Is it just me or has Formula One become boring, just as the season should be reaching a climax. The two races in Japan saw the crowning of a deserving champion, and the constructor's title was also decided. The ending of the season was so exciting that even the F1-crazy Japanese left many seats unfilled. I pity the organizers in Australia who must hype a race that has absolutely no meaning. Titles are in the bank, drivers have largely settled on teams for next year, and frankly, I am sure that everybody wants to get out of Adelaide with cars and drivers intact.

Hey, this is a sport, and it should be time now for the playoffs. Imagine the National Football League announcing that it will host 20 weeks of football, and the winner of the most games will be given the title. The best team will undoubtedly win, but the fans will see no playoffs, and no Super Bowl. Would this work? Or better yet, imaging Major League Baseball with no World Series. Look at the long history of baseball, and one will immediately see how important the World Series has been in making baseball an American institution. If you think Canadians get worked-up over the future of Quebec, imagine a proposal that would eliminate the Stanley Cup. Would the National Basketball Association live without its playoff system? How about Aussie Rules Football with no Grand Final? No World Cup soccer? You get the message--the great sporting events of the world are characterized by some form of championship game.

But Formula One just fades into the sunset, and fans in Australia are left with a meaningless race. This could be fixed, and I propose the following:

1. Eight races will be run in the first half of the season, with the points leader automatically qualifying for the Grand Final.

2. Eight more races will be run, and again, the points leader qualifies for the Grand Final.

3. The Grand Final weekend is upon us, and the champion(s) from the two halves will qualify in the first row (the driver with the greatest number of points has the pole). Friday is practice for everyone. On Saturday morning, a one hour race is run with the lesser teams--two cars advance, everyone else goes home. A 1.5 hour race would occur Saturday afternoon to seed the drivers in the Grand Final. On Sunday morning, a one hour race with all cars is run, and points are awarded in a fashion similar to today's races. The afternoon race is two hours, with double points. Add the morning and afternoon points, and the champion is crowned!