Nigel Roebuck's verdict on F1 2017

On the surface, at least, it has been business as usual in Formula 1 this year, with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes taking the titles, but beneath it much has changed, for after nearly half a century in the iron control of Bernie Ecclestone, F1 passed into the hands of Liberty Media. Thus a one-man band has been replaced by a cast of thousands, and for the moment the jury is out: some in the paddock express faith in the new regime, others would have Bernie back tomorrow.

Twelve months in, it may be said that Liberty's honeymoon period is over, and not a few have anxieties about the company's plans, mainly because - as I write - we still don't know what they are. While Ross Brawn speaks with conviction about what needs to be done to reignite excitement on the track, to introduce an engine cheaper and louder than the current hybrid lump, to give aerodynamics an urgent revamp, and so on, little of consequence has been heard from other Liberty folk.

There has, of course, been much talk of the need to attract the young, by means of social media, digital platforms, and whatnot, Sean Bratches speaking of his wish to 'turn Formula 1 from a motorsports company to an entertainment company and brand, with Formula 1 at the centre of it'. In the coming years, Bratches and Chase Carey will do well to remember not, in their pursuit of new fans, to alienate the sport's bedrock supporters, who have kept faith with F1 through what has lately been a shaky period in its history.

Niki Lauda is one with concerns, recently mentioning - with a shudder - a suggestion by Bratches that 'grid kids' be introduced to the sport. Anyone who has ever witnessed the endless build-up to a NASCAR race, which every weekend culminates - during the Stars and Stripes - in a drivers' baby show, will surely go with Niki on this. Similarly, the elaborate 'Drivers Introduction' ceremony at Austin found little favour with worldwide fans - or, for that matter, with those being introduced.

A while ago, someone from Liberty spoke of an aspiration to turn every grand prix into a Super Bowl. Call me old-fashioned, but I would venture that rather more crucial than any of this - even Justin Timberlake or a new F1 logo - is to put on a race that makes folk want to come back for another one.

All that said, the task before Liberty is undoubtedly a daunting one, and on more than one front, for Formula 1 is not as it was when Ecclestone took control, when most teams bought very affordable engines from Cosworth, and were entirely content to have Bernie negotiate with race organisers on their behalf. He made a lot of people inordinately rich, and for more than 40 years their hearts and minds followed.

Things are very different now. One hopes down the road that the situation will change, but these days there is no DFV equivalent available to anyone who might wish to buy it: instead you need to do a 'customer' deal with one of the manufacturers, and if - if - they choose to sell you an engine, it can come with ancillary conditions, like leaning on you to put one of 'their' drivers in your car.

As a MotoGP rider said to me a while ago, "They've got a thousand horsepower in Formula 1 - how the hell do they manage to make it boring?"

In this era, enormous power therefore resides with tycoon suits like Sergio Marchionne and Dieter Zetsche, as evidenced by their teams' response to Brawn's suggested engine changes for 2021: we don't like them, and we might well quit. As Bernie said to me long ago, "Never rely on the manufacturers. They come and go as it suits them - always have, and always will. They're not in Formula 1 because they love it."

True enough: think bottom line. This is why, for example, Marchionne refused to countenance going back on the absurd 'three engines per season' rule, to be introduced next year. Guaranteed to produce even more of the grid penalties which, as Brawn says, 'make a farce of Formula 1', the Ferrari boss said he couldn't care less: he hadn't spent all that money on increasing engine life for nothing.

In a perfect world, as Christian Horner and Sebastian Vettel have frivolously suggested, F1's next engine would be a V12, plain and simple. The likes of Cosworth and Mario Illien could then get in on the act, supplying whomever wished to buy from them, and - as in the 1960s and '70s - any manufacturers wishing to compete would be very welcome: if not, sayonara. A pipedream? Yes, of course - but does anyone doubt it would bring back the fans?

Emphatically, they have never taken to quiet, low-revving, hybrid engines, but that is only part of the problem: of arguably greater significance is the current cars' inability to race, thanks to the joys of 'aero'. A couple of years ago, NASCAR, facing a similar dilemma, opted to reduce downforce, and the racing greatly improved. For 2018, IndyCar is following a similar path, and - sooner rather than later - Formula 1 must do the same, putting an end to processions of cars, three or four seconds apart, such as we saw in Abu Dhabi.

Therefore, while there may be manifold problems at the moment, far and away the most fundamental lies with the basic product. As a MotoGP rider said to me a while ago, "They've got a thousand horsepower in Formula 1 - how the hell do they manage to make it boring?"

Much has been made this year of the world championship fight between Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, and assuredly it was good, after three seasons of absolute Mercedes domination, to see Lewis facing opposition from other than his team-mate. The Ferrari resurgence, so long anticipated, was stronger than expected, and many a time Vettel went into a race with the quickest car.

Hamilton it was, though, who in the end won conclusively, and if he was helped by Ferrari's operational failings, as well as Vettel's occasionally intemperate behaviour, it must be said that - particularly in the second half of the season - Lewis himself was better in 2017 than ever before.

