FIA president Jean Todt says he is happy with how F1 engines sound at the moment but is willing to increase the noise in response to public opinion.
“If you ask me, I don’t need the noise,” Todt told a media briefing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year. “I’m quite happy with that. I don’t think we don’t need noise, but I’m quite happy with the noise we have now.”
“The only problem is that it seems there are a lot of complaints about the noise. I’m sure, if you are here with 20, 25 people, we will have different opinions about the noise. So, if we can please people by giving more noise, I’m not against that at all, so we simply need to see how to give more noise.”
Changes to the engine formula for 2021 are under discussion. Todt admitted there are other shortcomings to the current formula which need to be addressed but doesn’t expect the next engine formula to be radically different.
“We are talking, it has started already months ago, with actual engine manufacturers, with potential engine suppliers, with the commercial rights holder, what should be a good engine.”
“If you ask me what I feel about the actual engine, it has been one interesting exercise. I think it’s too complicated, I think it’s too expensive, but it’s probably a very good first step to go to a next generation of engine, which will be… an evolution of what we have now.”
“I am against starting on a completely new development of engine, but I think we should take the upmost from what we have understood from this engine and allow the actual manufacturers who have been investing heavily to be able to enjoy what they have been investing for the next generation of engine, and also encouraging newcomers to come.”
Read Dieter Rencken’s new column later today on F1 Fanatic. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.
2018 F1 season
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Rahnarl Smenves (@rahnarlsmenves)
17th January 2018, 9:14
Louder doesn’t matter. It matters that they sound BETTER.
nase
17th January 2018, 10:19
Because that definitely isn’t a completely subjective category …
I personally love the current engines and how they sound, never been happier in that respect in over 20 years.
Rahnarl Smenves (@rahnarlsmenves)
17th January 2018, 10:48
I’m very glad for you.
And yes, it’s a subjective category. That doesn’t make a difference. It’s also a subjective category whether louder is an improvement.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
17th January 2018, 10:37
@rahnarlsmenves are you talking about TV or on-track noise? Because on-track the sound is beautiful and growling IMO. And you don’t need autistic earplugs so you can exchange views with your friends yay! Bring a sound engineer and TV sound is fixed so that we can pay attention to the real problems.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
17th January 2018, 10:48
@spoutnik – +1 to this. I remember seeing fan videos from the 2016 Brazilian GP had these cars snarling, while the FOM feed had the typical wimpy sound.
Travis Oreali (@)
17th January 2018, 10:49
Exactly. I can take my 7yo daughter to the races and she doesn’t need oversized ear muffs.
Rahnarl Smenves (@rahnarlsmenves)
17th January 2018, 10:49
Tell me about how autistic those earplugs. I’d like to learn more about this mental illness you speak of.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
17th January 2018, 18:02
@rahnarlsmenves what’s the point having a sound so scorching you have to protect your ears of? Have you already spent two hours sit on a chair watching a race with your wife just next to you and not being able to exchange a few words without lots of discomfort? You end up with barely talking or not at all. Now it sounds great, with lots of differences between the cars and you can even predict from which team is a car that’s approaching. But tv sound is not great though. There are areas of improvements.
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
19th January 2018, 3:15
You may want to look up the word “autistic” to understand @rahnarlsmenves comment.
Michael Brown (@)
17th January 2018, 19:36
@spoutnik What has FOM done to change this? Nothing, except for that experimental microphone on Perez’s car for a session in the 2017 USGP.
There has to be someone working for F1 who watches the cars live and then watched the footage recorded on the world feed and thinks: “That doesn’t sound the same.”
I know there was a difference between the V8s on TV and in-person, but with these engines the difference is much more noticeable. And nothing has been done about it in almost 4 years.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th January 2018, 20:01
Wholly agree there @spoutnik. In other words, we just need the TV mics to pick up more of the interesting sound.
Jimmi Cynic (@jimmi-cynic)
17th January 2018, 21:42
+1
And better camera deployment to capture the insane speed that looks slow on TV compared to live
TheLeggacy
17th January 2018, 23:36
Louder also means wasting more energy to make that sound. I don’t care about the sound the cars make personally. Yeah the cars where louder back in the old days but the was beacuse of the technology at the time meant they were loud, they weren’t designed to make a certain sound it was just how the engines sounded . Things have changed, the cars need to be designed to perform on track not for the sound they make.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
17th January 2018, 9:29
Yes, because this is what is holding us back from proper wheel-to-wheel racing.
/sarcasm
Joao (@johnmilk)
17th January 2018, 10:11
looking forward for the headline “Todt acknowledges calls for issue that really matter”
not today my friends, not today…
nase
17th January 2018, 10:22
This isn’t about Todt. I’m certain that he has acknowledged hundreds of other issues, it’s just that this particular piece of information was quoted seemingly out of nowhere, two months later.
Joao (@johnmilk)
17th January 2018, 10:35
It is about F1 and FIA, which Todt is the face of.
Still looking forward for the fictitious headline…
nase
17th January 2018, 10:38
What I was trying to say was: The lack of such a headline may not be Todt’s fault at all.
Damon (@damon)
17th January 2018, 10:45
I just watched a WW2 documentary yesterday, and it talked about German diving bombers having those air stream powered sirens (basically whistles) that made scary, intimidating whistling noise. Obviously, with a different purpose in mind… but on a second thought – perhaps not that different after all. Or actually – exactly thesame? The documentary even compared it to Formula 1 engine sound!
Let’s have those fitted onto the cars, and the job is done! With no cost involved.
For reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCB8ZVxKqyI
Joao (@johnmilk)
17th January 2018, 11:35
I can see a Honda sounding like that, especially with the BOOM at the end
Kringle
17th January 2018, 11:16
Jesus christ FIA get a grip
Mahesh (@m47e57)
17th January 2018, 11:55
He should just adjust his hearing aids…
Ashwin (@redbullf1)
17th January 2018, 23:18
lol
Robert
17th January 2018, 13:10
For me it is not the noise that is the problem, it is the complexity and the costs of the engines that has led F1 to having very few engine manufacturers involved in the championship. This means there is a severe lack of options for teams so most have no choice but to be a paying customer instead of being a factory-backed or works team, this limits their competitiveness and has meant F1 has become effectively a two-tier competition.
Jere (@jerejj)
17th January 2018, 14:01
No need for louder engines. The sound isn’t the most important thing in motorsport anyway. I’m perfectly fine with the current sound both on trackside and on TV. The only thing if anything that really needs fixing is the ‘following another car closely’ problem.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
17th January 2018, 14:34
The ‘volume’ is only a problem because just about everyone in F1 (Some of who have an agenda against these engines anyway) has spent the last 5 years telling us they sound bad.
If in 2014 those in F1 had stood behind the engines rather than piling hatred on them at every given opportunity I don’t think we would still be here talking about it now.
Look at the V8’s. When they were introduced to replace the V10’s the fans hated the way they sounded & a lot of drivers in 2006 complained about how much less of a challenge to drive they were compared to the V10’s due to having less quite a bit less torque. Yet as 2006 went on even though people still through they were not as good as the V10’s they simply accepted the change & shut up & it got to the point where now many of the same people that were so against the V8’s in 2006 seem desperate for them to be brought back just because they were loud.
BigJoe
17th January 2018, 15:08
Drown our emotions in loud noise so we wont recognize the lack of real entertainment?
Sometimes you can go too far though. Check out the Formula Thunder test runs, it’s overwhelming loud and IMO makes the cars look primative.
Remember this is just exhaust gas noise being amplified in metal pipes. It’s not engine noise.
This Formula was designed off the back of F1 cars apparantly becoming too quiet.
https://www.facebook.com/FT5000/videos/1392884247487284/
Apexor
17th January 2018, 18:29
The exhausts should be an easy fix to make the noise louder. You should send this to Jean Todt and problem will be solved.
They should make the exhausts bigger. The bigger the exhausts the louder the car will be. Every year the exhausts seem to get smaller. With this idea the current engines will stay and will keep the teams and engine suppliers happy.
40_valve_audi
17th January 2018, 19:32
How exactly do you make them louder without increasing RPM and fuel flow? They have no restrictions or anything in the exhaust to muffle the noise. Sitting trackside for the Canadian GP I never once thought they weren’t loud enough. The TV does a horrible job picking up the lower frequencies sounds those cars make.
Jimmy
17th January 2018, 16:35
We need the vicious loud noise back in F1 because power, unbelievable speed and sound is what F1 is all about. This new generation is sounding like a dyson hoover and very soon they will be electric and then they can shove it where the sun don’t shine. The FIA needs a change of plan otherwise there won’t be Formula 1 or Ferrari. So wheel to action, super sonic speed and screaming noise is Formula 1, END OF.
Calum Menzies
17th January 2018, 17:19
I really appreciate the technological aspect of the V6-T Hybrids, Mercedes breaking 50% thermal efficiency with that performance is an amazing fest, but I was quite underwhelmed with the noise in person, after visiting Monza in 2017.
Jimmy
17th January 2018, 18:12
Who’s stupid idea was it to put halo’s on the cars which will cause server problems with driver vision and F1 is open cockpit racing and always has been. Secondly the lack noise is abit of an issue because they sound like dyson vacuums, the FIA has gone to far going Green which is a real stupid idea for Formula 1. The last good sound was from 2013. But I see this sport being destroyed by tree huggers, nerds, bureaucrats and scumbags that no nothing about F1
swh1386 (@swh1386)
17th January 2018, 18:41
A politician’s response if ever I heard one!
robert
17th January 2018, 19:27
Engine sound, including its volume is the reason I got sucked into F1 20 years ago and it’s the main reason I haven’t bought a ticket to see a race in the last 4 years.
BigJoe
18th January 2018, 11:04
I went to Silverstone last year and you could easily hear them from the car parks. How far away do you really want to hear them?
Michael Brown (@)
17th January 2018, 19:38
A practical solution would be to hire a competent audio engineer so the cars on TV sound like the cars in real life.
Pink Peril
17th January 2018, 22:28
What about those of us at the track? One of the reasons I go to the race to watch the race rather than watch on TV (which let’s face it, is a better view) is for the all senses immersion you get trackside. I like to smell the fuel, have the engines so loud it makes my ears bleed, have my seat shake from 20 cars going past. You don’t get that at home.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
17th January 2018, 19:55
An engine that sounds like an engine (it goes louder and higher when going up within a gear, the opposite when going down within a gear, changing gear makes a more noticeable break in sound than most other influences barring starting/stopping) would be helpful. It’s embarrassing that Formula E is managing a better job of that than Formula 1 at the moment, when Formula E has very little engine sound to work with in the first place :(
This is why putting the experimental exhaust on earlier didn’t work – the amplification only reinforced the non-engine-like sound.
Jon
17th January 2018, 21:13
I prefer my road cars quiet, and my racecars loud.
Unfortunately, F1 is striving to be a road car.
Patrick (@anunaki)
18th January 2018, 10:08
I must say I’ve never seen these modern F1 cars live, so if people say they sound better live I can’t go against that.
But, I have seen V10 and V8 cars live and they sounded just brutal. That raw thrilling raoring went through your bones and it felt FAST.
BigJoe
18th January 2018, 11:14
“But, I have seen V10 and V8 cars live and they sounded just brutal. That raw thrilling raoring went through your bones and it felt FAST.”
What were the stand-out overtaking moves you saw live during this era?