It has been known since the latter half of last season that a competitively rejuvenated Mahindra will enter the new Formula E season among the favourites to at least win races again and perhaps even challenge for a title - but the wider question of its Gen4 commitment as a manufacturer has been the principal talking point.
This commitment has flip-flopped throughout the last six months at least, as the Indian company has gone through an epic evaluation of whether to continue as a manufacturer or become a customer team, utilising power and equipment provided for by a rival brand.
That question has been answered - as Mahindra announced, in India, on Wednesday, that it will build its own car for the Gen4 period, extending its commitment to the all-electric world championship having been the original manufacturer to do so back in 2013.
Why it took such a long time is a question that much of the paddock was looking for an answer on - and The Race got one of sorts from team principal Frederic Bertrand on Wednesday.
"It's more a matter of making the right decision at the right time," he said.
"People very quickly forget where we were less than 24 months ago. We were struggling so much we were not necessarily giving confidence to anyone, including the group, but also the people [new recruits] joining the team.
"So, the moment you want to go on a new generation to get into a full new adventure with a car which is very demanding, super attractive, but also probably quite complex, and more complex in terms of development and the way to run that car properly - you need to evaluate a lot.
"I would not say it took long. It just comes at the right moment when we are able to own [the decision] and [be sure of] all the level of confidence that people are giving us and the level of support. And now we have that level of support, and we will make sure that we will get there with a great car developed by a great team and be able to be performing."
Bertrand has had to navigate some serious internal machinations to justify and secure the continuation of the programme.
Mahindra's lamentable start to the Gen3 era in 2023, when it was by far the least competitive of the six manufacturers and finished second from bottom of the points table, was a barometer of sorts.
This is where the Mahindra decision-makers undoubtedly got the wobbles about their investment, and it then took healing to regroup. Healing equates to time, and this was the key reason for the delays.
Ultimately, Mahindra believes that, after an evaluation of which model it wants to compete with, being a manufacturer (especially under the relatively new financial regulations) outweighs the simpler but seemingly and increasingly less beneficial, from a competitive standpoint, customer model.
"We will always evaluate the best way of participating to Gen4 in the most competitive way," added Bertrand.
"So, that's why we think being a manufacturer is the best way. Then there are plenty of other reasons, [some of] which are linked to the structure of the team itself, because we think that the team is now stronger and able to manage a new development."
Will late decision hurt Mahindra?
This is a question that a few of Mahindra's rivals are asking right now. Some are openly assuming that Bertrand has perhaps been deliberately casting a riddle of sorts in the decision. Might Mahindra actually have been committed all along?
The Race can reveal that it signed up for the manufacturer registration just prior to the recent Monteblanco Gen4 test and that its head of performance Josef Holden attended it.
That signing-up was something that fellow Gen4 pontificator Penske had not done and, as a consequence, it wasn't entitled to attend. It gave Mahindra some access to initial data even though it was unable to run a car at Monteblanco.
Three years ago, Mahindra was in a not dissimilar situation when its Gen3 project was running late, despite, ironically, a very early commitment to it (at Valencia in 2021).
But the team is a very different one to that time - with Bertrand having recruited significantly since his start of his tenure in December 2022, executing a youth policy that has given added responsibility to relatively junior engineers.
The immediate question though is whether Mahindra will be able to make the second group test in mid-January.
On the face of it that would seem unlikely, yet as one senior rival told The Race this week: "If they do then we will know, they've been planning it all along."
Irrespective of that, Bertrand was confident that the relative lateness of Mahindra's commitment won’t impact upon it too much.
"The planning is quite clear on when we get parts, when we get cars, when we get ready to go on track, when we get ready to deliver and build the cars," added Bertrand.
"Yes, it's a little bit later than the other manufacturers but on the other side we have been able to learn from what happened in that [Monteblanco] test.
"But even if it's a disadvantage not to be there, it's something that we will have to compensate for later.
"But right now the goal is really to focus on ourselves, make sure that we all are on the same line internally and with our suppliers and with the common suppliers to be sure that we have cars ready to run early in 2026 and then go for our normal development programme."
The talk is confident at present - and Mahindra becoming the sixth confirmed Gen4 manufacturer after Jaguar, Nissan, Stellantis, Lola and Porsche is also a late boost for Formula E.
"I think everything's lined up beautifully for them, which makes sense for their auto business," Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds told The Race.
"The timing is good for the car and the development of the car; they've got two good drivers [in Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries]. I was always hopeful that, even though it was late in the day, they would decide to make the manufacturer commitment.
"This gives us six manufacturers on the grid, going into Gen4 and two of them [Porsche and Stellantis] are really doubling down with their manufacturer investment into teams, and on top of that you've got branded teams with Cupra [Kiro] and Yamaha [Lola ABT] as well."
