FIA race director and safety delegate Charlie Whiting is confident Formula 1 fans will quickly adapt to the new engine sound in 2014.
The sport will switch to more efficient but smaller 1.6 litre V6 turbo-engines after the upcoming season. Many fans and even Bernie Ecclestone believe the resultant engine sound from the lower-revving engine will drive F1’s audience away when it’s compared to the current V8 engines.
Whiting doesn’t agree, and believes fans will get used to the new sound “very quickly”, denying they’ll be too quiet for F1.
“It’s a big challenge,” he told journalist Peter Windsor. “A very big challenge for the engine manufacturers. I’m looking forward to seeing the engines run – to see how complicated they are and how clever they are.
“They’re going to be extremely high-tech power units, that’s for sure,” added the 60-year-old.
“As for the sound, I think people will get used to it pretty quickly.”
Having been in motorsport for some 46 years, many of those spent in F1, Whiting has experienced a range of different engines from V12 units to a small four-cylinder engines – which he says sounded fine.
“The new engines are not going to be silent. The sound is going to be different but people will get used to it very quickly, I think.
“Honestly, when I think back to the old BMW four cylinder engine we ran in the Brabham days, that revved to 11,000rpm and it sounded fine.”
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