Ferrari puts fizz back into Formula One

As Sebastian Vettel nurses his hangover, Bernie Ecclestone can raise a toast to the F1 gods after a weekend to savour in Malaysia gave the sport a reason to smile again, AFP reports.

Crisis loomed like the black clouds over Sepang after the German Grand Prix's axing, deafening complaints from teams and a soporific first race in Australia.

But out of the blue, Vettel and Ferrari punctured Mercedes' dominance, while Malaysia put pen to paper on a new, three-year deal which secures the race until 2018.

While Formula One's problems are hardly solved, Ferrari's resurgence will at least pique interest in a sport which was again becoming dangerously one-dimensional.

Signs of the crisis were clear when Ecclestone resorted to asking media what should be done about a championship struggling with financial and structural difficulties.

Two teams fell by the wayside last year and Germany, a heartland of F1, joined South Korea and India in dropping off the schedule.

"I think sometimes we (promoters) tell him what to do and he doesn't listen," said Sepang circuit chief Razlan Razali, during negotiations with Ecclestone for Malaysia's new deal.

"But I think only now he listens."

Ecclestone posited a range of potential solutions, ranging from a "Grand Slam" series of elite races to awarding points instead of grid places for qualifying.

But the 84-year-old ringmaster admitted his hands were now tied with much power held by private equity firm CVC, the major shareholder, and F1's squabbling teams.