The 2010 season of the much-coveted Formula One started this weekend at the Bahrain International racing circuit. And it opened on a dull note and could not live up to the hype that was created before the racing. The refuelling ban that last appeared during the 1993 championship has made its presence known this year again. And the general consensus is that no one is happy about it.

New rules in the 2010 F1 season have banned refuelling during pit stops and reduced the front tyre size.

Most of the teams have made it obvious that they do not like the new rules which make it near-impossible to overtake on the track and without any pit-stops the outcome is more or less decided on the opening lap of the race.

Defending champion Jenson Button said: “It’s not like the old days when they had more fuel. We have so much more down-force now. You could follow cars then, slide up the inside. You could race! It’s very different now.”

Seven times champion Michael Schumacher was of the view that overtaking was almost impossible unless someone made a mistake.

And you may find it hard to believe that Mark Webber, from Red Bull, was totally bored during the races. He said, “I spent 48 laps staring at the gearboxes of first Schumacher and then Button and there was nothing I could do to pass them”. “I tried everything — different lines, pressure, everything. But they’re both good drivers and neither of them made a mistake.”

But Bernie Ecclestone, FIA commercial manager, begs to differ. He said all that the teams need are a few races to get used to the new rules including the ban on refuelling. He said that a re-assessment of the F1 rules may become necessary if the situation does not improve even after the fourth season race, before F1 moves to Europe.

But even if the re-assessment of the F1 rules happen, a set of outside engineers will be hired to draw up the regulations and the teams will be given a two months notice.