At the first glance, this name doesn't ring a bell about anybody who could be that attention-worthy, that we would desire to have a private conversation with. In fact, the situation is completely different. Jonathan Noble is the real master of journalism. Majority of the news published in the internet are actually his stories. It is him who asks almost everybody in the paddock during all the races about hot-topics from Formula 1. He had been working for the most popular media from motorsport world, Autosport, for 17 years and since last year he has been working for Motorsport.com. His productivity is so high that he almost reaches a workaholics, however Formula 1 has been his huge and the only passion, so he doesn't find it this way. Since last year we have been trying to stand on our ears in order to have this amazingly knowledgeable and active guy for our own for a short while. In the end, between interviews with one of the technical directors and with Mexican Grand Prix organizer, he found some time for us. Enjoy our fascinating lecture about current Formula 1.
Wojtek Paprota: Firstly, if you had to judge, would you say that nowadays Formula 1 is still a sport, or rather a marketing tool?
Jonathan Noble: "At first we have to say that you can't have a successful sport if it is not marketed well, but where F1 perhaps struggles is trying maximize the best marketing, without compromising it as a sport. You see aspects like DRS for example, that some fans don't like, some fans do like. Next we have the Pirelli tires and concept of being aggressive with degradation, or conservative. There are lots of elements and it sometime struggles to keep all the fans happy by making sure that the races are not too boring. At the core of it, you still have to remember that the spoil can't go down the routine, like wrestling for example, where the entertainment has been put at the top of everything, without having a leveled playing field”.
Wojtek: Do you think that Formula 1 is going towards the right direction now and has a bright future ahead? Does using hybrid, very expensive power units have more negative or positive sides?
Jonathan: "I think that Formula 1 is at the cross at the moment. We came out the era of the manufactures, when we had Renault, BMW, Honda and Toyota - they are all in the worldwide economic downturn. We entered the hybrid era, what probably wasn't as well planed as it should have been. Costs had gone up against the backdrop of not being as much sponsorship flouting around. We got a mix at the moment between a very very expensive sport what can't attract the manufactures and new teams because it is too expensive with the need to protect the independent teams what love the sport. We can see it with Red Bull for example. If the team what put so much money and it isn't winning it no longer makes sense to be there, like Sauber, Force India, or Williams. Even if they finish 9th or 10th, they will not do it for many years”.
Wojtek: What is your opinion about client teams, or client cars? Is it the easiest way for Formula 1 to survive those tough times what we have now?
Jonathan: "It is indeed the easiest way to survive, because you guarantee yourself another 10 cars on the grid with a little expanse and effort, but it is a very short-term solution, because, if you look at Formula 1 nowadays, if Mercedes were running 3 cars, then they would pretty much locked out the podium all the races so far, which then has a big negative impact on Formula 1. We have to be very careful about one team dominating and to avoid it you need a mix and I think that 2-car-teams is the way forwards”.
Wojtek: Has anything surprised you in this year's championship?
Jonathan: "Two things. First one is the step that Ferrari made over the winter, it was very impressive. I didn't think that they would sort it out. Their engine from last year was the worst from the three and that was such a big improvement over the winter, with the power unit. It was of course really positive surprise. On the flip side there is a next surprise with the Renault, what is the second one, they way they stepped back. They way they turned around 2014, from the disaster pre-season, to winning races was impressive and I wouldn't have expected from them to make a step what they made, but it did happened. It is part of the same story, because it is all about engines, but those are the 2 biggest surprises for me”.
Wojtek: I think that after US Grand Prix season is pretty finished because Lewis won the title and it had been widely known for a last couple of weeks who was the world champion, but do you think that year Lewis has proven something what he hasn't last year?
Jonathan: "I think that he has lifted his game. Last year reliability didn't go in his favor, which allowed Nico to hold the advantage in the World Championship. Nico was also regularly out qualifying him, got under his skin last season with a flashpoints in Monaco and Spa and Bahrain and Spain and this year Lewis has risen above all these. His qualifying is fantastic, he has been the fastest driver all season, above of everything and he felt comfortable out of track and probably has driven better than ever in his career”.
Wojtek: We are in final part of the season with 2 races to go and do you think that is it possible that we will see something new, what we haven't seen so far?
Jonathan: "I think that it is still intriguing what happens to Ferrari and Mercedes battle. All season we have seen Ferrari trying to catch Mercedes and Mercedes keeping that edge, but with the new Ferrari update engine which gives a lot of 2016 spec. If it can deliver a step, which puts them on a par with Mercedes, it will be fascinating spring boarding to next year's championship”.
Wojtek: Yes, this is definitely the point what fascinates a lot of fans around the world, but to expand this topic - do you think that Mercedes will play the first fiddle in Formula 1 until the new regulation changes will be introduced, or any team, for example Ferrari, what is the second force now, will be able to catch them sooner?
