Yeah, considerably quieter than the V8's. Kravitz said during Jerez ear defenders weren't required trackside, unlike the V8's which would make your ears bleed profusely. OK I might have paraphrased that bit just a teeny bit  .

 

Not surprised they're quieter coming into corners, no more exhaust blowing and I think they are (still?) allowed to cut cylinders to save fuel off throttle. Don't need to keep the gasses flowing either to keep the turbo spooled as the ERS that harvests turbo energy can also put energy back in, ie spool the turbo up.

 

Had to restrain myself from waffling more there, been reading too much on t'internet.

Edited 24 February, 201412 yr by Iann-

Having seen the video above, I rather like the sound of the new cars now. My worry is that due to the lower rev limit, and the ability to change up through the gears early due to the extra torque they just won't "sound" as fast. In the same way that some turbo rally cars sound a bit boring due to not revving so much and having quite a muffled sound.

Yeah, considerably quieter than the V8's. Kravitz said during Jerez ear defenders weren't required trackside, unlike the V8's which would make your ears bleed profusely. OK I might have paraphrased that bit just a teeny bit  .

 

Not surprised they're quieter coming into corners, no more exhaust blowing and I think they are (still?) allowed to cut cylinders to save fuel off throttle. Don't need to keep the gasses flowing either to keep the turbo spooled as the ERS that harvests turbo energy can also put energy back in, ie spool the turbo up.

 

Had to restrain myself from waffling more there, been reading too much on t'internet.

 

Ok, I knew that the engines were going to be quieter than the V8's but I don't think I'd appreciated quite how much quieter they were going to be.  I've been reading a fair bit about the energy recovery systems too - they are fascinating bits of engineering.

Rob Smedley is going from Ferrari to Williams, to manage race operations. More senior role than that at Ferrari.

Makes sense, he was always going to follow Massa. Logical progression for him.

Article on BBC News containing short video onboard the new Lotus driven by Pastor Maldonado. First time I've heard an onboard sound of the new engines, and I have to say, it sounds epic!

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26358575

Watched a link from this page last night ( http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/26372390 ) - the one with Jennie Gow, content is a bit basic but it does give some good sounds of the cars as they pass.

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/9187463/bahrain-two-day-two-live

 

If you scroll down to about 10am there are 4 videos - Merc, Red Bull, McLaren and Force India running around Bahrain - they sound cracking to me!

 

Also if you are after live updates - the Sky feed is much better than the BBC one. I'm never ever going to actually pay their silly fees to watch it though... Scum!

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/9187463/bahrain-two-day-two-live

 

If you scroll down to about 10am there are 4 videos - Merc, Red Bull, McLaren and Force India running around Bahrain - they sound cracking to me!

 

Also if you are after live updates - the Sky feed is much better than the BBC one. I'm never ever going to actually pay their silly fees to watch it though... Scum!

 

Try and blag a mate with Skys details to watch on Sky player console apps/SkyGo etc, provided they haven't already registered 2 devices already. That's how I get it, got a permanent loan of my sisters log in and watch on Xbox. 

It appears that many of the teams are suffering with reliability issues during the pre season testing. Any of the 'smaller' teams who have got a reasonably competitive and reliable car for the first two or three races stand a chance of racking up some serious points before the 'big boys' sort their cars out.

To finish first, first you've got to finish :think:  

With all the potential reliability / lack of performance issues surrounding pre-season testing, it occurred to me that rather than give double points for the last race (which gives the advantage to the fastest, most reliable car at the end of the season, usually Red Bull), why not double points for the first two races of the season? That way, smaller teams that might have some early season reliability, but ultimately not the budget to develop their car to a consistent podium team could benefit and make it more difficult for the big teams to catch them.

 

Just a thought if you're listening Bernie!

How about each team being able to play a 'joker' once in the season for double points like they used to in its a knockout?

How about each team being able to play a 'joker' once in the season for double points like they used to in its a knockout?

Like a penalty free engine/gearbox change?

There's strong rumours that the Williams will soon be in Martini colours so something like this (The pic isn't a 2014 car)

 

 

Looks like those rumours were correct Martyn, announced today:

 

 

 

Williams Martini Racing.

 

Good to have the name back in motorsport.

Stumbled across a good programme on Sky 2 last night - Horse Power. About Ferrari in the lead up to the start of 2014 with new regulations.

 

Well I caught the latter half and have it on to record later in the week.

Thanks for the heads up

Only 5 days to go (or 4 for qualifying)    

 

I do hope that Vettel drops out on the first lap   

The bull stops and we see who has done the successful development and who is out in the cold.  

 

Sound and driving could be quite different with these cars.

1st and 2nd practice results here:

 

http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/2014/australian-grand-prix/results/practice

Cannot wait to actually see what happens tomorrow morning! I think I'm going to chicken out and NOT pick before qualifying (which I didn't do once last year)... It's just too much of an unknown right now!

Yeah; we don't know what's going to happen in P3, never mind quali, much less the race!

Cannot wait to actually see what happens tomorrow morning! I think I'm going to chicken out and NOT pick before qualifying (which I didn't do once last year)... It's just too much of an unknown right now!

That's all the fun, I've had a crack at it!

me too.

though last year I joined after the first race - and the "random pick" it had selected for me (you get one per season in case you forget to do anything) actually got me quite a lot of points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iiQwKJ5JFM

 

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is stopped by a security guard and asked who he is as he makes his way to the pits during the first practice session for the Australian Grand Prix.

The Briton had stopped on track because of an oil sensor calibration problem, but when he made his way back to the pits he was questioned by a security guard who wanted to see identification.

Hamilton eventually got through the check-point, and had a much-improved practice two performance where he finished fastest.

Well then, let's see Vettel qualifying there each week for some good excitement!