Fans will ‘get used to sound of new engines’ – teams

2014 Australian Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

F1 team principals believe fans will quickly adjust to the sound of the new Formula One engines.

The first practice sessions featuring the new V6 turbo engines received mixed responses from fans at the track in Melbourne about how the sound of Formula One has changed.

However team principals hold the view that the new sound will gain acceptance.

“Personally I like the sound of the engines,” said Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams.

“But then I love Formula One and I love watching car go round a race track. I think people pretty quickly get used to what Formula One engine sound like. We’ve had so many changes over so many decades of motor racing and you very quickly forget what a previous engine sounds like.”

“I think people just want to see a good race on Sunday and I thin as long as we can deliver that then I think that any issues or contentious conversations around that may fade away.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali agreed with the views put forward by Williams and Mercedes’ motorsport chief Toto Wolff.

Wolff said: “If you like sound of engines let’s go back to V10 and V12s, let’s not do any hybrid. This is a modern technology, this is how road cars go, downsizing is the motto and I think we just accept that the formula has changed.”

“These cars are going to go quicker in a couple of races than the old ones. You’re going to get used to the sounds and I promise next year around you will not notice and not remember any difference any more.”

2014 Australian Grand Prix

Browse all 2014 Australian Grand Prix articles

Image © Sauber

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

101 comments on “Fans will ‘get used to sound of new engines’ – teams”

  1. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
    14th March 2014, 8:22

    I really like the sound :-)

    *Preparing for hate*

    1. *Random hate directed towards Lucas Wilson*

    2. @full-throttle-f1 I was there today and there was a noticeable difference in the sound. It was remarkably different that some of the guys I was with who are regulars each year commented on how the cars are quieter. Then we had confirmation, they did a speed comparison and a 2013 Spec Red Bull with V8 engine roared to life and stormed around the track confirming that this years V6’s are quieter and by a margin.

      Personally it will not detract from why I watch F1 for, and if I’m honest, I was more comfortable at the track this year without needing ear plugs, and having normal conversations while cars were whizzing past.

    3. I like the sound too. though I think they still need to tune the broadcast a bit – if they increase volume and filter less of the lower frequencies then it could also sound pretty cool on TV.

    4. @full-throttle-f1

      *Preparing for hate*

      I think that itself sums up the general consensus

    5. F1 cars sound crap and slow.because they are crap and slow.ever since the slow fast cars down cap because redbull.silent couldn’t keep up

    6. I like it too if I could catch it at home that would be great.

      What I hate is people saying that F1 should go green and should invest in new technology, I agree with the evolution, having direct injection is a no brainer, having turbos is a no brainer but having 100kg of ballast isn’t nor is having archaic suspension and not being able to cover the wheels. If I were a purist I would go further and say that racing is racing it has nothing to do with being green and the talk would end there, but as you know it is the marketing side that has overlapped to racing, tagging engines with brand names wasn’t enough so creating the illusion that your road car engine is just as like an F1 engine works better even when that is completely false. Heidfeld said recently F1 cars or any racing car is faster as light as it is, it’s playing with efficiency and 100 kgs of weight for 160 bhp for 33 seconds is not worth it.

      1. Desmond Hadden
        18th March 2014, 19:57

        This, so much this, mirrors my sentiment exactly. F1 is the ONLY sport I watch and this is a horrible horrible change for the worse, I know its a longshot but if enough folks back away from the sport maybe they will think of reverting back to the v8s (I’d accept that!) let alone v10s and v12s.

        I get the need to evolve and change with the times etc, but this is such a small sliver of consumption that we’re affecting at such great cost. The entire F1 ecosystem of flying hundreds of tons of personnel, material, fuel etc around the globe is the REAL resource hog, though fixing it wouldnt yield the PR results that engine changes do. This is a very dark time for the sport, I hope its only temporary

        1. I couldn’t agree more. I will not spend the money to go half way around the world to watch a field full of Tesla’s (nothing against Tesla.) Just leave some things alone. F1 is a sacred shrine of speed AND noise. Imagine going to a Buddhist temple without experiencing the continuous clouds of incense smoke. How about incense that spews scented steam. Now there’s an idea

