No grunt for F1 despite rule changes

It sounds like Formula One has failed in its attempt to bring back loud engine roars.

Some drivers, teams and fans say they did not notice a significant increase in sound when cars made it to the track for the first time this week in pre-season testing in Barcelona.

F1 forced teams to introduce a modified exhaust system to try to boost the engine sound after widespread complaints that cars weren’t loud enough, but the effects fell short of most expectations.

Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg said the car “sounds similar” to what it did last year.

Sauber driver Felipe Nasr noticed only “a little” increase in the engine sound.

Red Bull’s chief engineer officer Rob Marshall said F1 would have been better off without the exhaust changes.

“I think the new exhausts are a waste of time,” Marshall told The Associated Press. “I don’t think it has made it any noisier. I think it just made the car a bit heavier.”

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel noticed a positive difference.

“I can say it is nice to have a bit more sound coming back,” the four-time world champion said. “It is still not as loud as it could or should be but it is a lot better than it was, now sounds a bit more like Formula One.”

The new exhausts were among the few regulation changes for 2016, along with an increase in the size of the head-protection area in the cockpit.

The modification in the cockpit was made to better protect the drivers, while the one in the exhaust system was aimed solely to make the cars noisier and please the fans.

“I think it’s a little bit better,” McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said, before pausing to rethinking his answer, “Isn’t it?”

Some drivers said the improvement, if any, was minimal.

“It’s a very small difference, to be honest,” Force India driver Sergio Perez said. “I don’t think there’s a massive difference from last year.”

Perez noted that the Circuit de Barcelona may give a false impression of improvement because the track is compact and cars are always racing close by, so they are heard from nearly everywhere in the facility.

The F1 sound changed dramatically after extensive rule changes were implemented two years ago.

The series switched from ear-splitting V8 engines to V6 turbo power units, taking away one of the sport’s biggest attractions.

Although F1 knew it could not restore the same levels of the V8 engine, it tried to improve the sound by making teams switch from the single exhaust system they used last season to twin exhaust pipes that theoretically make the sound a bit heavier.

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