Jonathan: "I think that Mercedes will go throughout this hybrid engines era as a really strong team and they will be at the front, but Ferrari has a capability, resources and technical structure to catch up, especially with Vettel on board. Even next season. We have seen the steps that Ferrari made this year, and the way the regulations are with the engine tokens, the black box restrictions, the white box restrictions mean that the progress will be much slower. The cycle of progress is this era is much slower than it was in the old F1, but the thing is the capability of Ferrari is on point”.
Wojtek: Speaking about Ferrari - do you see a significant difference between Ferrari with Marco Mattiacci as a team boss from last year and Ferrari with Maurizio Arrivabene as a team boss this year? Do you think that Maurizio is the right man in the right place who has made that team going in the right direction?
Jonathan: "I think that Mattiacci gets a worse reputation or more criticism than he really deserves, but he was the man who got Sebastian Vettel on board, he was the man who was willing to challenge the FIA to change the token system, what regulates the development, what has been a key for this season, so there is a lot work and progress what Ferrari made this year from last year was put in place by Mattiacci. He hasn't been very popular with how he left the team and caused affection with the team and everything was looking like a total disaster, in fact many things have been put in place. I believe that what Arrivabene has done is had an intelligence to step back and let James Allison have a freedom of the technical stuff, which allows him to structure the team the way he wants, to make the changes wherever he needs to make. Arrivabene is not too heavily involved, having actually a step back and letting James just let go with it, was a big help”.
Wojtek: On the other hand we have Red Bull, what has been also a great team over the last few years and they have a little bit critical situation because the said that they have terminated the contract with Renault, but as we all know, Renault hasn't confirmed anything yet. Anyway, them seem to not have an engine supplier for next season and does it mean that their time is up and they should leave Formula 1? Dietrich Mateshitz says that if they can't find a competitive engine supplier they will leave Formula 1 and find any other activities where they can place their people from Milton Keynes. Does it make us think that Formula 1 is still a sport, like we were talking at the beginning?
Jonathan: "For Red Bull Formula 1 is certainly a marketing tool. They are in Formula 1 to raise publicity to sell more energy drinks - that is what it is to them, which I think is why they feel is so simple - they just need winning, because the investment they make and the benefits they get from marketing are essential when they are winning. It seems to be logical that, if they can't have a competitive engine, they don't find it necessarily to be a part of that and they can spend money somewhere else. I agree that it is a critical situation, I don't know how far they are with next car's project and I think that nobody apart from them knows it. Mercedes said "no", Ferrari can't provide 2016 engine, the relationship with Renault is broken and Honda probably is not ready to supply another team. Unless Bernie Ecclestone has a radical plan to bring back the V8, or twin-turbo V6, I can't guess the answer”.
Wojtek: Do you think that it all can be about the money? Niki Lauda says that the negotiations with Mercedes hasn't even started and Toto Wolff just said they Mercedes has decided to not supply Red Bull and the reason itself why they haven't publish the official deal with any manufacture is that they are trying to pay the lowest possible price. Do you think that it can be possible and the situation is not that critical as everybody thinks?
Jonathan: "I am sure that the situation behind the scenes is different to this situation put in public. F1 is a really competitive sport and when you are involved in the negotiations you are not going to tell the rest of the world exactly what you are thinking or what you want. If you want to get more money for your job from your boss for example, you are not going to tell the world that you are happy with the money you get - you are telling that you are deeply unhappy and if you don't get more money, you will leave. It is all part of that game so I am sure that there are negotiations going on behind the scenes. I think that they will start negotiations with Red Bull, because from I am told, Mercedes is interested. They were some thoughts given to them, but in the end of that, the positives outweighed the negatives. In the end, I think that what will happen is that the Ferrari deal will get sorted, but it may be within the very last hours, when Red Bull say that they can still keep their car going and stay in Formula 1”.
Wojtek: Some time ago there were some rumors that Red Bull will buy some assets from CVC and Red Bull Racing team will be bought by Volkswagen. Do you think that it can be possible, as Bernie said that there may be some ownership changes in Formula 1 next year?
Jonathan: "The only scenario with Red Bull buying into Formula 1 as an owner would be probable if they had no longer a team. I don't think that the other teams will put up with a company running the sport and having a team, cause it would be a conflict of interests. It is thistly competitive business. If the plug was pulled on their Formula 1 team, I think that perhaps the best way to capitalize would be to take an ownership and take the marketing. They have much different approach to marketing than CVC, and I think that Red Bull would deal with TV rights, promotion, and fan engagement in a very different way, to the way it stands at the moment. In terms of Volkswagen, I think that 2 months ago it would have been more likely than not to make this deal happened, but the emission scandal has put it in a such a back. I think that even in 2018 would be too early to do it. They have too many issues to sort out”.
Wojtek: Totally agree. I think that everything what Red Bull does in terms of marketing is at the highest possible level and it would be good for Formula 1 to let them manage everything. Coming to next question: more realistic is that Renault will buy-in Lotus next year, but do you think that this team will change significantly in terms of strategy or management? Will it be positive or negative change?
