
The inconvenient questions posed by Vettel’s Williams run
Sebastian Vettel's demo laps on board his own Williams FW14B were not only a great spectacle for the fans, but were carried out with a fully sustainable, carbon-neutral fuel. And it begs the question - for all of the money F1 has spent on championing hybrids and electric components, could it go back to V8s or V10s with a similar kind of fuel?
The grand prix paddock may be a piranha club at times, but there is no greater unifying force than a loud, iconic Formula 1 car putting in some demo laps.
Every time it has happened recently – whether it was Fernando Alonso reunited with his Renault R25 at Abu Dhabi in 2019, or Mick Schumacher in an F2004 at Mugello in 2020 – tools are downed in the pitlane and everyone finds time to admire the on-track action.

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.
More from Jonathan Noble
Latest news
Hamilton hopes Vettel showed F1 is "about something far bigger"
Lewis Hamilton hopes Sebastian Vettel's efforts to highlight issues outside of Formula 1 will set an example to young drivers to use their platform for "something far, far bigger."
Mercedes: Flashes of F1 form are “annoying” trait of W13
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin admits that the W13 has an “annoying” characteristic of showing glimpses of real potential in Formula 1.
Aston Martin starting "too far to the back" to score strong F1 results
Aston Martin Formula 1 team principal Mike Krack admits that the Silverstone outfit has to address its qualifying issues to be able to score more the occasional point.
Las Vegas GP date leaked, F1 race could pair with Abu Dhabi
The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix night race has a preliminary race date of November 16-18 next year that could form a glitzy season-ending back-to-back with Abu Dhabi.
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbon fibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? Pat Symonds considers the alternatives to carbon fibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting
The traits that fuelled Alonso's unexpected Aston Martin F1 move
Fernando Alonso’s bombshell switch to Aston Martin sent shockwaves through Formula 1, not least at Alpine that finds itself tangled in a contract standoff with Oscar Piastri. Not shy of a bold career move and with a CV punctuated by them, there were numerous hints that trouble was brewing.
The elements Ferrari must resolve to first save face, then win championships
OPINION: Ferrari's Formula 1 title hopes look all but over after another strategic blunder in last week's Hungarian Grand Prix denied Charles Leclerc the chance to fight for victory, while handing it to chief rival Max Verstappen. The Scuderia now faces intense scrutiny over what it must now do to finally become a genuine factor in championship battles
The clues about Hamilton’s F1 retirement plans after Vettel decision
OPINION: Sebastian Vettel is set to leave Formula 1 at the end of 2022 and will, rather shockingly, be replaced by Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin. But what about the final chapter of the other driver that defined the post-Michael Schumacher era? In Hungary, Lewis Hamilton spoke about his future in the context of Vettel’s upcoming departure, which offered clues on how long it will last.
Why all signs point to F1’s Monaco special relationship continuing
OPINION: With more potential venues than there are slots in future calendars, rumours have been circulating that the Monaco Grand Prix could be a casualty of F1’s expansion into new markets. But Mark Gallagher thinks this is highly unlikely.
Hungarian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
The Hungarian Grand Prix race result, after a dry race held without safety car conditions, bore little resemblance to what was anticipated after qualifying. While certain drivers were nullified by some iffy strategy calls, others shone to grasp opportunities afforded to them in the last F1 race before the summer break

Alfa Romeo struggling to find FP1 slot for Pourchaire
Aston Martin: "Super critical" to understand F1 upgrades in Austria
