It takes quite a bit to get me even the slightest bit interested in Formula 1, so this weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi is a little bit special.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not special because I’m excited that the destination of the title is yet to be decided or another British sportsman could be crowned World Champion, no I’m just mildly intrigued because the whole situation is so utterly ridiculous.

I’m not sure exactly what’s changed but I used to like Formula 1, back when the drivers parted their hair and wore reasonably-sized sunglasses. Those halcyon days of cars emblazoned with cigarette advertising when you were guaranteed high-octane overtaking and a few spectacular crashes. At the very least it killed a couple of hours on a Sunday in between Gazzetta Football Italia and Rugby Special.

I also preferred the days when those drivers would overtake you on the M25 in their own cars and sign autographs on the forecourt of their local Elf station to this Brave New World of bodyguards and chauffeur-driven, platinum-bladed helicopters back to country estates.

I find the growth in the sheer opulence of Formula 1 over the past decade or two pretty distasteful. I’m not really a fan of greed in sport and I do genuinely believe there is more to life than money. Entirely coincidentally I probably won't ever work in a senior role at FIFA.

It’s not just the money that’s put me off F1 - although I do think the BILLIONS ploughed into the 'sport' by the big car companies each year could definitely be better spent on improving transport and the environment for us plebs. No, I think any mild interest I had in motorsport waned because I’m intrinsically more of a fan of art than science.

I like sports decided by beauty and spontaneity and instinct - a flowing passing move from flank to flank on a rugby pitch, a diving slip catch, a perfectly weighted drop-shot, a back-heel, a dummy. Art. Gorgeous.

Forgive me but I am not kept awake at night pondering how the aspiration of an engine could be improved and I don’t consider whether or not to increase Formula 1’s current 19,000rpm rev-limit to be acceptable dinner table conversation.

I respect the achievement of the world’s greatest engineers building things using science and calculators and stuff, all in the name of.... well, entertainment, I suppose, but to me it’s just Robot Wars with a bigger budget.

And to make matters even worse, now the sport is not even fair.

Lewis Hamilton has a 17-point lead over Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, this despite the fact he has won twice as many races (10) as the German. However, inexplicably there are double points on offer in this final race of the year - 50 for the winner - meaning should Hamilton finish third or lower, then Rosberg will take the title with a victory.

Keep it simple, sporting big-wigs, motorsport or otherwise. First-second-third. Gold-silver-bronze. Fourth should be the most painful place to finish and there's certainly no place for any of this four-points-for-ninth-balderdash.

Sometimes things are best left unchanged.