Does F1 testing need an injection of fresh excitement?

OPINION: Formula 1's 2023 pre-season testing has been fully televised and has drawn criticism from fans for what they perceive as a boring spectacle. So, should the series look at adding some spice to winter testing to make it a more engaging event?

After an extended Formula 1 winter break and a launch season that left us with as many questions as answers, this week's official pre-season test was always going to generate huge hype. Even without the generational change of new rules era cars like we had 12 months ago, the intrigue over seeing how each team's new challengers stack up never gets old.

And it is as interesting a time for teams as it is for fans. After weeks of isolation, as competitors work alone on their new cars, pre-season running means trying to unlock as much understanding as you can from your own car, without giving too much knowledge away to your rivals.

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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.