're seeing so far, but tracks like Melbourne and potentially Jeddah will be more energy-demanding.

"I think we might need to adjust the regulations a bit, and, fair play, it is not easy because it is such a big change, because I don't think anyone knew how to predict how much downforce and drag the car was going to have, and what level of deployment teams would come up with.

"My only ask would be to stay open in case we need to fine-tune or adjust to make the category and the show even better. That is my only message. I think we should start flexible, rather than be committed to a certain level of energy management."

Meanwhile, in his review of the latest series of Drive to Survive for the Daily Telegraph, Tom Cary writes: "To be honest, it feels almost like painting by numbers. Drivers in private jets, drivers playing padel, drivers on yachts during their summer breaks, drivers with their girlfriends, staged interviews between drivers/team principals and people from their inner circle, all interspersed with in-race footage and talking heads explaining to viewers what is going on as if they are talking to a three-year-old.

"When there is a big news story, DTS sometimes goes light on it," he continues. "Last year, the biggest stories were Christian Horner's sacking mid-season, and the accusations McLaren favoured Norris over Piastri which became such a big talking point it was raised in the Australian parliament. It doesn't feel as if the treatment of either issue quite hits the mark.

"The trouble here may be the right of veto which teams and drivers get, and it is one of the major problems with DTS in general," he admits. "The series is so hand in glove with F1 now, so in simpatico, it can end up feeling a bit sterile."

And for those fans of the late Mike Lawrence's good friend Turk Thrust and the Formula One Script Unit, the review refers to a segment covering the season finale in Abu Dhabi. F1TV's Laura Winter opines: "It's perfectly poised isn't it? It's as though the racing gods have written the script for us."

"It's either the racing gods or Netflix, but someone has scripted it," replies James Hinchcliffe.

Cary claims that since 2020, DTS has added an estimated £290m in value to F1's coffers. Makes you think.

Meanwhile, the most cursory of visits to the official F1 website is pretty much the same, absolutely no mention of the problems the sport could be facing in just over a week's time, just F1 The Movie star Damson Idris, telling fans "You think you know F1?"

To which the answer must surely be: "I thought I did Idris, but I'm not so sure anymore!"