crowds down by 20% at monaco as well.....obviously the noise issue is a big topic.... good article Coulthard: Drivers are not happy with the new Formula 1 | Grand Prix 247 COULTHARD: DRIVERS ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE NEW FORMULA 1 3 June, 2014 David Coulthard Ex Formula 1 grand prix winner turned TV pundit David Coulthard has revealed that drivers are unhappy about the new era V6 turbo cars and admits he is also not a fan of the current formula. Speaking to AOL Cars, Coulthard said, [F1 drivers] are not happy. The marketers love it because it gives them a reason to put their investment into F1, and I completely understand that, but the drivers are not enjoying driving the cars this year. Nico [Rosberg] and Lewis [Hamilton] are probably a bit happier as they have a better package, but even if you speak to them privately they say the driving experience is not as pure as it was, divulged the winner of 13 grands prix. Part of the F1 event was all about when you arrived at the track you got excited by the noise and the anticipation as soon as you heard it, said Couthard, adding his weight to the discontent expressed not only by drivers but also fans and others closely involved with the sport. When I was a kid going to Silverstone I remember standing at Stowe Corner and it was misty. Out of the morning mist came a V12 Ferrari driven by Alesi and the noise was amazing you heard it coming and knew it was a Ferrari. It went past and you went: Wow! Its ridiculous that we like things that hurt our ears, because if the wife is talking too much and our ears get sore we dont like that! But with race cars, or music, its about the sound and the experience of it. If you went to see the Rolling Stones and they came out and said tonight were only doing an acoustic set because were getting old and dont want all the noise then the crowd wouldnt be very happy and rightly so. Its the same with Formula 1. I heard that the Monaco [crowd] was 20 per cent down this year. We have a responsibility to the fans. The fans will speak out and they know what they want, cautioned Coulthard. (GP247)
100% agree. On the music front...can you imagine going to a rock concert, music festival or whatever and they turn the music down by 60%? It would be far less enjoyable. And that's what's being done to F1 currently. F1 is lucky that noise isn't the end all be all, but it is very important. I've found myself barely watching the practise and increasingly distracted during races. I think it's in part because of the noise. The noise did a lot for me all the time.
BRING BACK THE NOISE DANG IT!!!! My first trip to Monza is coming up and I'm not half as excited as I should be
Formula One is at a crossroads. They better choose their next steps (and re-think some previous ones already taken) wisely.
Making that horrible noise currently coming out of the exhaust pipe louder is not going to help things.
The concern is that the fans are complaining about the lower noise level not the type of noise. I still think the engines should have been TT and not single T.
I can't believe I didn't get myself to Eau Rouge before this debacle! At least I relished a Ferrari 1-2 at Monza...
Well daft as it maybe I had to get ear plugs at the last F1 race I attended ... But I was telling everyone years ago, get to see a F1 race before they start tweaking it with the engine noise ect, and before they start down the road with the tree huggers. One of Todts main policy's was to make F1 greener...so it is no surprise to me, but to me the noise yes, it is a factor, but by no means the (B) all and end all of F1. In fact I quite like the fact my car probably sounds better than the current crop...when am allowed to drive it that is ...
A fart is a fart, making it louder only makes it a loud fart! Sorry not loving this new Formula 1. Very glad I got to go to 22 races in person before they took the soul out of F1.
I’ve watched F1 for a long time, but I never imagined that I’d come to the conclusion that my F430 at a brisk pace out on a back road would sound better than a F1 car at full race….. Sad… John
Making F1 green is not that hard. Mandate that all their trucks need to come with electric engines with a generator backup (test with these trucks are running some 100MPG!!) and their trucks need solar panels on the roof, can help charge the truck on the move and in turn will generate power for their medium sized office park at the track during races. They'll go a long, long way in being greener. Then add back in a direct injected 2.6 V10 with the huge ERS they have now. Boom F1 is saved and the greenies can be happy, Todt can give him self a medal of greenery and we have our sport back good and proper. V10's with MORE power than in 2005! I honestly thought Todt would be great as FIA president but his tirade of saving the flowers has been terrible so far.
Aside from the sound; the races are BORING! All these f-ing gizmos have done nothing to make the races entertaining. As someone else said, I hardly watch them anymore.
Funny which straw breaks the camel's back. Noise (or lack of same) is F1's least worry but it might be what wakes them up at last.
Me too, as somone who wathced F1 regularly since the 70's, I now don't bother if I have something else to do.
