14/03/2014
NEWS STORY
When the opening practice session of the season began in Melbourne this morning, Formula One whispered in a new turbo era. Fernando Alonso had the honour of becoming the first driver on track, his Ferrari murmuring its way out of the garage in near silence.
A few moments later Lewis Hamilton quietly emerged and trundled to the pit exit where he pulled to the right for a practice start. He engaged the clutch, raised the revs and accelerated away amongst a cacophony of screaming tyres, which were louder than anything from the exhaust.
You are now more likely to go deaf mowing your lawn than attending a Formula One race.
During opening practice at Albert Park the average background level trackside was observed at 80db, a comfortable volume one could be exposed to all day, peaking at about 100db as a Toro Rosso braked from peak RPM about 20 metres away.
And that is the fundamental problem with the all-new V6 turbocharged engines. Attending a Formula One event was always a full body experience; the momentary flash of colour preceded by a rumbling in the ground and a compression in the chest before an explosion of noise assaulted the eardrums.
Despite the best efforts of certain pundits, who should know better, all that is gone now, replaced with a rather dull sound which fails miserably to capture one’s imagination.
We’d suggest the sport has shot itself in the foot (again), only that would be louder.
Check out our Friday gallery, here.
Mat Coch