While the post Bahrain criticism on forums and message boards will no doubt be put down to bleating from the usual suspects who seem to expect every race to be a recreation of Dijon 1979, the comments from the mainstream media, team bosses and drivers - including Michael Schumacher - should be enough to make the powers that be sit up and pay attention.

Bernie Ecclestone has said that there is no crisis, that there is no need to panic, however, looking at the various comments being made by some very high profile inhabitants of Planet Paddock there is every need to panic, for already, after just one round of the most keenly anticipated championship in living memory, almost everyone is unhappy and sees no improvement in the immediate future.

In recent years Pitpass has received numerous emotional e-mails from readers proclaiming that "this is it", that they'd "had enough". While some of these could be dismissed as a knee-jerk reaction to a poor race or a stewarding decision perceived as unfair, many came in the wake of the numerous scandals that have rocked the sport in recent years.

In the same way that politicians in Britain don't get it when confronted with the public's fury over issues such as the expenses scandal, F1 doesn't appear to get it when confronted by fans who say this isn't the F1 they want.

Before Sunday's bore-fest those of us of a certain age were left dewy eyed by the sight of 18 of our sport's world champions 'celebrating' the 60th anniversary of the series. I used the inverted commas deliberately, because despite the smiles the whole thing was stage managed and overly so, these legendary men merely being used to help flog the F1 brand.

Ask any of these giants of men what they thought of the 'race' that followed and I'm sure that to a man they would have told you, especially those no longer racing, those no longer forced to tow the corporate line.

18 legends forced to take part in a photo-op that more than anything rammed home the fact that Formula One - under the guidance of Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley - has sold its birthright to the highest bidder. This was a celebration that should have taken place at Silverstone, Monaco, Monza or Spa, not a sandswept desert track that has been on the calendar for the blink of an eye in front of grandstands (sparsely) populated by people who, for the most part, had no idea or appreciation of the significance of the event.

If we count Sauber as one of the new teams, of the four new teams, three failed to go the distance while the Lotus duo were both over 2 laps off the pace. While Richard Branson - who has already vowed to put the fun back in to F1 - is already declaring that 'his' team will emulate Red Bull, there is already talk that Hispania will be dead and buried before the European season gets underway.

Like the holiday you'd promised yourself, the movie you've been looking forward to for ages or that long-awaited album from your favourite band, it's proved a disappointment, a let down. And that empty feeling inside just won't go away.

Already there is talk of an extra mandatory pit stop and - God forbid - Ecclestone is already talking about his hare-brained short-cut idea again. They just don't get it.

One can come away from a football match that ended 0-0 knowing that one has just seen one of the finest games ever. There don't have to be goals galore, but there must be the possibility of scoring them.

Fans do not expect Dijon 1979 every week, but they do expect drivers to be able to at least have the wherewithal to make a move even if it only comes off on a small number of occasions.