So that's it for F1 pre-season testing 2015. In less than two weeks, the cars will be lining up on the grid in Australia, and we'll know for sure just how fast the Mercedes is, how much improved the Ferrari is, and how many laps the McLaren will do before it breaks down.
Ferrari has shown good pace, amazingly
Clearly, Mercedes has won the pre-season testing championship, with near-metronomic reliability and a turn of speed that's terrified the other teams (it's a good second clear of the rest). Most have seemingly already written off their chances of getting near them, instead focusing on being the best of the rest. And, unexpectedly, the best at the moment is Ferrari. Nobody saw that coming - least of all, we may assume, Fernando Alonso.
He's had other things to deal with, mind: that nasty crash in testing last weekend seems to have been more serious than we first thought, evidenced by his extended stay in hospital and the fact he sat out the rest of the winter test on doctor's advice. But why don't we still know exactly what happened? Because, remarkably, in-car cameras are not mandatory during testing.
You'd think the teams would insist on it, to see what's happening, how the car's reacting and so on: race fans may not spot the significance of minute steering inputs but you can bet engineers would, particularly if they had reams of data to cross-reference. They could at least stick a GoPro on, surely? But no - so we have no evidence of just what caused Fernando's crash.
Ironically, moves were already underway to rectify this odd situation before Alonso went off: team bosses voted in favour of making high-speed cameras mandatory whenever an F1 car's on track. Now, the rule is set to be pushed ahead so it can come into force from 2016. Not before time.
Marussia really could be back for 2015
A remarkable F1 comeback may be in store for the former Marussia team. Now out of administration after team boss John Booth and chief exec Graeme Lowdon secured a company voluntary agreement to pay off creditors, the team is now busily converting its 2014 race car to 2015 spec - and hoping to race in Australia on March 15.
Now back to being called Manor GP, it's being run out of the team's original base in Dinnington, Yorkshire after its Banbury HQ was sold to Haas F1. Booth says everyone's "working round the clock" to get the car ready. They've already signed up British driver Will Stevens and others are apparently queuing up (presumably with chequebooks) to get into the second car. If they pull it off, it will be little short of amazing.
Indeed, F1 may welcome the Manor GP cars with open arms - Force India's Bob Fernley this weekend admitted the team is suffering cashflow problems, and also revealed Lotus and Sauber are in the same boat (thanks Bob, both may say). It's possible that, without assistance, at least one of the teams may not make the season opener in Melbourne. Over to you, Bernie.
A Walkinshaw back in sportscar racing!
The Walkinshaw name returns to sportscars in 2015: 21 year-old Sean Walkinshaw, son of the late Tom Walkinshaw, will this year race full time in the Blancpain GT series. Driving a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 for German team MRS GT-Racing, he makes the switch to GTs from single seaters, which he's been driving since 2011.
Rather impressively, that's not all he's doing, either - since 2012, he's been team owner of Sean Walkinshaw Racing, running cars in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship. Like father, like son? We'll be watching the ambitious young Belgian-born Scot with interest.
NASCAR nabbed
Curious motorsport story of the week has to be NASCAR Sprint Cup outfit Team Xtreme having its #44 Chevrolet stolen from outside a hotel en route to the Atlanta race. Yes, really. Thieves unhitched the trailer containing it from the team's pick-up and nabbed it. Adverse weather forecasts had forced all teams to change their travel plans, Team Xtreme included, which is why it wasn't in the main race truck.
Driver Travis Kvapil had been due to race it and was understandably puzzled by it. "Wow. Anyone near Atlanta find my stolen Cup car let me know! Unreal", he tweeted. But, although the team missed the Atlanta race, there was a happy ending: cops found the car dumped but apparently undamaged. The team's now busily checking and preparing the car for the next round in Las Vegas.