    7. Formula 1 is headed down the wrong path, in my humble opinion. I don’t mind changes, but the changes made have rendered the cars limp and the drivers impotent. The ridiculous tire situation from last year turned the drivers into the world’s most highly paid babysitters, and the saving of fuel instead of pushing hard to get an advantage is a slap in the face to racing fans everywhere. Saving fuel. What a joke. To top it all off, the v6 turbos sound uninspiring, and quite bland, at least on TV. I have a nice a/v setup and always look forward to turning up the volume to enjoy the sounds of F1, and what I heard made me sick, and sad. Formula 1 engines now produce a sound that is far less impressive than those found in nascar, indycar, motogp, you name it, it sounds better than F1. Where is this sport going? What a disappointment. I think the season will be interesting, and I am glad to see new names and teams getting an opportunity to compete for wins, podiums, and points, but isn’t there a way to achieve this level of competition without neutering both the cars and the drivers?

    8. Yep, that’s why we spent $10,000 to fly half way round the world to see “whizzing” slow cars. Give me a break. We were on the start/finish line 6 rows up. It sucked! Ricardo got screwed and the whole thing is a farce. We won’t be back.

    9. The f1 cars sounded like a honda hybred with a 3inch exhaust only 25% per cent of the world think this carbon pollution crap is true and 1.or 2% of them like f1 WHY wreack it for the rest of us !! I will never pay to go again to the f1 unless someone wakes up and fixes this .CLIPSAL 500 is better X f1. race GOLD COAST is better X INDIE CAR race .. f1 your turning to boring racing . bye bye aussies WE LIKE V8S … V10S.. V12S….!!!!

  2. What sound? Was there sound?

    1. I didn’t expect to see Formula E’s at Melbourne so soon either

    2. I see Bernie running down all garages and providing SoundRace to every team!

    3. F1 lost its soul(db) in 2014, plain and simple.

      That was the last live race I’d ever go to and it is not what I paid for. Why would I pay good money for a ticket and experience exactly zero atmosphere and a miniscule snippet of the track as these sewing machines quietly zip past? This is not F1. This is however the biggest mess in the history of F1.

      Anyone thinking fans will get used to this sound and will have forgotten what the cars sound like pre 2014 are seriously delusional. As a long time fan the first time I went to F1 stood out for one reason and one reason alone, the incredible sound of those machines. Anybody who watches F1 live will know what I’m talking about and with that gone why wouldn’t I just watch it on TV and get great coverage of what’s actually happening at any given moment? Take the sound away and there is absolutely no need to be trackside as an F1 fan.

      1. exactly, what sound… a profound joke, as David C said on ITV (former F1 driver) “sounds like a massey ferguson (tractor) … if u have ever been to a race these cars scream and the sound hits you with an experience you will never forget. now, they are just a joke!

        1. even Bernie E has commented on how bad the sound was, he said changes are coming in the next few races, the AUS grand prix has threated a breach of contract (law suit) because they felt they will loose ticket sales because of the change and this was not what they expected… F1 has to learn to leave things alone, they are always changing things and trying to manipulate placement.. its down hill from whey the put DRS in play… :(

  3. Sat at turn 1 today, didn’t need ear plugs at all. Much quieter. On the straights they are quite loud. (and actually sound good)

    One mistake they made today was doing the ultimate speed test, where they pitted a C63 AMG, V8 Supercar and RB7 in a handicapped race together.

    You notice the noise difference big time when they run back to back…

  4. Vijay Mallya certainly didnt agree, did anyone see him during FP2? He said something along the lines of “This is not F1, we must go back” while pulling down his headseat on the pit wall as a car went by.

    1. He said:
      “The noise of Formula 1 is gone!! We need that Formula 1 noise!”
      This was also said with hand gestures lol.
      But he is right! The sound is no longer special, it’s just a race car sound. And there are now many other race cars (even road cars) that sound better!

      1. There’s road cars faster than f1 cars pinnacle motor sport not any more . More like a train set now

    2. Have to give it to Vijay this time for speaking his mind, not like Wollf who seems to force the sound on the fans…

  5. I just can’t understand why quieter is worse.
    To me, the new sound is great. It is in fact quieter, which means people on site may well stop using earplugs, so they will hear more, much more !
    We TV viewers may well hear the crowd better, the radio, the tyres, the mechanics…

    And any fat, deep noise is better than a blunt squeal in my book. I am all for it.

