8 ms·

I'm loving the direction F1 is going. Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same, and the cars aren't going as fast anymore, but I love that the

I'm loving the direction F1 is going. Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same, and the cars aren't going as fast anymore, but I love that they are trying to force the manufacturers to improve their lower spec engines. Maybe the next rule change we'll have CVT as a requirement instead of a gear box.

johnwyles 13y ago
Also keep in mind that Formula E debuts this year; it will be the sport we all eventually follow (not sure how I feel about the passing cars sounding more like aircraft than cars): http://www.fiaformulae.com/ http://www.fiaformulae.com/
- sbierwagen 13y ago
  Who cares about the sound? I'm tired of seeing blog comments on Jalopnik complaining about it. Of the many dumb excuses car nuts use to whine about electric cars, "they sound different!" is by far the worst.
  - gsnedders 13y ago
    At the end of the day sound is an inherent inefficiency. The aim is to maximise the kinetic energy output of the motor — any sound or heat energy produced is waste that could've better been produced as kinetic energy.
    - sliverstorm 13y ago
      Not always. Did you know that in top fuel cars, the "waste" energy of the exhaust works like jet thrusters, providing up to 1000lbs of traction-boosting downforce?
      - ars 13y ago
        The exhaust might do that, but the sound certainly doesn't. Any sound is wasted energy. And in any case there are better ways to harness energy if you want create downforce.
  - _s 13y ago
    Lots of people do - some were drawn to F1 just because they stopped walking past a TV or near a track and wanted to know what was making that unworldly racket. That, to me, is equivalent of saying who cares what the cars look like? It's all part and parcel of the appeal of the sport - if somethings amiss, you've lost a little bit of that appeal.
  - enko 13y ago
    I have to admit I love the sound of a good engine - and aeroplanes, and boats, trains, everything. It's the sound of power. Watching cars race without that sound is a far less emotive experience. One of the commentators on tonight's Bahrain race said that the safety car sounded much better than the race cars, and I wistfully agreed. That said, I do think some people overdo it a bit and I actually like that FIA is willing to force innovation, even if it's (initially?) unpopular.
    - gregpilling 13y ago
      They have a long history of suppressing innovation though. Chapter 13 of this book is about all the tech that was banned. http://www.amazon.com/Formula-Technology-Peter-G-Wright/dp/0768002346 http://www.amazon.com/Formula-Technology-Peter-G-Wright/dp/0... It is the most interesting chapter in the book.
      - ISL 13y ago
        Search 'look inside' for the word 'banned' to see what greg's talking about. He's right. That's cool. What would F1 be like if they relaxed all the rules? Edit: Just got through the chapter, the author speculates on what would be possible without bans.
        gaadd33 13y ago
        I haven't read the book but I think CanAm in the 70s was pretty much racing with no engineering restrictions. Hence you had the Porsche 917 putting out 1500hp+ and only weighing 1800 lbs.
  - WalterBright 13y ago
    I have an old muscle car with a built V8. The crackling sound of the engine start, and the sound it makes when it 'digs in' under acceleration, is viscerally thrilling. The smell of a hot engine, and the shaking of the car also add a lot of fun. One of the best movie montages ever is the opening sequence of the movie "Grand Prix" where they start the engines and warm em up. In "Rush" they ruined the movie by having a rock soundtrack laid over the sounds of the cars. "Bullitt"s car chase has never been equaled because the director had the guts to let the V8s and various car noises be the whole soundtrack. The music overlay stops when the chase starts, the complete opposite of every other movie.
    - kalms 13y ago
      Sorry, but Bullitt's car chase is terribly boring. I don't get why it's so fascinating?
      - WalterBright 13y ago
        Maybe you're used to the modern cinematographic technique of quick cuts where one barely has time to focus on a scene. Older movies tend to use longer shots in action sequences. Besides what I already mentioned, Bullitt is cool because: 1. the setup where the guy puts on his seatbelt 2. the total lack of dialog - the driver and the gunman understand each other just by looks 3. the deadpan expression on the driver 4. when Bullitt slides off the road, the slightest, most barely perceptible smile on the driver's face 5. McQueen's expression of complete focus and concentration 6. the 68 Mustang and Charger just totally rock. I never understand having a chase sequence with boring cars 7. the lack of CGI, models, and special effects 8. the skid marks from earlier takes 9. the amazing teleporting Green Beetle :-) 10. I love the shot of the rearview mirror when the hunter becomes the hunted - it's just classic
        sbarre 13y ago
        Don't forget the car with 6 hubcaps!
        kalms 13y ago
  - sliverstorm 13y ago
    When you go to a race, you can feel the thrum of the engines in your chest. It can be a part of the experience. The same way that 100mph on a motorcycle is more thrilling than 100mph in a BMW, because of the roar of the wind, the heat of the bike, and the scream of the motor.
