Why F1 shouldn't be afraid of trying sprint races

Formula 1's push to experiment with qualifying races has divided opinions among its fanbase, but Jonathan Noble argues F1 should at least give it a try.

Jonathan Noble Feb 11, 2021, 10:13 AM

Formula 1 is a sport that is both strengthened and shackled by tradition.

Its current success owes a lot to its glorious past, with a direct line that can be traced back from the contemporary car and drivers to those initial first steps as a world championship back in 1950.

Teams like Ferrari, and races like the Monaco Grand Prix, are so big now because of their history. Their past success make what happens right now even more important. Yet equally, F1's past can weigh heavy at times.

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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.