The contradictions that prevent a perfect F1

The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix was unpredictable and dramatic, just as the Bahrain race that preceded it ended up being close and tense. Those two opposing outcomes demonstrate why achieving the perfect racing formula is so tough.

Jonathan Noble Apr 19, 2018, 1:11 PM

Upd: Apr 19, 2018, 1:16 PM

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Daniel Ricciardo's stunning victory in China last weekend came in a Formula 1 race that was as good as it gets in the modern era.

The mixture of his perfectly "brutal" overtaking moves, brilliant team strategy, variation in tyre compounds and some controversial clashes elsewhere served up a treat for fans. Coming just three weeks after a season opener in Melbourne that prompted talk of an overtaking crisis, the Shanghai race also helped to calm nerves that F1 was at risk of being a total yawn fest in 2018.

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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.