Don't judge F1 2014 by its looks

The wait is nearly over. In just a few days' time, we will finally get some answers about exactly how the 2014 crop of Formula 1 cars will both sound and look.

While most of us can only guess the details beyond the images we've seen from Force India and Williams - and are bracing ourselves for what we know will be some very ugly noses and the whirring/purring of turbos when Jerez testing begins - one thing is certain: not everyone is going to like it.

Teething problems will be inevitable © LAT

Amid all the anticipation over what the first test will bring, and what impact the 2014 cars will have on Formula 1, what finally appears on track in Spain next week is going to divide opinion.

There are those who are going to love the new era: the unpredictability that has delivered fresh questions over reliability, the wholesale regulation changes that should serve to reset the playing field, the added technical attraction for, and intrigue over, new energy-recovery systems and more fuel-efficient engines. The fact that everything is just so new.

And there'll be those who will instantly label F1 2014 as the end of the world.

They'll focus on the silly noses and the demise of the roaring V8 engines. They'll hate the fact that the cars are slower, that fuel management is now as important to winning races as a driver keeping his foot flat on the throttle through Eau Rouge. And they'll mock the fact that some teams may struggle to get many miles under their belts.

Each to their own. Everyone is entitled to sit in either of those camps. But what would be wrong would be to firmly entrench yourself there after those first few days of running at Jerez.

In this era of real-time news, in which fans follow the latest developments on a second-by-second basis, it's no longer fashionable for anyone to sit back and spend time digesting what's taking place. Shoot first with your opinion, then ask the pertinent questions later.

Within an instant of anything happening, people are demanding an immediate judgement on whether things are good or bad - and preferably expressed in fewer than 140 characters, too.

That is what the next week is going to full be of. Twitter feeds, news reports, column inches and podcasts will be crammed to the rafters with a demand to instantly decide whether the new rules are a total success or a total failure.

Williams confirmed cars will not be pretty this year

Yet, just as you should never judge a book by its cover, equally it would be a huge mistake to make a call on it after the very first test.

For however much the aesthetics appeal or detract, however much the most vociferous of fans nail their flags to the masts of disaster, the truth is that we're not going to get the answer just yet.

It will not come in the Bahrain tests either. And we will probably have to hold fire until after the season-opening grand prix in Melbourne, too.

Instead, it's going to take months for the new regulations to bed down, for the teams and drivers to understand how best to go about winning races, and for engineers to get on top of the new technology. By the time that happens, we'll all have got used to the new noses (maybe!) and will have a more rounded view on the sounds of the engines as well.

But it's vital we wait before we judge it a triumph or a tragedy. And in the end it will probably be neither: there are going to be elements that are good and bits of it we are all going to hate.

So let's enjoy Jerez for what it is: the start of an exciting new chapter for F1. We can work out how good it is later. I, for one, can't wait.