Formula 1 Has Lost Half Of Its Appeal

This car is called the 'Double Penetrator' according to Sniff
Petrol. I totally can't see what they mean.

I think I'll need armoured protection for that statement in the title; there are true diehard F1 fans who would completely disagree with me before I have even finished my first sentence. But please allow me to continue, because I am one of your kind. I am a true F1 fanatic. Or at least I was.

For those of you who live under a rock, Formula 1 is a worldwide motorsport with drivers from all around the world racing across the globe in cutting edge open-wheeled racers. Watching the action on television is pretty exhilarating, but mark my words here, seeing it in real life is truly something else. Although if I went to my local track this season, I'm not sure I'd be having the same thumping heart...


When I went in 2008, the cars had screaming V8 engines that were so beautifully loud, a lot of people chose to wear ear mufflers. I didn't; I wanted to continue my eargasm. And these ear orgies could be attained every time you visited any track - up until now that is.

2008. That was a good year. Even 2013 seems like a good year now.

If you follow F1 even slightly, you probably now know that the cars have knocked two cylinders from the engines, and the displacement has been reduced to a rather weedy 1.6L, the same as your simple family Ford Focus. Oh for sure there is loads of technology crammed in to make sure the cars still perform as well as their predecessors and even the return of turbos, but you're never going to look cool in your game of Top Trumps.

Squint and you'll see it!

Of course, this was all done in the name of saving the planet, presumably from some pressure. But this does lead me to some thoughts, some more widespread than others...

Firstly, having the smaller engines and turbo really does mean that the noise of the V12, V10 and V8 have well and truly gone forever. Some people are in favour of this new sound, but I just think it sounds like a drone. This is not helped by the fact that the rev limiter is now 'only' 15,000rpm and the drivers tend to short-shift now due to the increased torque (and to save fuel). The volume is a lot quieter too; you can now hear the tyres screeching as the drivers frantically leave their pit stop - something that has always been drowned out by engine noise, no sorry, music, in previous years.

Ooh look, a graphic of a F1 car turbo.

And secondly; is it really worth this fuel saving malarkey? What fans want is pure uninterrupted racing. Racing should not involve calculating how fast you can go based on how much fuel is in your supply. And to those who say the F1 cars produce harmful pollutants that add to global warming: yes that is true, but there are only 22 F1 cars in a world where there are over 1,000,000,000 others. So, as you can imagine, F1 cars saving a few - and I do only literally mean a few - MPG is going to do bugger-all to our climate change.

Bring back the beating heart of this and I'll die happy.

So then, it really doesn't seem to be worth it. The FIA may have made the world of F1 a slightly more efficient place, but they have sure lost respect from many fans, including me.

Bring back the V12!