CRITICS MISS THE POINT... (China Daily column on Chinese F1 GP)

Martin Brundle's strained vocal chords are testament to the drama provided by Sunday's UBS Chinese Grand Prix. The former Formula One driver described it as the most exciting dry weather race he has witnessed in 15 years of commentating. Rule changes and technology designed to improve the show are working brilliantly, but there remain those who search for rainclouds in F1's blue skies.

Rather than applauding Shanghai's renewed position on the F1 calendar (now through to 2017) some point to the local promoter's comments about the event's profitability. This displays a rather natve understanding of negotiation and an apparent ignorance of why countries pay huge rights fees to host international sporting events. It's not for the revenue from ticket sales.

Clutching at the same straw, others point at the attendance numbers and claim either there's little interest in China for motor sport or that ticket prices are too high. F1 has always been an elitist sport and the velvet rope remains at the core of its appeal. Nonetheless Sunday's crowd was up more than 10 percent on 2010.

Anyway bare numbers overlook the increasing enthusiasm for motor sport in Shanghai. Witness the group of fans waiting (in the cold) outside the hotel used by the McLaren team - not only for Sunday's victor Lewis Hamilton but also for the team's media man Steve Cooper. His unlikely celebrity underlines the increasing sophistication of the local punters.

Sadly the same is not true of the local reporter who pointed to the bold title sponsorship by a Swiss bank as evidence that F1 has no future in China. In fact the UBS branding of the circuit is a powerful endorsement not only of the importance of the PRC as a market but also of the value of F1's global TV audience.

Brundle says viewing figures for the first two races of 2011 were up significantly on last year. Much of the credit must go to the large variance in performance of Pirelli's new tyres as they wear out. This plus temporarily reduced aerodynamic drag allows cars to make their way through the field when their rubber is fresh. We witnessed six different leaders (and potential winners) on Sunday.

In fact so important now is degradation that a brand new set of tyres in the race is more valuable than the improved starting position which might be gained from using them in qualifying. Mark Webber's 18th place grid slot would in the past have been a disaster. But three unused sets of the softer tyre helped him take the final podium position after a remarkable drive.

Predictably, perhaps, some of those who used to complain there was not enough overtaking in F1 are now moaning about it being difficult to follow a race where positions are frequently swapped.