Why brilliant Le Mans must not tempt F1 down Balance of Performance path

OPINION: While Formula 1 had a weekend off, the Le Mans 24 Hours dominated the headlines with a thrilling centenary race won by Ferrari. But sudden Balance of Performance tweaks during the build-up to the race created controversy and a debate F1 should steer well clear from even amid Red Bull’s era of supremacy

Ferrari’s victory in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours will go down in the history books as a classic. The head-to-head duel between the Prancing Horse and Toyota was on a knife-edge throughout – swinging back and forth as strategy, errant squirrels, power cycles and spins all played their part in deciding the outcome.

In the end, the surge of interest triggered by Ferrari’s first triumph at the endurance classic since 1965 says all you need to know about the value that a big manufacturer duel and an unpredictable battle for a win can bring – especially in a year when Formula 1 has been a bit too rinse and repeat at the front.

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Author Jonathan Noble

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.