    1. I see it much the same way @gwenouille. Especially how you can hear far more details of the PU sounds from onboards.

    2. @gwenouille So you guys with be okay with Formula-E, with virtually silent cars. Then you can put up jazz music in the background, while listening to your kids sing rhymes…

      1. HarHarHar @onebhk. That would not work, because i wouldn’t be able to hear the sounds the CAR and its ENGINE make over the music.

      2. Actually, @onebhk, it’s the another way around: YOU should be okay with the pig squealing noise of the high revving Formula-E engines, not us, who like a less painful hearing power unit. Because hey, that’s what the high revving V8’s, V10’s and V12’s sound like: pig squeals.

        1. @crandreico Where was this whole species all these years, who did not like the ‘pig squeals’… It must be liberation day for you guys…

      3. Every other spectator sport gets by with “virtually silent” competitors, and they don’t even have to listen to jazz.

        F1 will be just fine.

        1. but this is MOTORSPORT. not indoor speed skating.

    3. @gwenouille You are right, I didn’t need ear plugs today. It wasn’t that ear piercingly loud like last years cars.

    4. Agreed. I went to an F1 race for the first in Singapore last year, and I was shocked about the unpleasant loud noise. Didn’t like it for one moment.

    5. It’s not about how loud they are it’s the tone.was a great rumble now a moped wine

    6. No sound? I kept turning the volume up, this is not F1, this is a crime, I guess I’m not going to Montreal this year, anyone that wants to have a nice conversation while cars pass by is not a fan, now Having all this of Hybrids racing is going to be a drag, , what’s gonna be next year? Full electric? Or maybe just solar? I just rather watch anything else now, so sad.

  6. Sadly that’s not the right way of doing things. People get used to what they don’t like when they have to deal with it no matter what, so it happens for bad things like you get used to be poor, or you get used to stay in prison. I’m exaggerating here to prove the point: saying people will get used to new sound is an implicit (but not so much) admission that the sound, for acceptable and pretty nice that it may be, is not as exciting as it has been in the past. So, as far as I’m ok to say that the sound is not that bad, it’s legit to say that this is clearly a step backward, because being this F1, where the extreme is the normality, an acceptable sound is actually not enough. I’m sorry to say that, love the sport viscerally, but you have to admit this new sound doesn’t vibrate your backbone. Getting used to it will not mean it has been a success.

    1. I have to agree with you here!

    2. @alfa145 I vote this for COTD

    3. The sound was not special at all, close your eyes and it could be any series. As the pinnacle of motorsport, F1 should have its own distinct and easily recognisable sound. Which it did, up until this season.

    4. Very well put.

  7. I’ve got used to it by the end of the 2nd session. But nevertheless, if a commetator is silent before we could hear a roar. Now even in breaking zones i do not hear anything. Maybe they should use more sensitive microphones.

  8. Next time I attend to a rock concert I will complain about the musicians that didn’t run from one side to the other of the stage fast enough. I also want a lot of discussions about who is faster, Bono or Mick Jagger? oh, and a lot of nostalgia also about the good times when Robert Plant crossed the stage carring two guitars like a rocket!

    1. Big F1 fan huh?

  9. Well, this will take some getting used to. It doesn’t sound like the pinnacle of motorsport we are so fond of hearing about, unfortunately. More like GP2 or 3 or DTM. Love the turbo-whine in the corners and on lift-off, but otherwise, it sounds similar to many other series now, whereas before it was distinct.

  10. “Noise is wasted energy”! So why should a new F1 motor unit, designed to be energy efficient, make noise. Change happens…


    says Alex Wurz, driver of the loudest of the LMP1 cars…

    I like them, particularly the Ferrari; I love the fact I can tell them apart, and all the extra things I’m hearing now from tyres, turbos and team radio. I just wish that prattling, matey commentator would shut his face.

  11. Love the sound of the williams on board shots. So much boost going in those little engines .

  12. The Blade Runner (@)
    14th March 2014, 9:06

    I’m going to reserve judgement until I get to hear a race first-hand (Catalunya in May). As @gwenouille says, ironically, by not wearing ear plugs, you may get to hear more “noise” than before.

    I can see why many are unhappy with the change though, especially those that work in F1. I was at a McLaren event in late 2012 and their marketing guy described his role: “Basically” he said, “we sell noise!” Not any more…

    1. “I’m going to reserve judgement until I get to hear a race first-hand (Catalunya in May). As @gwenouille says, ironically, by not wearing ear plugs, you may get to hear more “noise” than before.”

