The discussion of driver moves before the grand prix year has reached its halfway stage is known as the "silly season". In years gone by, barely have four races been run before there is talk of a driver's new destination for the following season.
This year has been unique. It's the year of the anti-silly season. Instead of drivers' moves being made, deals being done and everyone struggling to keep the rumours under control till October, the reverse has happened.
Fernando's move to Ferrari - who already had two announced and contracted drivers for 2010 - was on and off and on again dependent on the Scuderia tying up a deal with Kimi Raikkonen to leave. Until that deal was done, nobody knew who was getting arguably the third best driver (Kimi) on the grid.
With Ferrari having reached down the back of all the sofas in Maranello to find enough loose change to keep the Finn in beer, mullets and tattoos, they have been able to welcome Fernando to the fold - much to the relief of 2010 sponsor Banco Santander.
Now, the questions is, what's going to happen next? Let's go through the runners and riders.
Robert Kubica Is confirmed as Renault's lead driver, but the team will have to step up a gear next year now they've lost Alonso. Their position in the Constructors' table is slightly artificial because Fernando has hauled them up there by the bootstraps. It's going to be a very tough call given that both Pat Symmonds and Flavio Briatore have gone. Both were part of the fabric of the team and they'll have to hope for some more engine equalisation
Romain Grosjean Still has a lot to prove at Renault but being French has its advantages. Along with Kubica, they can become The Wild Ones.
Jenson Button Will most likely stay at Brawn, even though negotiations aren't going as well as he'd like. The second he becomes World Champion he has a lot more negotiating power, because Ross would dearly love to have a No.1 on one of his cars.
Nico Rosberg In the eyes of many Nico has been pencilled in alongside Jenson Button at Brawn. Certainly if Mercedes are going to take a major stakeholding in the team then he is the likely arrival.
Nick Heidfeld I've got nothing against Heikki Kovalainen, who comes across as one of the most likeable characters on the grid (unlike Rubens who comes across as laughing, jovial Mr.Jocular when he's winning and Mr Snotbag when he's not happy). Sometimes you think Heikki is just too damned nice for F1. But... It would be good to see Nick Heidfeld in the second McLaren. Heidfeld has matched Kubica and beaten him on occasion at BMW and Heidfeld has been a contracted Mclaren driver in the past. And he's German.
If not McLaren, then Toyota. If Rosberg goes to McLaren then maybe Brawn.
Rubens Barrichello The fact that Rubens Barrichello's name hasn't been connected with the Brawn team for 2010 would seem to indicate that
a) They believe Jenson will clinch the title and...
b) Mercedes future involvement is determining the selection of the second driver.
Rubens is believed to be in serious discussions with Williams for a 2010 drive. The Grove team look keen to promote Nico Hulkenberg to a race seat and Barrichello's brilliance at setting up a race car will be the perfect match.
Timo Glock Something that Timo Glock does very well - that's rarely needed in the refuelling era of F1 - is nurse his car along on big fuel loads. That ability will come to the fore next year. Right now, though, he hasn't had the most impressive of years and if he can secure himself a seat at Renault, or better, he'll have got a result.
If Trulli is truly leaving Toyota, then Timo has an outside chance to stay on.
Jarno Trulli Following John Howett's comments this week, there doesn't look any possibility of Trulli continuing at Toyota. What the team needs and wants is someone of the calibre of Massa/Alonso/Hamilton/Raikkonen/Kubica/Vettel, someone who can get a result despite the car. Which means Trulli will be off somewhere - and someone like USF1 could really do with his experience.
Kazuki NakajimaHaving dropped Toyota engines, Kazuki Nakajima will be leaving Williams. Right now the Toyota team need results, so it's not really the time for taking back their prodigy. If the Toyota engine supply goes to a smaller team, then who knows.
Giancarlo Fisichella Hindsight's a wonderful thing and Giancarlo must be wondering now if his fervor to get into a red car has been at the expense of a 2010 drive. His exact contractual arrangements haven't been made public, but Tonio Liuzzi looks to be doing a fair old job in his place.
Nelson Piquet After Manor Motorsport boss John Booth described Nelson Piquet as a 'good little driver', he quickly backed away with an assertion that his comments didn't mean they were thinking of running him in 2010. Certainly if Virgin are going to be taking a major investment in Manor - their mantra seems to be image over substance. Romain Grosjean's results compared to Alonso's are proving that Piquet probably wasn't as bad as people thought he was, but no sponsor wants their brand to be associated with him. And that's Piquet's massive miscalculation.
Mark Webber There's been an odd rumour floating around that Kimi Raikkonen could move to Red Bull to replace the Flavio Briatore-managed Webbo. From a marketing point of view I can't see a soft drinks firm hiring F1's most famous alcohol drinker.
Heikki Kovalainen
The longer that Mclaren take to announce their 2010 line-up, the greater chance that Kovalainen has in staying where he is. If Martin Whitmarsh wants to use his second driver as a 'data gatherer' for Lewis then he has the perfect arrangement at the moment.
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