The battle that saved Formula 1

There's little doubt that in terms of the dynamics of the Formula 1 title battle, it was the clash between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian Grand Prix that proved to be the key moment of the campaign.

The way that Mercedes management came down hard on both drivers - and in particular how Rosberg was widely perceived as being the less-innocent party - took the bad blood out of their rivalry, which seemed to help Hamilton step up a gear. The Briton was dominant after that, winning six of the remaining seven races.

But if you want to pick a race that was even more important than Belgium in shaping what happened in F1 this year, then there should be no doubt that it was Bahrain.

In fact, there is a view shared by some pretty senior figures in F1 that if Bahrain had been a different type of evening, then the sport could be in very different shape right now. And not in a good way.

We could be heading to a 2015 season marking the return of V8 engines, and a sport facing the real possibility of manufacturers quitting.

Let's not forget that in the run-up to the race in Bahrain, F1's new turbo regulations were coming under a pretty sustained attack from Bernie Ecclestone and then-Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.

News of a meeting between the pair in the days before Bahrain to discuss concerns about the new fuel-efficiency regulations had been leaked, and all focus was on a meeting they had planned with FIA president Jean Todt on race day.

Montezemolo's complaints eased after Bahrain © LAT

Hours before that, Ecclestone had wandered into the media centre, well aware that he would be stopped by journalists and would be able to get his views out that fans found the new F1 'unacceptable'.

Similarly, di Montezemolo's theatrical entrance to the paddock ensured he too ramped up the pressure about how the new rules were not working, having claimed that modern F1 stars were nothing more than taxi drivers.

In the end, the joint plan of attack failed. F1 delivered a thrilling spectacle as Rosberg and Hamilton were unleashed for one of their closest-fought battles of the campaign, proving that the new rules did work.

Di Montezemolo left before the chequered flag, and Ecclestone's complaints about the racing were never as loud again, even if he never accepted the sound of the engines. Over time his attention would shift to dissing social media and young fans instead...

But if Bahrain had been a procession of 'taxi-cab racing', with no overtaking and little to get excited about, then do not underestimate how politically that would have strengthened Ecclestone and di Montezemolo's hands. And they surely would have seized the moment.

Some senior team figures privately believe it may even have been enough to mobilise a push to get rid of the new V6 turbo engines and force through agreement on the return of V8 power units for 2015.

Such a draconian change may have appeased Ferrari and pleased Ecclestone, but the consequences would have been far-reaching.

We would still have had our cost crisis, for Caterham and Marussia's woes were bad enough that they would not see out the season anyway. So it wouldn't have saved them.

And we'd now have a manufacturer crisis on top of that. Honda's return would have been thrown into doubt, because it was only interested in the benefits of new fuel-efficient hybrid technology.

And while Ferrari would have embraced the V8s, Renault's board may not have been too happy - and what would Mercedes have done? Would it have been enough for its bosses to say no thanks to F1?

So if ever there was a time when F1 had to deliver, it was Bahrain. The result might not ultimately have played a defining role in the world title battle, but its impact was far greater than that.