      Trust me, you wont! My road car sounds more hostile than these things do live…..

      1. my moped sounds more exciting. i joke not.

  13. we must….sound is very very bad…now i must watch some races with V10 or V8 engine to recover my ears :)

  14. It’s strange that people seem to lobby for less restrictions in the regulationbook almost constantly, while disagreeing with the use of smaller capacity turbo engines. Does anyone honestly think that if manufacturers could design whatever kind of engine they wanted they would opt for naturally-aspirated V10-engines? The only reason we had the V8 engines was BECAUSE of tight regulations. On one hand everyone hates the fact that the governing bodies of the sport do anything they can to “improve the show”, on the other hand these new, much more exciting engines are frowned upon because they do not produce enough noise.

    They’re fine, they’re fast, they’re 21st century, they’re Formula 1. Innovation, speed and technique should define what makes something Formule 1 or not, not the amount of noise coming from it.

    1. What would happen if engines were totally unrestricted?

      Probably no energy recovery systems and biggish V12 with turbo(s)? There would be a limit when the bigger engine would start to slow the car down more in the corners than help in the straights but where that limit is?

  15. I don’t care about the sound. Actually, being at the races I didn’t like to wear the earplugs which is a necessity in Melbourne when you’re really close to the track.
    The racing is the only thing I care. As long as it’s good and the drivers needs to actually drive the car that is not ‘on rails’, I’ll be happy.

  16. Travis Humphery (@)
    14th March 2014, 9:16

    I was out at Albert Park today and was happily surprised at the sound of the new power unit.

    I’d heard the sound bites online from manufacturers last year, then grabs from the testing but actually being there they sound great.

    A lot is being lost in what you hear on television. I got home in time to watch P2 (decided I’d try and take my almost 4 year old to her first F1…. Words of advice – don’t!) and the sound was very different.

    There you can hear the whine of the turbo as they pull out of corners, the odd new noises of the regenerative breaking….. I love it.

    Sure its different but don’t knock it until you’ve actually been 20m away from one.

    1. Yep was about 10m away from the track today.. The sound of F1 is dead, sorry it’s just not f1

      1. @Azz

        +1,000,000

  17. @keithcollantine : Did we have a vote on the engine sound already, if not this would be a good time/

  18. I watched FP2 this morning and I actually quite like the sound of the V6 turbo, it sounds much more guttural and ‘beast-like’, instead of that annoying, whining sound of the V8. More of a grunt, instead of a scream, to put it in Heavy Metal terms…

  19. I am an avid f1 fan so naturally looking forward to watching the season on TV. However the trackside atmosphere is severely diminished with the lack of sound, we used to hear these cars suburbs away and get excited, today that feeling was missing. We will be forced to adjust as we love the sport, but for a lot of the attendees that are not die hard, the events may struggle to pull crowds, all day I heard people being bored, not entertained and wondering why they had spent the money to see this show. The best thing was the fly over by the fighter jet with its amazing sound, and I could not help but wondered how much less exciting it would be if it too were quiet.

  20. i hope they adjust the sounds for quail and the race. They need to drop the volume of the commentators and up the volume of the cars. I didn’t think the mice were working track side at first when i was watching practice

  21. Fair enough, they just need to be careful the new sound people get used to isn’t the sound made by engines in other racing championships.

    All joking aside, I’ll reserve judgement on these new engines until after the race, but what I’ve heard so far doesn’t really impress me. Having watched a few F1 races of previous years over the winter, though, the sound of F1 has always been subject to change – so nothing new in that regard. I’m sure people watching F1 will indeed get used to it.

    1. I agree the F1 sound has always changed marginally from year to year, but it has always been an unmistakably F1 sound. This year however after being trackside on the weekend, I would argue these things sound exactly nothing like an F1 car.

      Could not be more disappointed and I disagree, I will not get used to it. Having been a big F1 fan for many years I would not waste my money attending an event with exactly zero atmosphere. I’d rather watch on tv and see the event in detail.

  22. Watched the FP2 this morning. It sounded like a superbike race to me.
    And that’s NOT a compliment.

  23. There is something which it’s not right. I don’t mind the turbo sound, i like it very much, but the one from the 80’s. The sound of the new engines is quite good, i won’t miss the high pitch, but it’s not loud (the roar is missing) and that’s not acceptable.

    McLaren MP4/4
    Turbo 2014

  24. I was at some of the tests this year and was totally underwhelmed by the new sound levels :( . Although not so straight forward, there is away sound levels could be increased – The predominant reason the new engines are much quieter is because there is a single exhaust pipe with the Turbo “fan” in the middle of it being powered by the exhaust gasses before they are chucked out the back. The engine part of the Power Unit is still a “V” configuration – it would be possible with some engineering tweaks to revert back to a twin exhaust configuration with one of them powering the turbo and the other a straight through “non-turbo turning” pipe straight out the back above the other exhaust pipe – then increase the revs a little and you won’t be far off the db’s of last years cars.

    1. I have never heard of a worse suggestion. Firstly, that would be a woefully inefficient way to configure an engine, seconds it would but the engine way out of balance and cause running problems. Thirdly, you’d be losing half of the energy you’re putting into the turbocharger in order to generate more noise.

      Noise – energy being wasted. The energy which used to make a load of noise around the track is now being recycled into the turborcharchers and makes the cars faster.

      No engineer in the world would ever want to compromise efficiency in such a pointless pursuit of noise. Nothing is broken here – you have a very vocal minority making a big noise (arf) about how they don’t like the change, whereas the majority of educated people understand the reason for change and actually enjoy the new sound.

      1. Unbalanced assumes you have assumed that you have one one bank of the “V” for the turbo and one for noise……. there’s nothing tosay you couldn’t have rear two cylinders (one each side ) exhausted into a “turbo’d exhaust and the other front 4…… 2 each side into 2nd exhaust with no turbo in it….. Sort the firing order out correctly and it would still be balanced and I reckon the two turning the turbo could still generate enough energy to spin the turbo up enough to create enough boost to achieve parity with what they have now – the boost they are creating now is minuscule to Keke Rosbergs (still) Silverstone lap record setting 1500bhp Williams-Honda from 1985 (160mph average) – they have plenty in reserve if they want it so could use it if they so wished to compensate for a small amount that would be lost to “sound” energŷ as you put it – I know which I would prefer…. Not sure how you get to the reckoning that it is a minority who are against the quiter cars – what information are you basing those figures on ? I would like to analyse them and the source 95% of those I spoke to over 4 days @ winter testing said they thought the cars are now too quiet.

        Here’s 2 tweets from Martin Brundle just today……. Gotta say I agree with him.

        @MBrundleF1: I like the sound of the new engines there just not enough of it, turbos strangle it. ‘Noses’ and ‘noise’ on the to-do list for 2015 please.

        @MBrundleF1: People don’t always know what they want but do know what they like,e.g the iPad. And fans don’t like the sound of F1 2014, we need to fix it

  25. Not that I have been to an F1 race recently but the thing that always struck me when I was attending was the immense sound that the cars made. Was like nothing else I have ever witnessed and something that I 100% associated with F1.

    I was watching P2 on TV this morning and the cars sound awful on TV and on-board cameras, very quiet and uninspiring and I cant stand the way the engines do not rev at all. You could now easily confuse the sound they let off with any other lesser formula. Has totally taken something away from F1 that I have come to love over the years. Disappointed to say the least.

  26. Harley Davidson trademarked their “noise” in 1994. If only F1 recognised the value of a distinctive – and much loved – sound.

  27. Wolf should listen to his own teams before he speaks of fans getting used to the sound. Lewis himself said he did not like the sound of the V6s.

  28. Was at Albert Park this morning for most of FP1 & 2, at close range (trackside) they sound ok and its quite interesting to actually be able to tyre squeal on lock-ups etc. However, its just lacks that sense of enormous power that the noise of the V8’s gave off. From a further distance wandering around the circuit they sound mightily unimpressive, reminded me of lawnmowers, my wife said they sounded like trucks…

  29. I think it is horrible. FIA did not develop F1 they are killing it. Come on guys. The top class in motorsports driving a 1.6 litre V6 which sounds like a sewing machine on wheels, or a vacuum cleaner. It is realy a shame. I even do not want to talk about some rule chanches. I am watching F1 since I 37 years and for me sound is very important. Thank god I was able to hear the fantastic V12 machines. This hear is not F1, thats F-0.1. Next year they are going to race with electric cars or what?

  30. I didn’t like the sound of the new engines very much. However halfway through the second practice session I stopped noticing and got on with what I do every race weekend. One eye on the TV and the other on live timing. So in other words, I don’t like it but it didn’t send me screaming to the other side of the continent.