Jonathan: "I am not sure how realistic it is, for this deal to come through. The thing that this is dragged on so long. Often when a deal is going to happen, everyone is in favor to do it try to do it now. It goes quite quickly, but this Renault-Lotus takeover seems to have taken so long and so many hurtles has came up, and questions about old debt and court cases. The situation doesn't seem to be as clear as everybody suggests. I guess that Renault would love to come back with its works team and take on Enstone, which is fantastic facilities, great staff, great potential, but it needs to be on their terms. It needs to be the right financial package and it needs to make a commercial sense for them going forward. If they get the money in place if they get sponsors on board, money from drivers, I think that there is a potential to make Enstone great again. I would be great for Formula 1. What happened to Enstone this season, all the trouble they had, it is such a shame, you see how good that car is against all this backdrop, regularly in Q3, podium finish at Spa etc. If that car have been developed properly, it is no reason why it can't regularly be on the podium”.
Wojtek: The next thing I would like to talk about with you is Haas F1 Team. You found it surprising that Romain Grosjean had signed a contract with them? Is it the right direction for him? I guess it may be a step back for him. What is your point of view?
Jonathan: "Let's look at the point where he is in his career. If the Renault deal had happened in the summer as everybody had hoped, then it would have been a total logical thing for him to stay. A French manufacture works deal, the golden French boy inside and the Enstone factory, what has the capability to move forward, so it all would have been fantastic, but I think that uncertainty, the no guarantee that the team will be around next year made that in the end the Haas option has been logical. He has one door to Ferrari, they will have access to all of his data, he will be able to show them first-hand exactly what he can do. He gets 2016 Ferrari engine and all the Ferrari parts, which the team is legally allowed to have. Haas also has the money to push forward so it is a great chance for him to reorganize his career, show the world what he is capable of. Maybe he will not be a podium finisher, but they all definitely have a chance to progress season by season to achieve it”.
Wojtek: 6 years ago we have a project called US F1 Team, but they didn't manage to even start their adventure in Formula 1. Haas is also from the United States, but he seems to have a bit different strategy. They will also have a factory in Great Britain, what is the biggest difference but coming to F1 with a private team is still a huge challenge. Do you think that they can end up like US F1 Team?
Jonathan: "The only similarity to the US F1 Team is that both have these American origins, but I think that Haas has been done in a very different way, Gene Haas is independently wealthy, so the money is not a factor, and they have a quite clever approach. They are not doing everything from scratch - technical partnership with Ferrari, having as many car parts as possible already manufactured, it is much consistency that they can get, so I think it is much easier step for them to make, to step up. Romain Grojean is a fantastic driver who can make them up help understand what is needed. This has far more chance for success, than US F1”.
Wojtek: I also hope that they will manage to succeed, because the only two teams from the USA which managed to achieve something in Formula 1 were Penske and Dan Gurney's team. It would be a great comeback for those people. Now I would like to talk about McLaren-Honda - how do you predict their future? We know that they have a long term programme and we can't suppose that they will be winning races this, or even next year, but what about the further future?
Jonathan: "I think that the answer to that will probably come in the first test next season. The step that Ferrari made this season, from where they were to up there with Mercedes over the winter shows what is possible. I don't think than McLaren can fight alongside Mercedes next year but I think that there is enough potential there, to make a good step up and become a regular Q3 contender and pushing on. I think that this year has just highlighted how young this project is, 2 to 3 years behind in experience compare to Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault who have been preparing to these regulations. As Fernando said it - up to Japan their total millage of their F1 project was all what Mercedes did over the pre-season tests. It shows how far behind they are. Progress is slow, the regulations that aimed cutting cost, all they do is slow down progress and teams are in trouble. They can't make updates in engines whenever they want. I think that they will get there in the end, but I think it may be 2, or 3 years, or even longer before they are in position to win races or even the championship”.
Wojtek: Yes, they confirmed that Jenson Button will be Fernando's team-mate next year as well and do you think that leaving Stoffel Vandoorne, as well as Kevin Magnussen, without a seat in Formula 1 was right and honest decision? Stoffel won the GP2 championship in a really outstanding style and Bruno Michel, the CEO of GP2 series, said that the only drivers who were better than him in GP2 history were Lewis and Nico. How his future will look like, as he hasn't been issued with a seat in McLaren?
Jonathan: "We can't say that Stoffel won't be in Formula 1 next year because there is still a chance with Manor. There was also a possibility with Lotus, but Palmer got it, so the only option is Manor. I think that promoting high-flying GP2 driver, as brilliant as Stoffel is into it the team, in McLaren's position putting pressure is not necessary with these reliabilty issues. It is not good for Stoffel either. He needs to come in and he needs to learn in the environment without a huge pressure as it is happening now. Just like Fernando did. One year learn in the ropes, and then make a step up to big time. Even if he doesn't get a drive for next year, I think that good programme, in season F1 testing, all of McLaren's testing, maybe help up Pirelli with tire developments, maybe any other races at top level, it all together in proper shade can help him to get a McLaren seat for 2017”.
Wojtek: Ok, so let's think positive! It was great to exchange some words with you and hear your opinions, Jonathan! Many thanks!
Jonathan: "My pleasure!”
