MotorSport/Justin Hynes: The Austrian Gran Prix's demonstration of the might of Ferrari, where Michael Schumacher ran almost a second a lap faster than anyone else, might have been enlivened by the blaze that threatened to engulf the world champion's F2003-GA.
But in the paddock hopes of a similarly explosive weekend of gossip turned out to be a damp squib, with only the possible departure of Ilmor's disaffected boss Mario Ilien to Renault in place of the French manufacturer's boss Jean Jacques lightening the tedium.
He's being touted for a job at Ferrari's road car engine programme, and to wag tongues, the A1-Ring paddock was more about trying to stave off the early weekend mountain chill than halting a raging torrent of rumour and innuendo.
But thanks again must go to the chief of the soundbite, the king of the ellitptically worded hint - step forward Mr Eddie Jordan.
On Saturday, Jordan dropped the biggest hints yet about the destination of his prize asset, Giancarlo Fisichella, come season's end.
The Italian will close out the final year of a two-season deal with Jordan at Suzuka and will once again attempt to line up the front-of-grid drive that has so consistently eluded the supremely talented Roman throughout his eight year F1 career.
And knowing that his best bet is to place Fisi with a view to longer term aid from others, Jordan is helping the Italian in that quest.
Last weekend Jordan admitted that so far the heavy betting is on a berth at either Ferrari or McLaren.
The Jordan boss claimed that he had spoken to representatives of both teams and said that he had talks with one outfit more than the other.
Vague, yes, deliberately obfuscatory perhaps but a good paddock rumour mill worker would be nothing without an ability to extrapolate connections where only the vaguest of road maps has been drawn. Which would lead one to the admittedly speculative conclusion that McLaren are so far Fisi's choicest target.
Kimi Raikkonen will have two seasons with the Silver Arrows under his belt come Japan and after a tough year one, this season has already seen him prove he can be a winner. Indeed, the young Finn still leads the championship as we approach race seven of the season.
Thus, the usefulness of David Coulthard as a consistent point scoring machine for the team is at an end.
With McLaren only ever issuing single year deals, Coulthard's time may well be up come Suzuka as the team attempts to plan for a future built around new talent.
And placing Fisichella at McLaren could be a bonus for Jordan. If the Irishman can place the Italian with Ron Dennis, it may revolve around a swap deal for Coulthard.
The Scot would be a publicity ratings winner for Jordan and for backers Benson & Hedges, who have consistently wanted a British driver at the team.
Anglo-Irishman Ralph Firman is this year's solution and Coulthard - coming with a higher profile - could be next season's media darling for Jordan.
Indeed, a win-win situation for the team would be to retain Firman, who has generated his own large slice of publicity this season and take Coulthard, doubling their options.
Firman has proved a solid racer this season, matching his highly regarded team-mate time for time in the races. Indeed, last weekend he eclipsed Fisi's race times for the first time this season, a further demonstration of the Formula Nippon champion's ability that is only being masked by poor adaptation to F1's single lap qualifying.
A reliable Coulthard and a talented new arrival with a year's racing under his belt could be just the order for Jordan. Ferrari remains more a long shot.
The Schumacher/Barrichello pairing remains a formidable one and it's hard to see the Scuderia splintering that just yet. Fernando Alonso has been mooted as a Schumacher successor but that date still seems a long way off.
And Barrichello still represents the ideal partner - pliant, willing and quick.
To have an Italian at the team and force him to endure a secondary role to Schumacher under the glare of the Italian media spotlight seems like Ferrari's worst nightmare.
Of course, it is all rampant speculation, based on a few veiled hints dropped by the paddock's most notorious wheeler dealer, but such is paddock life. We are, after all, in the rumour business.