The Australian Grand Prix may yet have a 10th team, and 20 cars, on the grid for the start of the Formula One World Championship on March 15, but the great Fernando Alonso could be missing.
The Marussia team that was in administration for four months is racing against time to return under its original name, Manor (before it became Virgin Racing), while Alonso may not make the 24-hour flight from Europe to Australia after his crash while testing the newly Honda-powered McLaren.
McLaren chief Ron Dennis has said that Alonso is "physically perfect" after medical checks and three nights in hospital and when asked whether the Spanish dual world champion would race in Melbourne replied: "I can't foresee any reason why not."
Dennis then added: "But I'm not the doctor."
Alonso is resting at home in Oviedo, far away from the final F1 pre-season test in Barcelona, and his manager Luis Garcia Abad said: "He is OK -- talking, eating, doing every normal people do."
Abad too was asked specifically whether Alonso would be fit for Melbourne and replied: "What we think about is the [season-ending] Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is the most important one when you want to win the world championship.
"When Fernando is perfectly rested and the doctors tell us that everything is in place he will start working again.
"It [last Sunday's crash at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya] was a major blow, so we comply with the medical protocol."
Dennis said Alonso had been unconscious briefly after hitting a safety wall side-on.
McLaren has repeatedly denied speculation that he lost consciousness as the result of an electric shock or battery fumes before the crash.
And, while not revealing figures, Dennis said the G-forces in Alonso's helmet were "significantly less ... less than half" those the car absorbed.
Kevin Magnussen, relegated to McLaren's reserve driver this year with Alonso returning to the team from Ferrari, could replace the Spaniard for the Australian GP, at which the young Dane was on the podium in his debut last year.
Elsewhere on the driver front, Lotus – one of the struggling teams that were midfielders but risk becoming tailenders if Marussia eventually goes the way of Caterham, has named a woman development driver.
She is 26-year-old Spaniard Carmen Jorda, who has driven more than 40 races in F1's GP3 support category -- without scoring a championship point - after five in America's Indy Lights.
Jorda has even less credentials for an F1 race seat than the Williams team's Susie Wolff, the wife of Mercedes team boss (and Williams shareholder) Toto Wolff.
The Lotus appointment, in particular, does nothing for the cause of women with F1 ambitions when multiple race winners from GP2 and other categories can't find opportunities at the top level.
While the team has said she will get track time in its E23 car at some stage this year, there is no way, on her form, she will gain a "super licence" to race in a GP.
Brazilian Felipe Massa topped the timesheet on the first day of the final four-day pre-season test in Barcelona last night in the latest Mercedes-powered Williams and declared: "I still believe Mercedes [factory team] has the best car … they have something in their pocket."
Mercedes' world champion Lewis Hamilton was almost 1.4 seconds slower than Massa, with Swede Marcus Ericsson second-fastest in a Sauber-Ferrari -- less than 0.8 seconds behind the Brazilian.
Mercedes has concentrated on reliability throughout testing and not used soft or super-soft tyres much like some of the other teams, or perhaps run on low fuel loads yet.
However, Hamilton was restricted to 48 laps last night because of a problem with his power unit's energy recovery system.
The McLaren-Honda continued to have problems, with Jenson Button doing only seven laps - and only one of them a timed lap -- because of a hydraulic leak that meant an engine change for tonight.
Russian Daniil Kyvat was fourth fastest in Red Bull's Renault-powered RB11 but almost 2.5 seconds slower than Massa. Australian Daniel Ricciardo will do at least two of the remaining three days of testing for Red Bull.
Ferrari will introduce aerodynamic upgrades over the weekend and Kimi Raikkonen has said its new car is "a good step from last year", when it went winless for the first time since 1993.
It is adapting its 2014 cars to comply with this year's new safety rules. Primarily that involves lowering the front bulkhead of the chassis 5cm and changing the nose cone.
The team has named 23-year-old British driver Will Stevens but no second driver yet.
In five years its only world championship points have been the two scored by Frenchman Jules Bianchi with ninth place in last year's Monaco GP.
Bianchi suffered severe head injuries when he hit a recovery crane in the wet Japanese GP last October and he remains in hospital in France, having been transferred from Japan late last year.
Marussia missed the last two GPs last season and its assets were to have been auctioned early this year before new investment, thought to be from a syndicate associated with a former head of Britain's Sainsbury's retail chain, Justin King, saved it.
A statement from the team this week said it was "working 24-7" towards having its cars ready to be freighted from Britain next Friday (March 6).
It has majority support from F1's strategy group comprising the top six teams, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the sport's governing body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
However, No 6 team Force India has opposed Marussia/Manor's return, seemingly wanting to grab a slice of the $A58 million owing to it if can make it back.
Marussia/Manor has until the Bahrain GP on April 19 to front and be eligible for that prizemoney from last season. If it fails that money will be divided equally between the other nine teams.
When it went into administration it had debts of more than A$60 million – with Ferrari its biggest creditor, owed more than half that amount, while McLaren is another major creditor.
As part of its recovery plan Ferrari has agreed to continue supplying the team engines this year.