Interestingly, while drivers have traditionally expressed a preference for a team-mate who will push them, both Hamilton and Vettel seem to flourish best with a firm number two in the other car. Overall, Valtteri Bottas did a sound job for Mercedes, and sometimes he excelled, but routinely he was not the threat that Nico Rosberg had been, and in this changed environment a newly serene Hamilton thrived. Similarly, Vettel - not unmindful of his drubbing by Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull in 2014 - has good reasons for keeping the fading, apolitical, Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari.

Hamilton, always known for occasional 'off' weekends, duly had a pair this season, at Sochi and - more surprisingly - Monaco, but usually his driving was close to faultless, and so was his composure. Vettel, though, continued to compromise his greatness at the wheel with what these days we are pleased to call 'anger management problems': never far from the surface, they cost him dear in Baku, where he simply lost his rag, and Singapore, where he threw away victory on a plate with a stupidly aggressive and unnecessary move at the start.

This was the year in which the scarily quick Verstappen truly bloomed. Precisely aware of how good he is, Max is in awe of no-one

Fundamentally, you needed a Mercedes or Ferrari this year, not least for the ability to 'turn up' the engine when required, be it in Q3, or - as Bottas demonstrated to Lance Stroll at Baku - blasting by a rival on the last lap. In this regard, not to say routine horsepower, Renault users remained at a disadvantage, but still Red Bull, after developing an initially disappointing car, sometimes threatened, Ricciardo and Max Verstappen both winning in 2017.

This was the year in which the scarily quick Verstappen truly bloomed. Precisely aware of how good he is, Max is in awe of no-one, and nor should he be, but he manages his innate aggression well, saying what he thinks in words of one syllable, but without brattish arrogance. A series of Renault failures drove him to distraction this season, but took no toll of his motivation: at 20, his future looks limitless.

It says much for Verstappen's team-mate that he didn't allow himself to become at least a little overwhelmed. Along with Bottas, 'Danny Ricc' is the most well balanced driver in the paddock, and if he couldn't equal Max in qualifying, on race day he remained a match for anyone, his incisive overtaking moves as breathtaking as ever.

The financial gulf between the big three and the rest, as we know, is immense, but Force India knows a thing or two about working with loaves and fishes, and once again excelled in 2017, making the most of a good chassis, a Mercedes engine, and a pair of drivers who really did push each other all the way.

After uncertain times earlier in his career, which included being dropped by McLaren, Sergio Perez has matured into a fine grand prix driver, aggressive and opportunistic, yet better than most at looking after tyres.

Down the road, though, it is his team-mate who will go further. Although outqualified more often than not by Perez, newcomer Esteban Ocon had a startlingly impressive season, and there is about him that indefinable something that separates the special from the rest.

A gentle demeanour in the paddock emphatically does not carry over to the track, and if, as expected, he shines even more in 2018, it is easy to envisage him the following year at Mercedes.

For Williams it was an up and down season, with Felipe Massa, instantly called back from retirement after Bottas's unexpected move to Mercedes, doing his usual sound job, and newcomer Stroll sometimes all at sea, occasionally - as at unforgiving Baku - brilliant.

Nico Hulkenberg, at last in a factory team, greatly impressed everyone at Renault, revelling in Pirellis that lasted long enough to let him go racing, and making the most of a car that improved significantly through the season. Too many indifferent showings, tied in with poor reliability, sadly cost Jolyon Palmer his place before season's end, and at Austin, his first drive with the team, Carlos Sainz was stunningly impressive. This is a strong pairing for 2018.

After Sainz's negotiated departure from Toro Rosso, and Daniil Kvyat's harsh dismissal, Pierre Gasly and once-dropped Red Bull man Brendon Hartley came in for the last few races, and will drive for the team next year, now with the Honda engine finally abandoned by McLaren.

Ironically, in the closing races of the season, Honda's reliability markedly improved, allowing McLaren's excellent MCL32 to score a few points, but horsepower remained in lamentably short supply - up the hill at Interlagos, Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne were like tethered goats - and after three years of this, enough was clearly enough.

Vandoorne, while obviously a star of the future, looked unconvincing in the first half of the season, but picked up well in the second, while Alonso - still for many the best driver on earth - every weekend wrung the neck of his car because that's him: the ultimate racing warrior, he can do no other.

That leaves us with Haas and Sauber. Romain Grosjean, once - like Hulkenberg - in the frame for a Ferrari drive, continued to disappoint those of us who have believed in him, and was often outshone by the underrated and uncomplaining Kevin Magnussen, while Pascal Wehrlein invariably had the better of Marcus Ericsson, whose sponsors keep him - rather than Marchionne's choice, Antonio Giovinazzi - at Sauber in 2018.

Closing note, and one to ponder. In this, the first year of Liberty's F1 ownership, the company has spent considerably on recruitment, as well as new offices and the like, so that end-of-season monies paid to the teams are down (by $43million) for the first time in eight years. It has not gone down well.

It's our bumper Formula 1 season review this week, with 66 pages of analysis, picking out the best and the worst of the 2017 campaign that culminated in a fourth world title for Lewis Hamilton. The magazine is on sale now in stores and available online here.