The bad decisions that have brought F1 to its knees
OPINION: Formula 1 is under attack - its 2019 season declared dull and predictable, and its rare moments of entertainment wrecked by penalties. A run of decisions made in 2012-2013 are to blame for this moment of crisis
Even the most die-hard of Formula 1 fans would have struggled to defend the French Grand Prix from the critics who let rip after a less than stellar race last Sunday.
Yes, for 30 seconds on the final lap, the back-straight shenanigans involving Lando Norris, the two Renaults and Kimi Raikkonen were utterly brilliant. But that was about it for entertainment.
Share Or Save This Story
Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.
More from Jonathan Noble
Audi a player, not a spectator, in F1 driver market - Sauber
Mercedes joins Williams and RB with 'quick and cheap' F1 cockpit airflow upgrades
Alpine gets F1 spare car for first time in 2024 as lighter chassis appears in China
Russell: Mercedes locked in F1 "battle of fine margins"
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
Hamilton: Ferrari F1 switch doesn't need "vindicating"
The story behind Shanghai's "painted" F1 track surprise
Williams may as well “go home” if spares situation changes its F1 approach, says Albon
Latest news
Why Norris' China F1 sprint pole lap was deleted and reinstated
Norris' F1 China sprint pole lap down to "all or nothing" approach
F1 team-mates' qualifying battles: Chinese GP
2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying results: Norris takes pole
Autosport Plus
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
What the Chinese GP's highlights reveal about its first F1 race for five years
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.