  - megablast 13y ago
    As someone who had to study and do exams while the F1 was one, thank you and screw those people.
- ojii 13y ago
  Was completely unaware of the upcoming Formula E. Thanks for sharing. I'm a bit surprised by the "single provider" system used there. Read the Wikipedia article and it sounds like McLaren will supply all teams? Doesn't sound ideal to promote research. Also would love to see a Tesla Formula E team.
- ericcumbee 13y ago
  Formula E is only going to be around along enough to prove the concept is viable. Once it is, its going to either be relegated to a feeder series, or the ideas merged into formula one.
- ajtaylor 13y ago
  Thanks for the link. I didn't know about Formula E! I watched a video linked off the front page and while I missed the roar of a petrol engine, but it had it's own neat sound.
antr 13y ago
As an F1 fan, it isn't the noise, and speed that are making this championship "boring". It's the fact that Mercedes is so superior that you really have to ignore them in order to enjoy the "real" racing / fights behind them. (It's true that the Hamilton-Rosberg fight in Bahrain was also fun to watch) Mercedes' dominance is ridiculous - and I don't want to take engineering credits away, but there are no fights to watch at the top. Just take a look at the 22 second difference they managed to create in just 11 laps, the laps left after the safety car at Bahrain went in the pit lane. The fun was behind, Force India vs Red Bull vs Williams (vs Ferrari, sigh). Lets hope that other teams can catch up.
- enko 13y ago
  > there are no fights to watch at the top Were we watching the same race? The last 11 laps were an epic battle between Rosberg and Hamilton, and the mob contending for points was no less thrilling. I thought it was a great race, at least at the end. And have you already forgotten 2013? Red Bull won every single race in the second half of the season. Yeah, Mercedes is on top, for now, it's not like a constructor has never been dominant before.
  - antr 13y ago
    Please read my entire comment: > (It's true that the Hamilton-Rosberg fight in Bahrain was also fun to watch) My point is: this year looks like the last years' championships with RBR... same dog, different collar.
    - brm 13y ago
      Is it though? We haven't even arrived in Monaco yet, anything could happen and the drama has been amazing to watch so far. Take tonight for example... Vetel being instructed to let Ricciardo pass and complying, Force India going 3/5, Hamilton and Rosberg dueling, Massa(??) blitzing the field on the start. The president of Ferrari walking out in disgust. That horrendous flip... This doesn't even get into new arrivals like Magnussen and his amazing debut. This season is far from over and getting more interesting by the day.
    - 13y ago
TallGuyShort 13y ago
I'm a hardcore fan and I love the new sound. I do miss the epic V-12 screaming, but the sound of the turbo? Breath-taking.
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  I didn't think turbos usually made sounds. Superchargers whine, but turbos seem pretty quiet?
  - gregpilling 13y ago
    They make a nice whistling and wooshing sound.
  - TallGuyShort 13y ago
    Listen on the downshifts. You can hear the turbines spinning at high speed, lagging behind the V-6's speed a bit. It almost sounds like a sucking sound as they lift off the throttle.
k-mcgrady 13y ago
>> "Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same" Hardcore fans don't care about this noise. They're there to watch a race not listen to it. Sure it enhances the atmosphere but it's the racing that's important and judging by todays race that's only getting better.
jimmyrp 13y ago
A lot of the hardcore fans seem to like the noise. I'm waiting for the teams to start pushing closer to the rev limit where the engines really start to scream (I think they use around 13000 of the 15000 available). CVT's were previously used but they were banned pretty quickly.
- dhughes 13y ago
  I've only been to one F1 race in person that was 1988 in Montreal and I couldn't believe the noise, vicious! My teeth vibrated, even my bones I couldn't believe I could feel my freaking skeletal bones vibrate. Some friends and I went because the turbos were going to be banned in 1989. I was 19 years old and the only thing I remember about the trip is 1) the noise! 2) crazy Italians 3) crazy Brazilians 4) strip club under a Burger King
  - dwd 13y ago
    The mid-80's turbo era was the best. The awesome sound, the cars twitching with the torque and sparks flying from the undertray made for good watching. The JPS 98Ts are still possibly the best looking cars ever.
davej 13y ago
> the cars aren't going as fast anymore Lap times are about 1% away from last year, not a huge difference. I would expect that by the end of the season, lap times will have caught up.
brc 13y ago
Well, I'm a long-time fan, and I sure miss the noise. I have nothing against the turbo engines, but the lack of noise takes away a lot of the atmosphere, especially live. But particlarly odious is the fuel metering. This is racing - not hypermiling. When stupid rules interfere with racing, racing suffers.
- sanoli 13y ago
  Long-time fan here who also finds fuel metering ridiculous.
wmt 13y ago
"Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same" Many hardcore fans are more than happy that the cars sound again like they did back in the 80s before turbo was banned, a deep sound full of power.

