Winter Testing 2014 (Part 2) - Bahrain

[neljack]

The marshals not being able to touch the cars is only for the tests, as they are new cars with new technologies it's just a pre caution whilst the teams learn the new technology, ie. making it safer.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Yes, I know. In fact you can't have the team getting to crashed cars during a race. My point was there is reason for concern with these cars and that I hope all gets sorted before the season starts.

Meanwhile, crashnet compiled the data available from these 4 days of testing. It is very interesting:

Best lap times – Driver:

1. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 33.283secs 174 laps (4)
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 34.263secs 141 laps (3)
3. Kevin Magnussen Denmark McLaren-Mercedes 1min 34.910secs 127 laps (2)
4. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1min 34.957secs 169 laps (4)
5. Nico Hulkenberg German Force India-Mercedes 1min 36.445secs 137 laps (2)
6. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 36.516secs 160 laps (2)
7. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 36.718secs 125 laps (4)
8. Felipe Massa Brazil Williams-Mercedes 1min 37.066secs 65 laps (3)
9. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1min 37.180secs 151 laps (3)
10. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Mercedes 1min 37.328secs 171 laps (2)
11. Sergio Perez Mexico Force India-Mercedes 1min 37.367secs 76 laps (3)
12. Felipe Nasr Brazil Williams-Mercedes 1min 37.569secs 87 laps (4)
13. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Lotus-Renault 1min 38.707secs 85 laps (4)
14. Daniil Kvyat Russia STR-Renault 1min 38.974secs 62 laps (3)
15. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Red Bull-Renault 1min 39.837secs 43 laps (4)
16. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Caterham-Renault 1min 39.855secs 83 laps (2)
17. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1min 40.224secs 73 laps (1)
18. Adrian Sutil German Sauber-Ferrari 1min 40.443secs 89 laps (1)
19. Jean-Eric Vergne Russia STR-Renault 1min 40.472secs 77 laps (4)
20. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1min 41.670secs 26 laps (2)
21. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Caterham-Renault 1min 42.130secs 102 laps (3)
22. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Ferrari 1min 42.511secs 21 laps (2)
23. Robin Frijns Netherlands Caterham-Renault 1min 42.534secs 68 laps (1)
24. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Ferrari No time 6 laps

[(Number in brackets) denotes day quickest time set]


Combined lap counts – Driver:

1. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 174 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Mercedes 171 laps
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 169 laps
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 160 laps
5. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 151 laps
6. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 141 laps
7. Nico Hulkenberg German Force India-Mercedes 137 laps
8. Kevin Magnussen Denmark McLaren-Mercedes 127 laps
9. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 125 laps
10. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Caterham-Renault 102 laps
11. Adrian Sutil German Sauber-Ferrari 89 laps
12. Felipe Nasr Brazil Williams-Mercedes 87 laps
13. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Lotus-Renault 85 laps
14. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Caterham-Renault 83 laps
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Russia STR-Renault 77 laps
16. Sergio Perez Mexico Force India-Mercedes 76 laps
17. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 73 laps
18. Robin Frijns Netherlands Caterham-Renault 68 laps
19. Felipe Massa Brazil Williams-Mercedes 65 laps
20. Daniil Kvyat Russia STR-Renault 62 laps
21. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Red Bull-Renault 43 laps
22. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 26 laps
23. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Ferrari 21 laps
24. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Ferrari 6 laps


Combined lap counts – Team:

1. Williams 323 laps
2. Mercedes 315 laps
3. McLaren 296 laps
4. Ferrari 285 laps
5. Caterham 253 laps
6. Sauber 240 laps
7. Force India 213 laps
8. Toro Rosso 139 laps
9. Red Bull Racing 116 laps
10. Lotus 111 laps
11. Marussia 27 laps


Combined lap counts – Engine:

1. Mercedes 1147 (286.75 laps per team average)
3. Renault 619 (154.75 laps per team average)
2. Ferrari 552 (184 laps per team average)

 

[perrlu1]

This is Ross Brawn's specialty... He did it for Honda in 2008 for 09, and he's done it many times before too. Whatever team he's in always have an advantage going into a big regulation changing season.

 

[Akmuq]

On a lighter note, by re-reading this post prior to publishing I came to realize that if the stars align properly, Caterham could well this year, at least in the first few rounds, do a "Onyx", get some points and even reach a podium. They're still slow but they did respectable mileage, maybe they last a GP's distance and that's all that's needed in the first few rounds of the 2014 F1 Championship!

By the looks of things they may struggle to get past the 107% rule, but yeah, if they can make it into the race, they could get points.

Edit:

This is Ross Brawn's specialty... He did it for Honda in 2008 for 09, and he's done it many times before too. Whatever team he's in always have an advantage going into a big regulation changing season.

