Has a 'free' energy trick given Ferrari an F1 edge?

Earlier this year there was huge intrigue over what Ferrari was doing with its battery system. Now the breakthrough it made is becoming clear, and it seems to have played a big part in Ferrari's surge to the top of the championship table.

Jonathan Noble Jul 19, 2018, 11:49 AM

Upd: Jul 19, 2018, 12:36 PM

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Ferrari's strong form at Silverstone a fortnight ago renewed focus on the progress the team has made with its car, and even prompted renewed intrigue about a potential 'free' energy trick it has up its sleeve.

But rather than this being the start of a bubbling fresh cheat controversy, it appears that instead the boffins at Maranello may be doing something very clever to exploit a freedom in the rule book.

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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.