It was too much for the Marussia and Caterham teams last year, and each filed for bankruptcy with three races left. That highlighted the paradoxical image of an auto racing series that is earning more than any other in the world, but that has a survival rate for teams that remains shockingly low.

So attractive is the pinnacle of world motor racing that the British team behind Marussia, a group called Manor, has paid its entry fee for the 2015 season and exited bankruptcy, hoping to resurrect its place in the series this year. The claim that Formula One lies only behind World Cup soccer and the Olympics in popularity and yet runs every two weeks remains valid today.

Two weeks ago, a study performed for the F.I.A. by the New York-based consulting firm McKinsey and Company found that Formula One’s costs could be cut by a quarter to a half through application of simple, calculated reductions in several areas, including design, production, engine cost and testing costs. If the costs were halved, the teams would be able to survive on the commercial rights money alone, according to the study.

There has been a drop in television audiences in recent years in markets where Formula One has moved to pay-TV broadcasts, which, while lucrative, limit the number of viewers. But soccer and other sports are also moving to pay television. And in the United States, since NBC took over Formula One broadcasts in 2013 and an Austin Grand Prix was started in Texas in 2012, television ratings have skyrocketed.

So what’s at the heart of the soul-searching at the beginning of the new season? Look no further than the domination of the Mercedes engine manufacturer. The series promoter, Bernie Ecclestone, and some of the biggest losers last year, such as Ferrari, complained that the new formula of quiet, fuel-preserving hybrid engines was stealing loud dazzle from the show. It’s likely, however, that had Ferrari rather than Mercedes made the best engine Formula One would have taken a different turn.

Having reached a nadir in 2014 in its gradual drop from dominance in the early 2000s, Ferrari called for a revamp of the rules. And Ferrari, the only team to have taken part continuously in the series since it began in 1950, remains the sport’s iconic brand, so when it complains, its voice is heard.

Yet just as the environmentally friendly hybrid engines were creating a division within the series, the new technology was also responsible for the return of Honda, another major car manufacturer, for the 2015 season. Honda was attracted by the chance to showcase its environmentally friendly technology.