Are V6 engines going to affect the feel of Formula 1?
According to official reports released by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the new engine regulations will be enforced starting from the 2014 Formula 1 season.
This means that the V8 engines still have two more years left in Formula 1.
The FIA at first was hoping of introducing the four-cylinder turbocharged engines in 2013 which was highly opposed by the teams and engine manufacturers as well. It was believed that the new engines were going to change the face of the sport entirely which
is unacceptable according to people like the Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, and chief of Formula 1 Management, Bernie Ecclestone.
After a lot of criticism and queries, the FIA finally decided to hold a meeting with the members of the Formula One Teams Association and the engine manufacturers to discuss these issues. After the meeting, it has been revealed that the sport is going to
introduce turbocharged V6 engines instead of the initially planned V4s.
These engines are going to be extremely efficient according to the FIA as they are turbocharged and the costs of fuel are going to be reduced massively as a result.
Other than that, these engines are going to have a limit of 15,000 rpm (revolutions per minute) and the present Kinetic Energy Recovery System will be boosted to 120kW.
However, it has been widely argued that such devices discredit drivers’ driving abilities.
Nevertheless, the main concern the officials and teams of the sport had regarding these engine changes was that the feel of the sport might be compromised since the sound of turbocharged engines is nowhere near the sound of a V8 engine which is mainly what
the sport is all about.
The main tool for attracting people to watch Formula 1 is the sound of a Formula 1 car which according to a recent statement by the officials of the FIA, is going to be the same as that of a V8 engine.
If that is the case, then as Martin Whitmarsh said, the teams and the members of the FOTA will not have any sort of problem with these new engine regulations.
The main reason for coming up with these changes was that the FIA wanted to attract more engine manufacturers to the sport including German automaker, Audi.
If the FIA and the engine manufacturers come up with a formula which makes the sport more interesting, entertaining, skill based and cost efficient, then the fans or the teams will not have anything against the new rule changes.
If the sound of a Formula 1 car stays the same and the speed, adrenaline level, aggression and the feel of driving the car stays the same, everyone is going to be okay with the new changes.
If the FIA can pull off something like that, then this might be the best decision ever made in the sport’s engine regulations’ history but if that does not happen, then this decision is going to backfire big time.
Tags: