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An Affair to Remember

For those who cover Formula One Grands Prix regularly, the Italian Grand Prix weekend proved like no other. And it was the weekend where everyone at the paddock had one thing on their mind. Jonathan Noble recounts a unique experience for a veteran Formula One journalist

Jonathan Noble Sep 13, 2006, 1:09 PM

When did you know?

That was the biggest question buzzing around the Monza paddock on Sunday night after Michael Schumacher finally announced what we had mostly suspected but could not say for definite.

It is very rare to head into a Grand Prix openly aware that a big news story, beyond just the race, is going to happen at a specific time. Knowing it was coming may have given those of us reporting on the weekend more time to prepare stories in advance, but it also increased the pressure in trying to find out what was going on.

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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.