The focus at today's British Grand Prix is all on Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, and the latest twist in their fascinating battle - as indeed it has been for much of the season.
It's what Formula One was hoping for - two world champions in different teams slugging it out, the races decided by small details, uncertainty at every grand prix.
But this season might not be as simple as that. Valtteri Bottas' victory in Austria last Sunday put him just 15 points behind his Mercedes teammate, who is 20 behind Vettel, and suddenly all the talk in the paddock was about the quiet Finn as a title contender.
On paper, he genuinely is.
Bottas has won two races, while Hamilton and Vettel both have three victories.
Delivered more effectively
Hamilton has five pole positions to Bottas' two, but the Finn's average qualifying position is 2.3 and Hamilton's 3.1. And on average qualifying lap time, there is nothing to choose between them - Bottas is actually ahead of the man regarded as the fastest driver by 0.026secs after nine races.
On the weekends on which Mercedes struggled with tyres - Russia and Monaco - Bottas delivered more effectively than Hamilton.
Bottas has even had a retirement - with an engine failure in Spain - which cost him third place, or 15 points. Without that, he and Hamilton would be level.
No wonder a somewhat downcast Hamilton said after the race in Austria: "When you look at the results, he has had a DNF [did not finish] as well so he has generally had a better season so far. But there was never a point that he wasn't in the fight."
What Bottas has achieved with Mercedes this year is impressive in any circumstances, especially as the 27-year-old joined Mercedes only in January after Nico Rosberg's retirement as world champion. And one imagines it will be enough to secure him a new contract at the end of the season.
As for whether he is a realistic title contender, there is an opposing argument.
First of all, Hamilton has been unlucky.
Had his head restraint not come loose during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he would have won that race, Bottas would have been third not second and Vettel fifth not fourth.
And had Hamilton's gearbox not needed to be changed for Austria, he would have finished at least third, not fourth.
All of which would have made the current gap to Bottas, 36, and the two main contenders dead level...