YEONGAM // "The new rules mean we have to look after our tyres, so you can't get too close to the car ahead or take risks. And compared with what we were used to before, it feels like driving a boat, with all that extra weight now refuelling is banned. It's not going to help the racing."
Such was the initial reaction of Mark Webber, the Formula One world championship leader, to his sport's new rules, after the campaign's opening race in Bahrain in March - a dull procession that triggered all manner of knee-jerk demands for instant fixes. It all seems rather a long time ago.
Back then, nobody predicted that this would be the most open, most compelling season for many a year, a campaign ripe with incident, intrigue and, just occasionally, F1's trademark controversy.
The revised scoring system has played its part with 25 points for a win, rather than the previous 10. People have been quick to forget that two strong results can swiftly overcome a deficit that might once have been considered irretrievable.
With three races to go, however, starting with the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday, time is starting to run short for those at the tail end of the five-way title battle - specifically Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the McLaren-Mercedes drivers who trail Webber by 28 and 31 points respectively
Their sustained presence in the title contest reflects their speed and consistency in a car that, by the team's own admission, has usually been only third best.
This has been Hamilton's most consistently impressive F1 season, including his championship winning season in 2008, and he had barely made a mistake worth the name prior to crashing out on the opening lap of last month's Italian Grand Prix, which was the catalyst for only scoring 10 points in the next three races, which has dropped him from first to fourth in the standings.
"With 75 points still on the board, it would be unwise to write off Jenson or Lewis," Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal said. "Both have won world championships before - they understand the difficulties of such a situation and know how to deliver their best under pressure. We won't give up without a fight."
They need to chase, but defending from the front will be no easier a task. Webber's 14-point cushion over Sebastian Vettel, his Red Bull-Renault teammate, and Ferrari talisman Fernando Alonso is insufficient to allow him the luxury of driving percentage races.
Finishing second or third behind one or both of them - as he has in each of the past three races - is not a title-winning recipe.
There is no form guide for this weekend's race, not least because the Korean track was certificated less than a fortnight before its inaugural grand prix, but elements of the circuit should suit all three leading teams.
The battle might shed one or two constituent parts during the forthcoming races in Korea and Brazil, but there seems little prospect of a firm resolution prior to the Abu Dhabi finale on November 14.