Editor's Opinion - Noise Matters in Formula 1

I have been quite happy to read about the potential return of V8 engines to Formula 1, potentially as early as 2030. I know what the latest generation of F1 fans have been missing out on since the change to 1.6 litre V6 turbos took place in 2014. Much like coming across a friend who has never felt the magic of an album that you have savoured, I feel a sense of excitement that they will soon hear something special. And also, a pang of jealousy that they are going to get to experience their first moment of those machines in real life.

Noise has always been part of F1 for the fans who go and attend the races. We sometimes like to pretend it's all about the speed, the engineering, the human story underneath. That we are sophisticated people who can see the nuance, the drama, the complicated narrative and that is what draws us back in time and time again. The truth is that we all have an inner caveman/cavewoman, just lurking below the surface. There's something magical about a V8 or V10 at full tilt would even wake Lance Stroll from his permanent state of slumber in 2026.

I want to make it clear that I am no gatekeeper when it comes to Formula 1. I love the sport and I hope everyone gets the chance to be able to enjoy the spectacle with people they care about, because I believe that these things are best as shared experiences. Would I have sought out a sport that was only on 16 times a year and at bizarre times of the day if my Dad did not watch it? It's unlikely. I look back fondly on those 4am alarm calls to watch the Japanese Grand Prix and such like from 1995 onwards. All bleary eyed under my duvet, whilst he started the old gas fire that was probably giving us all carbon monoxide poisoning. We would tune in and revel in hearing TV commentator Murray Walker's excitement and sometimes bewilderment as to what was happening in front of him. It gave my Dad and my brothers and I, an added sense of chaos mixed in the occasion too.

There was no driver map available for the home audience to see. The gaps provided on screen between the drivers were often not the gaps you were interested in and the action would sometimes jump around as TV directors suddenly found something they viewed as important on the other side of the circuit. If you watched the final laps of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix live, you will instantly be able to recall the moment and the feeling of hearing Martin Brundle yelling "Is that Glock?!", with only 500m of the season remaining. In that moment, we all were all trying desperately to remember the colours of the Toyota drivers' helmets while we were all on our feet and shouting at the telly.

It was mad, occasionally bad and impossible to know for sure what we were watching. But we were together in that experience and we loved figuring it out along the way. In those days Formula 1 was on free to air TV in the UK and the internet was not the behemoth it is today, so there was a shortage in the analysis we got to access and I for one enjoyed the mystery of it all.

And for a family without much money that's how it stayed for some time. We would tune in to watch qualifying and the race every other weekend during the season. We would curse the day that ITV thought it was OK to advertise in the middle of the race, but mostly were very happy to be able to partake from our sofa and share our thoughts among ourselves. The idea of making our way up to Silverstone from south-east London was unrealistic for us. Partially due to the cost, but also there was a fair chance that our faded-orange Skoda Estelle wouldn't make it that far. I say orange, as this was mostly true... It had a one purple/brown door we salvaged from a junk yard when the original door fell off for some reason. You get the gist.

So, when in 2004 there was a demonstration event held on Regent Street in central London, my family had to make the time to go and see these machines in real life for the first time. We knew the cars would be going slowly through the streets, so it was never going to be the speed that took our breath away above all else, however nothing prepared me for the noise.

The location for the demonstration event almost certainly had a huge impact too as the din reverberated off the surrounding stone buildings and straight back onto you. There was no expectation of ear protection and there was no escape. My brothers and I struggled through the crowds, watched fellow spectators climbing lampposts and bus stops to get a better view and did our best to squeeze between gaps to catch a glimpse.

The naturally aspirated 3 litre v10 of the era (2004) were brutal and unexpected for a young man who had grown up with the understated purr of his parents aforementioned Skoda. It's something akin to the first time ever you hear a bottle rocket on bonfire night as a child. It sends a shiver down the spine to the point that you're not entirely sure if you are actually safe. Your inner caveman insists you to seek shelter immediately, whilst you try to maintain a cool façade seeing that everyone else around you is taking this in their stride.  

In this instance though, not everyone around me was taking it in their stride. It was the first time my brothers had heard a Formula 1 car too. I was glad to see I was not alone, they could not believe the noise either - we were experiencing something special, something unique to Formula 1 and something almost in the realm of fantasy. In that moment we heard a noise, a scream that we had never heard before and it changed what I thought a car could be capable of making me feel. There was everything before that moment and then everything after...we were the Frodo and Samwise in Lord of the Rings and the Nazgul were onto us. And we were together in our awe.

Then there's the smell. To be fair I don't read much about people missing the old smell of F1, but it certainly stayed with me. I do not know what they fuelled the cars with in this demonstration, but as with everything else about these cars it provided an assault on the senses. I remember it being similar in feeling to having had too much Colman's mustard on your food and it making your nose tingle. It is possible that Dad was experimenting with Brut deodorant at the time, but he denies these allegations. If he is to be believed, then once again I was feeling something that I did not know a car was capable of making you feel.

We left central London that day with a new sense of wonder for a sport we already loved. Watching the races on TV was still as close as we could get for a few years but eventually, we were lucky enough to experience it in person and managed to see races in Britain and India during the 2.4 litre V8 era that came to be dominated by Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. Seb is something of a F1 historian himself, what we'd call a "nuffy" in Australia. When he was around, I thought he had an unusual ability for someone in Formula 1 - the ability, to step outside of the viewpoint of what was best for him and take on other perspectives. He could see what the fans see and knows what they expect. His view on the matter was something that spoke to me - "I think the cars need to smell, I think the cars need to be loud. It needs to be something you won't forget".

And I certainly did not forget. Everyone remembers their first time hearing those engines. And this is what I cannot wait to share with people who have come to the sport since 2014. No matter how many YouTube videos you see, no matter the image quality or the sound system of your set up - the real-life version is going to knock your socks off and I am excited for you.

There is one clear example of feeling I know of. In Abu Dhabi in 2020, the 2005 Renault of Fernando Alonso with a V10 in the back of it was doing a high-speed exhibition as Lewis Hamilton gave an interview. You can see the eyes of Lewis Hamilton opening wide from behind his covid mask. Having to pause mid-interview, the seven-time world champion, who has heard more than his fair share of engines said, "Oh, that sound is just so good, man. That's the greatest sound of a racing car ever. I hate that they got rid of it!"

I ask you to search for the video and see the man's eyes light up for yourself. In time, we will all get to experience this together again. And I cannot wait.