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The real shock though is the noise; I've been to one F1 race, sitting at turn 1 in Shanghai. There was a TV helicopter maybe 50 meters over our heads -- and it

The real shock though is the noise; I've been to one F1 race, sitting at turn 1 in Shanghai. There was a TV helicopter maybe 50 meters over our heads -- and its noise was completely drowned out by the cars' engines.

klinquist 16y ago
Indeed. At the French Grand Prix (Magny-Cours) in 2002... I was 10th row off of the front straight. I was trying to shove napkins in my ears. Any F1 fans should download the UK Top Gear season 15 episode 5 and watch the last 15 minutes - a short tribute to Ayrton Senna. It's tremendous.
- trafficlight 16y ago
  Series 10 episode 8 is also a good one. Richard Hammond gets to drive a Renault R25, circa 2005. He had a hell of a time even getting the thing onto the track. The pit crew actually had to tow the car back to the garage to warm it back up; the tolerances on those motors are so tight that, when cold, they are effectively seized.
  - eftpotrm 16y ago
    Thinking Renault engines... Around that period they had the central display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Clearly their engine management shop had been bored one day, because they'd written a test programme which enabled them to play tunes on the engine just by revving it, and were showing off for the assembled crowds. It's honestly that fast revving and high pitched that it could do a pretty decent job. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XR7OpM2Ufk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XR7OpM2Ufk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aArSn4IhHI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aArSn4IhHI
jcfrei 16y ago
there's nothing quite like hearing an f1 engine scream.
zandor 16y ago
I'm sure this Shell and Ferrari commercial doesn't even come close to the real life experience. Still, what a soundtrack it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6gcwIt5nSM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6gcwIt5nSM
- eftpotrm 16y ago
  I note in the interests of the soundtrack they skipped the 80s turbo cars completely! No bad thing though; they were spectacular performers but not spectacular noises, to me at least. I'm fairly sure I've seen all the cars they had in the advert running in person. What it's really lacking is the physicality, unsurprisingly; the pops and cracks of the overrun, the way the howl of even the older engines just reverberates and I think must have some key harmonics that are out of the range this reproduces, the guttural roar of the engine at low (for it) revs just shaking the world as it brings everything together. Think of the difference between an orchestral recording and hearing the orchestra in person. Now give it the power of Metallica in concert. Welcome to live F1 engines.
dcminter 16y ago
The thing that impressed me most at an F1 race was that the gear changes - a barely audible deep pop-pop-popping noise on TV - on corners could be physically felt in your chest. Until the second and subsequent cars went past I thought an engine component had catastrophically exploded!

klinquist 16y ago

Indeed. At the French Grand Prix (Magny-Cours) in 2002... I was 10th row off of the front straight. I was trying to shove napkins in my ears. Any F1 fans should download the UK Top Gear season 15 episode 5 and watch the last 15 minutes - a short tribute to Ayrton Senna. It's tremendous.

trafficlight 16y ago
Series 10 episode 8 is also a good one. Richard Hammond gets to drive a Renault R25, circa 2005. He had a hell of a time even getting the thing onto the track. The pit crew actually had to tow the car back to the garage to warm it back up; the tolerances on those motors are so tight that, when cold, they are effectively seized.
- eftpotrm 16y ago
  Thinking Renault engines... Around that period they had the central display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Clearly their engine management shop had been bored one day, because they'd written a test programme which enabled them to play tunes on the engine just by revving it, and were showing off for the assembled crowds. It's honestly that fast revving and high pitched that it could do a pretty decent job. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XR7OpM2Ufk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XR7OpM2Ufk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aArSn4IhHI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aArSn4IhHI

jcfrei 16y ago

there's nothing quite like hearing an f1 engine scream.

zandor 16y ago

I'm sure this Shell and Ferrari commercial doesn't even come close to the real life experience. Still, what a soundtrack it is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6gcwIt5nSM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6gcwIt5nSM

eftpotrm 16y ago
I note in the interests of the soundtrack they skipped the 80s turbo cars completely! No bad thing though; they were spectacular performers but not spectacular noises, to me at least. I'm fairly sure I've seen all the cars they had in the advert running in person. What it's really lacking is the physicality, unsurprisingly; the pops and cracks of the overrun, the way the howl of even the older engines just reverberates and I think must have some key harmonics that are out of the range this reproduces, the guttural roar of the engine at low (for it) revs just shaking the world as it brings everything together. Think of the difference between an orchestral recording and hearing the orchestra in person. Now give it the power of Metallica in concert. Welcome to live F1 engines.

dcminter 16y ago

The thing that impressed me most at an F1 race was that the gear changes - a barely audible deep pop-pop-popping noise on TV - on corners could be physically felt in your chest. Until the second and subsequent cars went past I thought an engine component had catastrophically exploded!