The buildup to the 2018 Formula One season featured some debate over the future of the sport - with the dominance of Mercedes, where was the excitement coming from?

Lewis Hamilton's championship victory was the fourth in a row for a Mercedes driver after the Briton's 2014 and 2015 wins were followed by Nico Rosberg in 2016.

That, coupled with a perceived lack of overtaking by some involved in the sport, has led to F1 bosses Liberty Media to suggest some major changes.

Among those changes, is a $150m budget cap - designed to force teams to aim for success through wiser spending, rather than excessive spending - and regulations for engines to be more accessible for newcomers.

Also proposed, and one which is certainly not favoured by the biggest teams is an overhaul of payments, with Liberty Media wanting to head towards a merit-based system rather than the guaranteed money for the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.

All would impact the sport dramatically, and Formula One managing director Ross Brawn believes it's obvious what the objectives of the proposals are.

"What we’ve done is invited lots of stakeholders to give us a view on the race weekend,” he told Sky Sports.

“The objectives are, can we make financial improvements, help the teams in terms of their finances, can we help the promoters have a better show and can we get some diversity into the race without making it false."

Of all the changes, the one that would bring the most obvious impact is changing qualifying from a time-trial to an actual race.

And despite the obvious hesitancy of fans to such a fundamental change, Brawn says it's something that should be considered.

“If we can get some diversity into the starting grid," he explained, "which is genuine because it’s come from a race, maybe that’s worth considering.

"Having an extra race is an impact on the teams, but we need to look at the whole thing.”

It's a huge proposal by Liberty Media, who are clearly intent on improving on their enormous investment in the sport.

There will be further debate over the next couple of years as a happy medium is found between change and tradition, but the face of Formula One as we know it may be about to change.