Well, well, well, so Max Mosley has won a vote of confidence in his position as FIA president at a meeting of the governing body's general assembly. Apart from the fact that I would be fascinated to hear precisely the arguments which he employed to sway the voters, and it certainly is impressive - mathematically, at least - I wonder at the end of the day whether it really changes everything.
On the one hand, convening the general assembly was the only real mechanism available to him as a way of vindicating himself. But does it really change anything? Approval from a group of motor racing insiders only means that the sport's pain and discomfort will continue.
Mosley now faces the very real prospect of being a lame duck president, shunned by major Formula One investors and car companies alike, after his longtime colleague Bernie Ecclestone finally called on him to make the ultimate sacrifice and resign voluntarily from his post to avoid the risk of humiliation.
Even as late as the eve of the FIA general assembly meeting, Ecclestone had involved in a delicate balancing act, attempting to protect the wider commercial interests of the formula one business while at the same time remaining loyal to his old friend and collaborator of almost 40 years together with whom he has transformed the sport from a specialised niche interest to a televised global spectacle.
I just hope that Max will be savvy enough to realise that, having now made his point, he should now seriously consider his position.
Voting in the EGA was made by secret ballot. Votes were counted in private by the FIA legal department in the presence of four scrutineers, selected by the EGA from a list of Delegates proposed by the Chairman of the meeting (the President of the FIA Senate).
The entire voting procedure was supervised by an external Huissier de Justice (French state-appointed public witness). So that's the end of that. Or is it just the beginning?