It has often been likened to a circus, a touring carnival of daredevil delights and mechanical wonders. Last weekend, as it made an unscheduled pit stop in Paris, the Formula One circus showed off its newest act. This was a remarkable feat of prestidigitation that produced, from the void of a pointless race in Japan, the certainty of a grand Suzuka showdown, full of lucratively bedizened eastern promise.

Presented with an almost unequivocal case of wrongdoing, which if proved would decide the destination of the title before the teams journeyed to this weekend's final race at Suzuka, the sport's governing body, the Federation Internationale d'Automobile (FIA) conjured a verdict which not only absolved Ferrari of any wrongdoing but effectively got the sport off the hook by judging that actually there was no case to try.

From the sow's ear of a championship decided in the finer points of law, the FIA conjured a silk purse, filled to overflowing. In the wake of Ferrari's expulsion in Malaysia, the team's immediate appeal and prior to last Friday's hearing of that appeal, cynics crowed that Ferrari would undoubtedly be let off to guarantee an appropriately toothsome end to a season which has been one of the most dramatic. Trawling through the annals of the sport the precedent of the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, in which Benetton and Williams were penalised but their drivers reinstated, was trumpeted as a convenient loophole which both Ferrari and (as luck would have it) the FIA could exploit.

Article 152 of the sport's regulations through which such a decision can be arrived at due to "exceptional circumstances" seemed the likeliest outcome.

When F1's diminutive demigod Bernie Ecclestone turned up in mid-week suggesting that the FIA's labyrinthine rules were "nonsense" then the crowing of cynics became a cacophony. Had such a decision been taken though it would have left the sport fully open to the sort of `non-sport' accusations that had flown around sports pages throughout the week.

The decision announced on Saturday morning was a perfect riposte. The admission that its own rules were suspect and the measuring equipment used in Malaysia inaccurate gave everybody, save perhaps McLaren, what they wanted.

Ferrari were free to contest both world championships in Japan, the sport got its dogfight denouement and the public the spectacle it craves. As one commentator perceptively paraphrased O J Simpson lawyer Johnny Cochrane, the court had effectively decided: "if it don't fit, you must acquit".

While Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo gloated that the verdict "reaffirms the values of the sport which have inspired Ferrari for over 50 years" and FIA president Max Mosley wrung his hands and admitted that "the court of appeal criticised, with some justification, our methods of measurement", and, in keeping with Ecclestone's gainsaying of the rules, that "there was also criticism by the court as to the regulation itself", it was left to McLaren and engine partners Mercedes to keep rapidly flagging suspicions alive. "You have to accept that the FIA individuals who were part of this process have not demonstrated competence," said Ron Dennis bitterly, "and that the equipment that has been used for several years and was updated two years ago has suddenly been brought into question on accuracy.

"I disappointed? No. Surprised? Not really. We think the push for our sport has inevitably become quite commercial. Everybody wants to have an exciting race in Japan, but I think that the price we have paid for that one race is too great."

Mercedes were even more pointed, issuing a statement that called into question the credibility of the sport. "We are disappointed because this verdict has created a basis on which other precedents may occur and the credibility of the top category in motor sport can be doubted by critics."

In the case on hand, Mercedes added, "we felt, along with many motor sport experts, that there was no room for interpretation. The interpretation of the regulations in this way will therefore inevitably raise numerous questions among the international media, the interested public throughout the world and Formula One critics."

The sad fact is though, that despite the somewhat facile victory for Ferrari and the creation of an apparent win-win situation for FIA and Ecclestone, the furore is likely to be swiftly drowned by the sound of 22 cars screaming round the Suzuka circuit.

Just as soccer has largely forgotten its terrace traumas, bungs and bribes, just as the wheels of cycling grind on undiminished in popularity, Formula One will race on through this latest hiccup.

While last week's farrago shed a little light on the machinations of a sport that has, like so many, become irretrievably enmeshed with the ulterior motives of big business, it was merely a side-show on a dimly lit and poorly attended outer ring.

Under the circus' big top the main event is about to begin and a much larger audience desperately wants to be entertained.

Spain's Alex Criville, riding a Honda, won motor-cycling's 500cc world title in Rio De Janeiro yesterday. Criville, still suffering after breaking his wrist, finished sixth in the Brazilian Grand Prix to take an unassailable lead in the championship. Norick Abe of Japan won the race on a Yamaha.

Japan's Tadayuki Okada, the only man capable of catching the Spaniard before yesterday's race, needed a top two finish to maintain his challenge but finished seventh.

Criville is the first Spaniard to win the title and the first European since Italian Franco Uncini in 1982.

He benefitted from Michael Doohan's misfortune. The Australian won the last five championships but rode only two races this season because of injury.

"Finally, my dream has come true," said the 29-year-old, who won six races this year. "I still can't believe this. This is the result of the sacrifice of many years and a lot of dedication . . . It's the fruit of all my work. Now, I can say that I'm the world champion."