The time for talking and sandbagging is finally over.
On Sunday, the Formula One fraternity will discover who will be the major players, the wannabes and the tail-enders for 2008 as the red lights disappear to signal the start of what is certain to be another frenzied campaign.
As always, throughout the winter there are plenty of words of hope and optimism spoken by various drivers and team personnel that in turn are invariably devoured by a hungry press pack.
And as always, there are plenty of testing kilometres racked up - unless you happened to be at Super Aguri the past few months - in an effort to iron out any gremlins from the latest multi-million-pound machines.
But the words are often hollow and the testing times irrelevant because the wheat is only ever separated from the chaff once the chequered flag drops on the curtain-raising grand prix.
Invariably, once the result has been classified, there are few surprises that spring out over the remainder of the season.
The teams at the front come the conclusion of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne will likely continue to slug it out for both the drivers' and constructors' titles.
In this instance, expect Ferrari and McLaren to again go toe-to-toe, and reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton to fight to the finish as they did last year.
The remaining points positions will involve those teams aiming to become the best of the rest, desperately searching for reliability and respectability.
BMW Sauber edged that duel in 2007, but Williams are the team on the rise, which could leave Fernando Alonso simply collecting the scraps on his return to Renault, unless he truly has been pulling the wool over people's eyes of late.
Then there are the remaining waifs and strays who have it within themselves to pose the odd shock result now and again, but who are primarily anxious to avoid the dreaded 'nul points' come the end of the year.
The previous text would lend itself to suggest Formula One is boring and predictable, but in truth, and as 2007 proved, that is far from the case.
When it comes to Formula One, expect the unexpected could not be more apt.
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The organisers of the Australian Grand Prix are hoping to reach a compromise with Bernie Ecclestone relating to the start time of future races.
Ecclestone has long called for the season-opening event to be run at night to satisfy the demand of a hungry European audience, and the burgeoning Middle East market.
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation, who run the Melbourne race, are unwilling to jump to Ecclestone's call as they claim it is not possible from a logistical and financial standpoint.
In a bid to appease Ecclestone, Sunday's grand prix will start at 3.30pm (4.30am GMT), 90 minutes later than in previous years.
If there is an increase in viewing figures, there is the prospect of next year's race commencing at the twilight time of 5pm (6am GMT).
AGPC chairman Ron Walker is hoping that will satisfy Ecclestone, and so safeguard the event's future beyond the expiry of their current contract in 2010.
But as Ecclestone this week asserted: "It needs to be a night race. It (Walker's plan) doesn't help a lot. That's not really what we're looking for."
As Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George found to his cost last year when it came to the United States Grand Prix, you either do as Bernie says, or you fall by the wayside.
The USGP ultimately had to bite the bullet, and so will Australia unless Walker agrees to Ecclestone's demands because when it comes to this kind of situation, there is only ever one winner.
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Ron Dennis roused his troops this week with a Churchillian speech before defiantly departing for Melbourne.
Dennis had become the subject of feverish speculation relating to his future in recent weeks as the fall-out from the spy scandal continued.
The visit by Italian police to his home and those of other senior McLaren personnel had raised the question as to whether Dennis was the right man to continue leading the team.
At the age of 60, given the painful separation from his wife only recently and the fact he is a multi-millionaire, there were those who felt Dennis would opt to slip away quietly into the background.
The gossip was he would relinquish his roles as chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group, and team principal of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, while the German manufacturers would buy the 15% stake he still owns in the company.
But not a bit of it.
As far as Dennis is concerned, he is not prepared to bow out on the back of the most ignominious of seasons in McLaren's history.
To that end, on Monday he gathered together the hundreds of staff who work at the team's Woking headquarters and informed them he is no quitter and he would be continuing.
Dennis is either brave or foolhardy. As always, time will tell on that one.
source : www.sportinglife.com
