Jonathan Noble: Online

I had a bit of what I would call a treat last weekend. Like a pass by Halley's Comet, an afternoon sat on the sofa watching both Formula One and MotoGP within a couple of hours of each other is something that doesn't happen very often for me.

But thanks to my son's first birthday, the ease of finding some cover for the German Grand Prix, and some fortunate planning by the F1 and MotoGP calendar makers, I was able to sit down and watch matters with a cool drink in my hand and not a notepad nor Dictaphone in sight.

But despite being able to watch events at Hockenheim and Laguna Seca for pure entertainment, I went to bed that night wondering whether F1 is missing some tricks when it comes to improving the show and embracing its audience better.

Valentino Rossi leads Casey Stoner down the Corkscrew © DPPI

And I'm not talking about the on-track stuff. The arguments about overtaking have been raging for years and, although Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner's battle at Laguna Seca was truly breathtaking to watch, let's not forget that some MotoGP events this year have been boring processions.

The thing that got me thinking about what F1 could do better, was the post-race interviews - and how MotoGP is always delivering a much more honest appraisal of a riders' feelings on a race than we get in F1.

Rather than do it to the F1 way and wait for the podium ceremony and post-race formalities to conclude before the first press conference, allowing a hot under the collar loser to calm his feelings down, MotoGP lets the camera crews get to work as soon as the rider returns to parc ferme.

So on Sunday night it was the BBC who got the lucky scoop in witnessing Rossi and Stoner have their 'face off' right in front of their cameras, before Stoner let rip about his feelings on his opponent's riding. That moment was as good as some of Rossi's moves in the first place.

You can argue that comments made in the heat of the moment can sometimes blow incidents out of all proportion, but we are in the entertainment business, aren't we? Let the men be men and tell us what they really think, rather than just thank another sponsor for the 15th time.

The F1 teams would hate such honesty (and how on earth would the press officers get their shiny new sponsor jackets onto the drivers before such formalities?), but at a time when the sport should be doing all it can to deliver more to the public, wouldn't we all be better off getting a reaction straight after the race?

It's this portrayal of raw emotion that MotoGP does so well. I was reminded of that recently when I watched once again the feature film 'Faster', which has just been released on iTunes.

Poster of the movie "Faster"

For those who aren't aware of the film, it was a warts and all behind-the-scenes documentary from 2003 charting the personalities, history, and attraction of grand prix motorcycle racing - all narrated wonderfully by Ewan McGregor (who famously said about it afterwards: "This film f***ing rocks")

It does a brilliant job of lifting the lid on the sport's personalities - with one of the highlights being the explanation of the feud between Rossi and Max Biaggi. And it has some great footage of the hoo-haa surrounding their famous punch-up on the stairs at the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix

Don't take my word for it, though. Even if you've never watched a MotoGP race before, if you like motor racing I challenge you to pick up a copy of 'Faster' on DVD or download it on iTunes, and not enjoy it.

But do more than that, though. After watching it, just wonder what it would be like to get Bernie Ecclestone to give his blessing to F1's own version of 'Faster' - getting Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Nelson Piquet, Mika Hakkinen, Alain Prost et al answering openly and honestly about what makes them tick.

And to paraphrase McGregor's opening line in the film: "How do they do it? Why do they do it? Driving. And crashing. And Driving. And winning. And always faster, and faster, and faster."

It's amazing what an afternoon on the sofa does to you...