This Sunday in Brazil it's entirely likely that Fernando Alonso will wrap up the Formula One drivers' title, the crown and the accolade of being the sport's youngest ever champion. His efforts, which have been held back by the fumbling McLaren team's attempts to put up a fight, will finally pay off. Game over. See you in March.
Sure, there will be two rounds left, in Japan and China, but these will merely be laps of honour for the Spaniard and of little practical use for motorsport fans.
So, where to get your jollies in the long cold winter months? Well, in the hours before Alonso sets about the task of lifting the title in Brazil, at colder and less glamorous Brands Hatch the curtain will go up on a new venture which could soon prove to be the single biggest threat to F1's dominance of top flight motorsport, all with the added bonus of an Irish interest.
A1 GP is the brainchild of Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum and, while his is not a name that trips off the tongue as easily as that of Bernie Ecclestone, it's one we might be hearing more of in the future.
The premise is simple. Formula One is about manufacturers, about high-technology, about brands with the drivers often appearing secondary to the pursuit of high finance, high octane thrills.
Maktoum felt the driver was being left out, and decided to change things. From this the A1 world cup of motorsport was born. A 25-nation series with countries fielding a single car each, their drivers having to hold a passport of the competing nation.
Now, a little under two years after its inception, A1 will this Sunday kick off with a first round at Brands Hatch. From there it will take in two more European rounds, at Lausitzring in Germany and Estoril in Portugal, before heading overseas for rounds in Indonesia, China, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and the US.
Last Thursday Ireland became the 22nd nation to sign up, A1 GP Team Ireland getting its official launch in Dublin under the stewardship of businessman and chief executive Mark Kershaw, ex-Jordan Grand Prix marketing chief Mark Gallagher, who will act as team principal, and featuring ex-Jordan F1 driver Ralph Firman as its lead driver.
Firman, an Irish passport holder thanks to his Kildare-born mother, is the man charged with leading the Irish challenge, though not immediately. The ex-Jordan racer has unbreakable commitments elsewhere, with Honda this weekend and cannot race at Brands. So, step forward 20-year-old Dubliner Michael Devaney. A fortnight ago he was contemplating closing his second season in German F3 with a second place finish in the series.
A phone call later and he was being installed as A1 Ireland's reserve driver and being told he would open the team's challenge this Sunday against the likes of former F1 star Jos Verstappen of the Netherlands, Red Bull Racing tester Scott Speed of the US and Brazil's Nelson Piquet Jnr.
"My aim is to go out there, drive a clean race and hopefully I'll be able to sneak into the points," says the young Dubliner. "It's a fantastic opportunity. This is the equivalent of pulling on a green jersey and getting to play for the Irish soccer team."
For Gallagher the target is clear: "We're going out there to win races. We're not there to make up the numbers. If I looked forward and saw that we finished outside the top six at the end of the season, I'd be very, very disappointed, I have to say. I will only be really happy if we're in the top four. It is achievable."
Coverage of the opening A1 GP race at Brands Hatch is on Sky Sports this Sunday.