The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Vettel slams F1’s new noise
FORMULA ONE world champion Sebastian Vettel has slated the sport’s new sound.
Vettel pulled no punches when asked for his opinion in the paddock at the Sepang International Circuit ahead of this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
The 26-year-old gained first-hand experience of the noise from the Red Bull pit wall during the season-opening race in A ustralia recently following his early retirement.
The piercing scream of the old 2.4-litre V8 engines has been replaced by the more textural sound of the new 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged power units, and it has caused a considerable furore.
When asked for his thoughts on the matter, Vettel said: “II was on the pit wall during the race — it’s better than in the bar!
“That’s my opinion and I think for the fans as well.
“Formula One has to be spectacular and the sound is one of the most important things.
“When I was a small child, I don’t remember much, but I remember when I was six years old and we went to see the cars live during free practice.
“The one thing I remember was the sound, how loud they were, to feel the cars through the ground and the whole ground was vibrating. “It’s a shame you don’t have that.” Following the grand prix in A ustralia, race chairman Ron Walker was left fuming, suggesting he had grounds for a lawsuit as he felt the lack of sound compromised his contract with Bernie Ecclestone.
Many fans also complained during and after the event at A lbert Park, with the A ustralians far from complimentary.
There have been calls for change, to return to the visceral sound at least of the V8s, although obviously not the engines themselves.
For others, the V6 noise is simply another era of F1 — as many have come and gone in the past — and is something that will eventually be accepted.
A s far as McLaren’s Jenson Button is concerned, the critics should stop whining or get out of F1.
A sked for his opinion on the subject , Button was equally as unequivocal as he said: “Go and race something else if you’re not happy.
“A s drivers we don’t have an opinion where the cars are in terms of sound and feel.
“But when you cross the finish line first you’ve won a grand prix, so you don’t care what the car sounds like or what it looks like.
“You’ve beaten the best in the world, and that’s all you care about.”
Daniel Ricciardo, meanwhile, is determined to prove his A ustralian Grand Prix podium was no flash in the pan — even if he was later disqualified.
Ricciardo’s cool, calm , measured performance over his debut weekend for Red Bull, after being promoted from Toro Rosso to replace Mark Webber, even impressed team principal Christian Horner.
But the 24-year-old’s delight at finishing runner-up to Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes was crushed over five hours after the race had finished when he was excluded from the classification due to a fuel-flow issue with his car.
The team have appealed against the disqualification, with the hearing due to be heard in Paris on A pril 14.
“I’ve proven I can race at the front. I definitely don’t want to be a one-hit wonder,” said Ricciardo.