Even commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone, whose ideal Formula One season would be decided at the very last corner, could hardly have dreamed of a championship like this one.
With just over a third of the distance gone, and an unprecedented seven different winners from the first seven races, the ultimate winner of the 2012 driver's crown is anyone's guess. Even calling the winner of the next race in Valencia is tough, with two of the six world champions on the grid - Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher - yet to win in this most unpredictable of seasons.
A mere three points separate the top three in the championship standings with the top five split by less than the 25 for a win and 13 races remaining.
A ‘dream’ for F1
"It's absolutely wide open. It's a dream for the sport," declared America's former champion Mario Andretti after McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won in Canada on Sunday.
"Formula One for so many years has been quite predictable...that's out of the window now. Somewhere the rules are working, something is working. So don't fix it," he told Sky Sports television.
{{/usCountry}}"Formula One for so many years has been quite predictable...that's out of the window now. Somewhere the rules are working, something is working. So don't fix it," he told Sky Sports television.
{{/usCountry}}Just when a team believe they have cracked the code, the Pirelli tyres make them think again. Case in point is Michael Schumacher’s outburst against the Pirelli tyres supplied by the Italian manufacturer, comparing them to driving on “raw eggs”.
"This is what is going to be normal for the season," Hamilton told reporters after being joined by Lotus driver Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Mexican Sergio Perez on the podium.
"That's just my feeling, but then again my guess is as good as yours...we're still trying to fully understand these tyres.
"Sometimes you're overheating them, sometimes you're not heating them up enough. We don't understand why sometimes a Lotus is quicker than us, or a Mercedes is quicker than us and then we're quicker than them another time.
"But I think it's great for Formula One, it's great for the fans to see," said the 2008 champion, while adding that seven was now quite enough different winners.
BETTER HANDLE
After watching his double world champion Sebastian Vettel qualify on pole position for the second year running in Montreal, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner sounded confident enough.
"I feel the Red Bull technical team are doing a great job to try and understand the new regulations," he said. "We are starting to get a better handle on what these tyres like." On Sunday, with Vettel finishing fourth after a late stop forced on him by tyre wear, the team was less optimistic about the RB8’s ability to use its tyres effectively as compared to McLaren.