Ask one of the teams at this week's opening winter test in Valencia how fast their car is compared to their rivals, and the most likely response is: "It's too early to say."
It's fair to say none of the teams are going to know all of the answers after just three days' running their 2010 cars, built to accommodate maximum fuel loads following the banning of in-race refuelling for the first time in 16 years and, in some cases, to atone for last season's disastrous design flaws.
But engineers from all the teams pore over the lap times set by all the cars, and from that mountain of data they were able to extrapolate the first clues to form ahead of Bahrain's opening grand prix on 14 March.
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, but Michael Schumacher stole all the headlines.
The 41-year-old German had already grabbed a large chunk of attention by making everyone get up early to witness him peel back the tarpaulin on the new Mercedes.
During this fleeting public appearance, he said not a single word, bestowing the crowd with a handful of flashing smiles but leaving them wanting more.
And it was a long wait. It wasn't until 1530, local time here in Spain, that the seven-time world champion returned to the track in an up-to-date Formula 1 car, three years after he had waved goodbye to it all with Ferrari.
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doused his first media interviews for with plenty of his characteristic dry wit at the team's car launch in Valencia.
The 25-year-old Pole signed as a replacement for his -bound best pal but when rumours emerged at the end of the season that Renault were considering quitting F1 - just like his then employers BMW Sauber - Kubica was forced to consider his position.
Looking back now, as he puts the new Renault through its paces in Valencia at the start of pre-season testing, Kubica can only see the funny side of his scenario and raised huge guffaws from the gathered media.
"I have a funny story about Abu Dhabi," Kubica explained. "Some journalist came up to me and said 'Renault are going to retire from F1 why didn't you sign up with Toyota?'"
"Two days later Toyota retired. Maybe he misunderstood the names."
Another journalist in Spain also got a taste of Kubica's sarcasm when he asked him how he felt about not being able to challenge for wins with Renault in the upcoming season.
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People often ask how I came to be the Formula 1 lady for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ website. Well, after being dragged around vintage car rallies and auto jumbles by my Dad, motor racing got under my skin. I am now a fully paid-up member of F1's travelling circus after a year on the road as part of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ team. I look forward to bringing you more on- and off-track adventures here. You can also follow me on .