johnwyles 13y ago

Also keep in mind that Formula E debuts this year; it will be the sport we all eventually follow (not sure how I feel about the passing cars sounding more like aircraft than cars): http://www.fiaformulae.com/ http://www.fiaformulae.com/

sbierwagen 13y ago
Who cares about the sound? I'm tired of seeing blog comments on Jalopnik complaining about it. Of the many dumb excuses car nuts use to whine about electric cars, "they sound different!" is by far the worst.
- gsnedders 13y ago
  At the end of the day sound is an inherent inefficiency. The aim is to maximise the kinetic energy output of the motor — any sound or heat energy produced is waste that could've better been produced as kinetic energy.
  - sliverstorm 13y ago
    Not always. Did you know that in top fuel cars, the "waste" energy of the exhaust works like jet thrusters, providing up to 1000lbs of traction-boosting downforce?
    - ars 13y ago
      The exhaust might do that, but the sound certainly doesn't. Any sound is wasted energy. And in any case there are better ways to harness energy if you want create downforce.
- _s 13y ago
  Lots of people do - some were drawn to F1 just because they stopped walking past a TV or near a track and wanted to know what was making that unworldly racket. That, to me, is equivalent of saying who cares what the cars look like? It's all part and parcel of the appeal of the sport - if somethings amiss, you've lost a little bit of that appeal.
- enko 13y ago
  I have to admit I love the sound of a good engine - and aeroplanes, and boats, trains, everything. It's the sound of power. Watching cars race without that sound is a far less emotive experience. One of the commentators on tonight's Bahrain race said that the safety car sounded much better than the race cars, and I wistfully agreed. That said, I do think some people overdo it a bit and I actually like that FIA is willing to force innovation, even if it's (initially?) unpopular.
  - gregpilling 13y ago
    They have a long history of suppressing innovation though. Chapter 13 of this book is about all the tech that was banned. http://www.amazon.com/Formula-Technology-Peter-G-Wright/dp/0768002346 http://www.amazon.com/Formula-Technology-Peter-G-Wright/dp/0... It is the most interesting chapter in the book.
    - ISL 13y ago
      Search 'look inside' for the word 'banned' to see what greg's talking about. He's right. That's cool. What would F1 be like if they relaxed all the rules? Edit: Just got through the chapter, the author speculates on what would be possible without bans.
      - gaadd33 13y ago
        I haven't read the book but I think CanAm in the 70s was pretty much racing with no engineering restrictions. Hence you had the Porsche 917 putting out 1500hp+ and only weighing 1800 lbs.
- WalterBright 13y ago
  I have an old muscle car with a built V8. The crackling sound of the engine start, and the sound it makes when it 'digs in' under acceleration, is viscerally thrilling. The smell of a hot engine, and the shaking of the car also add a lot of fun. One of the best movie montages ever is the opening sequence of the movie "Grand Prix" where they start the engines and warm em up. In "Rush" they ruined the movie by having a rock soundtrack laid over the sounds of the cars. "Bullitt"s car chase has never been equaled because the director had the guts to let the V8s and various car noises be the whole soundtrack. The music overlay stops when the chase starts, the complete opposite of every other movie.
  - kalms 13y ago
    Sorry, but Bullitt's car chase is terribly boring. I don't get why it's so fascinating?
    - WalterBright 13y ago
      Maybe you're used to the modern cinematographic technique of quick cuts where one barely has time to focus on a scene. Older movies tend to use longer shots in action sequences. Besides what I already mentioned, Bullitt is cool because: 1. the setup where the guy puts on his seatbelt 2. the total lack of dialog - the driver and the gunman understand each other just by looks 3. the deadpan expression on the driver 4. when Bullitt slides off the road, the slightest, most barely perceptible smile on the driver's face 5. McQueen's expression of complete focus and concentration 6. the 68 Mustang and Charger just totally rock. I never understand having a chase sequence with boring cars 7. the lack of CGI, models, and special effects 8. the skid marks from earlier takes 9. the amazing teleporting Green Beetle :-) 10. I love the shot of the rearview mirror when the hunter becomes the hunted - it's just classic
      - sbarre 13y ago
        Don't forget the car with 6 hubcaps!
      - kalms 13y ago
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  When you go to a race, you can feel the thrum of the engines in your chest. It can be a part of the experience. The same way that 100mph on a motorcycle is more thrilling than 100mph in a BMW, because of the roar of the wind, the heat of the bike, and the scream of the motor.
- megablast 13y ago
  As someone who had to study and do exams while the F1 was one, thank you and screw those people.
ojii 13y ago
Was completely unaware of the upcoming Formula E. Thanks for sharing. I'm a bit surprised by the "single provider" system used there. Read the Wikipedia article and it sounds like McLaren will supply all teams? Doesn't sound ideal to promote research. Also would love to see a Tesla Formula E team.
ericcumbee 13y ago
Formula E is only going to be around along enough to prove the concept is viable. Once it is, its going to either be relegated to a feeder series, or the ideas merged into formula one.
ajtaylor 13y ago
Thanks for the link. I didn't know about Formula E! I watched a video linked off the front page and while I missed the roar of a petrol engine, but it had it's own neat sound.