  31. Mike Zwolsman
    14th March 2014, 19:20

    On TV you can’t even talk about sound, because you don’t hear it. When turn up the volume, I hear sound, but want to kill the commentator. For now , it is very boring. I’m glad that I not paid for this season, it is a waste of money. If you want to know, take a race from last year and put your finger in your ears, pffff

  32. Part of the problem for me, and this actually started with about a quarter of last season to go, is that the BBC has literally made it so we cannot hear any on track activity at all (by lowering the FOM feed volume).

  33. The 2014 cars sound terrible. It is a calamity if we lose the sound of F1. To those that don’t like the high-pitched harmonics produced by an engine revving at maximum RPMs – I would hazard a guess that you are in the extreme minority and not the majority.

  34. By the way, I would also suggest that there is a danger of our losing some of the unique character that has defined the sport, and that unquestionably includes the sound of an F1 engine between 12-18rpm. I doubt that most of the people who attend the race would prefer a non-engaging subdued and monotonous lawnmower or leaf-blower sound, even if the more sensitive of hearing need to wear ear plugs. I say, Bravo VJ for speaking you mind, and I agree with you whole-heartedly. LETS BRING BACK THE REAL SOUND OF F1!

  35. You could feel the V8’s & V10’s as well and moved the hairs on the back of your neck. And made you skin tingle especially if you were sat at the back of the Woodcote Grandstand ……..so it was an assault on all of your senses :). ….. This generation of cars don’t do that.

    1. Excuse they typo’s….. Flippin iPads lol

  36. I love F1 for the racing and I doubt that the new family friendly exhausts will detract too much from the TV broadcasts, but the reason I attend GPs in person is for the ear shattering, mind numbing, sensory overload that is an F1 engine on song. Sadly, I will not be attending any further GPs while this poor excuse for the pinnacle of motorsport is allowed to persist – bring back the atmosphere that a GP should be.

  37. From a fan watching at home the noise seems ok. But as a fan at the track the noise and vibration is very important. At a race it likely that you only see the cars for a few seconds a lap and will miss much of the racing, unlike at home with all the TV cameras. So as a paying trackside fan the noise & feeling F1 generates makes me spend my money. The good racing is best viewed at home with the aid of media.

  38. In the news next day: F1 team principals believe fans will quickly adjust to the Toyota Prius as the new Formula One standardized car.

  39. Today is my third day at the Aus GP. Both the Porsche Carrera Cup Cars and V8 Touring Cars are MUCH louder than the new F1 cars. When the F1 cars pull out of pit lane they sound like a hedge trimmer and down the straight they almost sound like MotoGP bikes. Hugely disappointed!

  40. Unfortunately F1 has had its testicles removed. These cars are not thrilling to watch in person. The sound of previous years cars was astounding – you could FEEL them coming past, and hear them from kilometers away. The whole experience has lost an important dimension, like others have said, the sound is no longer special. The carrera cup cars were more thrilling today. I’m concerned that next year’s cars will be run on ethically sourced fair trade vegan custard. Tomorrow, after I watch the two seater Minardi and the speed comparison with last year’s car, I am going to set fire to myself and run onto the track in protest… 

  41. Getitorregretit
    15th March 2014, 11:46

    Today I watched a Volvo on a racetrack and it offered more excitement than the F1. To quote “the fans will get used to it” is saddening to me. I have grown up with F1, as a kid I watched the likes of Hunt, as I got older heroes were replaced by Sienna and the like. F1 should be raw, frightening and awe inspiring to watch. Today it was quiet, slow and boring. I hate the gelding of this sport, I never thought I would actually see the point at which F1 lost its mojo.
    I truely hope The FIA step back, take a look at what F1 is supposed to be and bring it back.

  42. Ron Chelednik
    15th March 2014, 23:07

    Having a high definition TV flat screen with a Bose surround sound it was enjoyable to watch Formula One with it’s nothing like it on earth sounds of that engineering marvel. Now after P2 I didn’t even bother to now watch qualifying. I was looking forward to to get airfare and tickets to Texas but not now. I might as well pull my front teeth out and watch NASCAR.

  43. I used to enjoy sitting up watching the F1 on the TV. With the sound of these new cars that will no longer be happening. I am switching off to F1. Again all the other changes to the cars is just making the sport pathetic. A Prius may have more technology, but that does not make it better. Has the FIA been taken over by The Greens Party. I am watching something else on TV this weekend.

