Following the world’s first genuine taste of the 2014 Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend much of the discussion has centred around the sound of the new F1 cars. Now powered by V6 power units the turbocharger and energy recovery systems have robbed F1 cars of the high-pitched shriek we became used to with the old V8s and V10s before them.
After spending Saturday at Albert Park we reckon the new cars sound better than we were expecting. Let’s be clear, the 2.4 litre V8s sounded much better, but that’s in the past now and we won’t be hearing those free revving normally aspirated engines anytime soon. So stop wishing those days would come back. They won’t.
The biggest issue with the current power units is they are so quiet compared with last year’s engines.
After the break we’ve got a couple of videos to help illustrate that fact. The first shows F1 cars compared with Porsche Carrera Cup cars and V8 Supercars. It’s worth noting in this comparison the F1 cars were mostly on out laps at the start of Free Practice 3, while the Porsches and V8SCs were filmed during race conditions.
The second clip is very telling and gives a direct comparison between the 2013 cars against the new 2014 machines.
UPDATE: A third clip of F1 cars has been added filmed from various sections of the track between Turns 4 and 11.
