Has too much downforce made F1 too easy?

Social media footage of Charles Leclerc driving one-handed and flat-out at Suzuka last weekend has reignited the debate over whether Formula 1 has become too easy - but is it as simple as that?

Jonathan Noble Oct 17, 2019, 8:29 AM

Upd: Oct 17, 2019, 4:28 PM

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There are not many places on the Formula 1 calendar that spark a glint in the eyes of drivers like Suzuka.

The sweeping Esses, the two Degners, Spoon and 130R all bring their own unique challenges. And then when you add in the old school grass and gravel runoff areas, it takes it to a new level.

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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.

Jonathan has won multiple awards for journalism - in 1991 he was the winner of the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Sir William Lyons’ Award for young journalists, in 2010 he was awarded the Outstanding Individual accolade for consumer journalism in the Haymarket wards, in 2011 he won Haymarket’s Scoop of the Year, and in 2018 he was awarded a prestigious Medaglia d’Oro at the Lorenzo Bandini Awards for his contribution to F1 journalism.