While it's often said in motor racing that you're only as good as your last race, such is the competitiveness of Formula 1 that what really matters is how good you're going to be at the next one.
That's why, before the first champagne corks had been popped to celebrate Lewis Hamilton's world championship success in Abu Dhabi, thoughts for most in the paddock were already on what needs to be done to stop Mercedes in its tracks in 2015.
But while the optimists of the paddock may be full of confidence that the winter will allow Mercedes' rivals to close down what is a pretty significant gap, there are other voices offering darker predictions about what we should expect.