antr 13y ago

As an F1 fan, it isn't the noise, and speed that are making this championship "boring". It's the fact that Mercedes is so superior that you really have to ignore them in order to enjoy the "real" racing / fights behind them. (It's true that the Hamilton-Rosberg fight in Bahrain was also fun to watch) Mercedes' dominance is ridiculous - and I don't want to take engineering credits away, but there are no fights to watch at the top. Just take a look at the 22 second difference they managed to create in just 11 laps, the laps left after the safety car at Bahrain went in the pit lane. The fun was behind, Force India vs Red Bull vs Williams (vs Ferrari, sigh). Lets hope that other teams can catch up.

enko 13y ago
> there are no fights to watch at the top Were we watching the same race? The last 11 laps were an epic battle between Rosberg and Hamilton, and the mob contending for points was no less thrilling. I thought it was a great race, at least at the end. And have you already forgotten 2013? Red Bull won every single race in the second half of the season. Yeah, Mercedes is on top, for now, it's not like a constructor has never been dominant before.
- antr 13y ago
  Please read my entire comment: > (It's true that the Hamilton-Rosberg fight in Bahrain was also fun to watch) My point is: this year looks like the last years' championships with RBR... same dog, different collar.
  - brm 13y ago
    Is it though? We haven't even arrived in Monaco yet, anything could happen and the drama has been amazing to watch so far. Take tonight for example... Vetel being instructed to let Ricciardo pass and complying, Force India going 3/5, Hamilton and Rosberg dueling, Massa(??) blitzing the field on the start. The president of Ferrari walking out in disgust. That horrendous flip... This doesn't even get into new arrivals like Magnussen and his amazing debut. This season is far from over and getting more interesting by the day.
  - 13y ago

TallGuyShort 13y ago

I'm a hardcore fan and I love the new sound. I do miss the epic V-12 screaming, but the sound of the turbo? Breath-taking.

sliverstorm 13y ago
I didn't think turbos usually made sounds. Superchargers whine, but turbos seem pretty quiet?
- gregpilling 13y ago
  They make a nice whistling and wooshing sound.
- TallGuyShort 13y ago
  Listen on the downshifts. You can hear the turbines spinning at high speed, lagging behind the V-6's speed a bit. It almost sounds like a sucking sound as they lift off the throttle.

k-mcgrady 13y ago

>> "Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same" Hardcore fans don't care about this noise. They're there to watch a race not listen to it. Sure it enhances the atmosphere but it's the racing that's important and judging by todays race that's only getting better.

jimmyrp 13y ago

A lot of the hardcore fans seem to like the noise. I'm waiting for the teams to start pushing closer to the rev limit where the engines really start to scream (I think they use around 13000 of the 15000 available). CVT's were previously used but they were banned pretty quickly.

dhughes 13y ago
I've only been to one F1 race in person that was 1988 in Montreal and I couldn't believe the noise, vicious! My teeth vibrated, even my bones I couldn't believe I could feel my freaking skeletal bones vibrate. Some friends and I went because the turbos were going to be banned in 1989. I was 19 years old and the only thing I remember about the trip is 1) the noise! 2) crazy Italians 3) crazy Brazilians 4) strip club under a Burger King
- dwd 13y ago
  The mid-80's turbo era was the best. The awesome sound, the cars twitching with the torque and sparks flying from the undertray made for good watching. The JPS 98Ts are still possibly the best looking cars ever.

davej 13y ago

> the cars aren't going as fast anymore Lap times are about 1% away from last year, not a huge difference. I would expect that by the end of the season, lap times will have caught up.

brc 13y ago

Well, I'm a long-time fan, and I sure miss the noise. I have nothing against the turbo engines, but the lack of noise takes away a lot of the atmosphere, especially live. But particlarly odious is the fuel metering. This is racing - not hypermiling. When stupid rules interfere with racing, racing suffers.

sanoli 13y ago
Long-time fan here who also finds fuel metering ridiculous.

wmt 13y ago

"Sure, for the hardcore fans, the noise just isn't the same" Many hardcore fans are more than happy that the cars sound again like they did back in the 80s before turbo was banned, a deep sound full of power.