The engines can’t be made louder without making major changes to the regulations, the way the power unit operates and the exhaust layout, according to Renault’s Remi Taffin.
It’s been reported that Bernie Ecclestone has asked the three engine manufacturers to advise on the best way of ‘turning the volume up’ for 2015, but Taffin says it’s impossible to do, without widescale changes.
“There’s two big items that drive [noise],” he told Autosport. “Firstly revs: we went from 18,000 to something like 12,000 this year.
“It’s important to say it’s based on the regulations, because they set 15,000 as a maximum, but the fuel flow limitation means the maximum we’re running, whether it’s a Ferrari, a Mercedes, or a Renault, is 12,000 and at the end of the straight it could be 10 or 11,000.
“The other item is the turbo. You put one thing through the path of the exhaust gases, which is like if you would put a pillow on someone’s face. It acts as a muffler.
“If you combine these two, we’ve got the result we’ve got.”
He suggested the FIA would need to scrap the current fuel flow limit of 100kg/h, which would in turn reduce efficiency, and then increase the maximum rev limit.
“If you want to have a different noise you have to go up on revs, but there would be no point going up on revs if you look at the fuel flow, because you would have to get the fuel flow up. But then you bring get your efficiency down,” he concluded.
FIA president Jean Todt recently admitted he would be in favour of reduced fuel efficiency in return for a louder noise, if that’s what fans wanted.
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