    1. First and foremost I do not like the “level” of the new noise of F12014… Neither on TV nor when I attended preseason testing in Jerez. I too watched the race from Melbourne on TV – although I live in Spain I receive and wTch the races on SKYSPORTS F1 HD which also transmits the sound in Dolby Digital 5.1 ……what I have noticed is that when watched just through the TV without Cinema Sound amp and speakers on all the sound channels are mixed into just two – when you watch with Cinema Sound Equipment turned on, the commentary is only through the centre speaker and the Car/track noises though the remaining 4 plus the Subwoofer – I turned off the middle speaker and wacked up the volume on the rest and was quite happily immersed and nicely surprised in fantastic sounds and noises and at a really decent level ( you still hear the commentary but at much better balanced levels)….. The problem is not so much with the sounds/noise but more the level/volume of those noises….. For TV viewers FOM can fix things a little by getting a bit more creative with the “World Feed” and make adjustments on the sound mixing desk to ramp up certain frequencies better….. The broadcasters can also help by lowering the commentators sound channel and allow more of the trackside sounds through.
      SKY at least in UK seem to have their commentary sound channel way to high which all but drowns out the cars….. I don’t mind Crofty (would have preferred Ben Edwards a la BBC) but he’s just a little too loud at the moment (Obviously this isn’t going to fix things trackside but after these minor adjustments I was quite satisfied whilst watching yesterday.

      I think there is potential to fix it trackside too – it’s a radical fix – but possible I reckon – go back to page 2 of these comments I posted it earlier there.

  44. Cunning Linguist
    16th March 2014, 14:59

    Go back to 2005 specs and stop destroying F1.

  45. I wasn’t concentrating on the visual at the start and only heard the sound. I thought I’d tuned into the wrong race and had got the Smart Car final, as that’s what it sounded like! 20+ Smart Cars going around..

  46. I was at the first test session in Jerez last month and while they didn’t rev as high as the V8’s, there was no mistaking they were F1’s.
    The Sky TV coverage of the race seemed to kill off the noise, so they’ll need to do something with their microphones.
    Compared to the turbo charged F1 cars in the eighties, the new ones sound great.

  47. I spent a decade each October at Watkins Glen; sounds in the 70’s were one of the primary reasons we made the pilgrimage. DFV’s, Ferrari Flat 12’s, those glorious Matra 12’s that literally left you speechless; distinct aural personalities. 33 years later we made the trip to Montreal to hear V-8’s before they went away, it was phenomenal to see and HEAR how F1 had evolved though not much difference between manufacturers songs. I suspect it will be just as special when we go again this June. Broadcaster on Skype at Bahrain testing ( his name escapes me) gave an optimistic report when he said, ” it’s not better, it’s not worse, it’s different”. There is nothing like Formula One!

  48. Very disappointed! Sad day for f1 fans.

  49. HEY !!! I’ve finally figured out what the 2014 F1 cars sound like … the “light bikes” in the movie TRON !!!

  50. The sound is so bad. It kills the sport. The cars will sound like crap coming through the tunnel of Monaco. Change is not always for the best. The sound was unmistakable. A bunch of my friends didn’t even watch this past week because they were so turned off by last week’s race. F1 is about the sound. This year’s sound is the equivalent of the year Champ series got split by the creation of IRL. They had Oldsmobile Aurora engines and they sounded awful as do this year’s F1. Go to YouTube and you will find what I say is the truth. This a bad move drivers and all who live F1 think it so……………….MAM

  51. When I think of my first F1 race experience live in Sepang 13 years ago, it is the engine sound that comes first to my mind. 3l V10, 19000 rpm. I felt instantly rewarded for the ticket price. Yes, I truly felt that I had paid to experience something special here. Since then I visited many races around the globe and every time I arrived at the circuit, it was the sound of engines revving in the pits telling me already from far that something special is about to happen. What I have heard so far of F1 2014 on TV is in this respect very disappointing but exactly what I expected. In my view a ticket price of GBP 500+ does not go well with 1.6l engines which sound like motorcycles and I am worried what I am going to miss the start in three weeks at the China GP live.

  52. “These cars are going to go quicker in a couple of races than the old ones”
    – Well, that eventually happened, but not as quickly as in a couple of races, but rather three years later.

Comments are closed.