Shame that he has retired.

 

[Hun200kmh]

By the looks of things half the field won't achieve 107% so I doubt the rule will stand!


I just did the math taking best laps per driver as basis.

1.33,283 * 107% = 1.39,812

Considering

15. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Red Bull-Renault 1min 39.837secs 43 laps (4)
16. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Caterham-Renault 1min 39.855secs 83 laps (2)
17. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1min 40.224secs 73 laps (1)
18. Adrian Sutil German Sauber-Ferrari 1min 40.443secs 89 laps (1)
19. Jean-Eric Vergne Russia STR-Renault 1min 40.472secs 77 laps (4)
20. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1min 41.670secs 26 laps (2)
21. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Caterham-Renault 1min 42.130secs 102 laps (3)
22. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Ferrari 1min 42.511secs 21 laps (2)
23. Robin Frijns Netherlands Caterham-Renault 1min 42.534secs 68 laps (1)
24. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Ferrari No time 6 laps

It would mean the exclusion from race to the following:

One Sauber, one STR, one Lotus AND

Both Caterham and both Marussia cars

oh, wait ...

Both RBR also out!

 

[TenEightyOne]

Interesting stuff, the Mercedes looked genuinely fast.

The Ferrari looks very quick too, shame about today's fuel misfires.

IRB, oh dear

 

[Hun200kmh]

Have to share this:

“We made a number of specification changes to the Energy Store (battery), involving modified hardware, requiring some gymnastics in engineering, procurement, assembly and logistics. We also introduced two levels of PU control system software updates; the first being effectively what would have been a decent starting point for Jerez. It eliminated some bugs that allowed us to make mapping and calibration corrections, which subsequently allowed us to operate the cars in a more robust way to gather mileage. The second layer of software changes had more functionality to allow a greater authority to the control systems, giving better performance and driveability, and a larger degree of Power Unit systems integration. All the cars started on the first route and all 4 cars migrated to the second solution as we gathered mileage.

It is taken from here


But if not for a reference to "cars" this could well be something spoken by

Just before the U.S.S. Enterprise leaves the space dock to go on another adventure. Could've used a "Aye"



You got to love F1. The guy not even once says the word "engine". It's PU in the XXIst century!

 

[perrlu1]

I've got a feeling that the 107% rule is going to be relaxed slightly this year... Mind you, it's the FIA so that could mean they get a drive through for going too slowly in quali...

If the 1997 Lola entered this season it might well be competitive...

And 2014 F1 cars.. Still faster than an HRT!

 

[TenEightyOne]

You got to love F1. The guy not even once says the word "engine". It's PU in the XXIst century!

Because the PU consists of more than just the engine, it has full BBW ERS at the rear

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Uh-huh. The Power Unit is the engine itself, the turbocharger, KERS, the waste-heat recovery system, and the motor generator unit.

 

[IceMan PJN]

Best lap times – Driver:

1. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 33.283secs 174 laps (4)
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 34.263secs 141 laps (3)

Sweet. Hopefully this will actually be worth something when we get to Australia.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Sweet. Hopefully this will actually be worth something when we get to Australia.

Hopefully.

The Renaults should (hopefully) finally be able to show their pace at the next test. Pace doesn't equal reliability of course, and all the Merc and Ferrari engined cars have done long runs without engine problems (save for Ferrari's fuel overrun).

Rosberg's fast times were set on simulated quali runs which Ferrari didn't seem to do, but the Merc is definitely looking strong.

 

[Tired Tyres]

I wonder if enough cars will finish the first race to fill all the points positions out?

A hot and humid Malaysia might get very interesting if you're Caterham. A podium could be on the cards!

Maybe they should go back to 1, 6, 4, 3, 2,1 now.

 

[Dotini]

I wonder if enough cars will finish the first race to fill all the points positions out?

A hot and humid Malaysia might get very interesting if you're Caterham. A podium could be on the cards!

Maybe they should go back to 1, 6, 4, 3, 2,1 now.

At this time, it seems very unlikely that a Renault powered car can hope to finish the first race at all, let alone enjoy a place on the podium.

I would think all the top spots to be dominated by Mercedes, possibly salted with a Ferrari or two.

 

[perrlu1]

At this time, it seems very unlikely that a Renault powered car can hope to finish the first race at all, let alone enjoy a place on the podium.

I would think all the top spots to be dominated by Mercedes, possibly salted with a Ferrari or two.

So, Marussia might score points then...

 

[SilverArrow]

So, Marussia might score points then...

Everyone should score points this year.

 

[Hun200kmh]

The almost 100% reliability of the entire field in the past few years indeed looks to be shaken this year. Considering the history of Formula One such reliability was never the norm anyway. After all, Formula 1 is supposed to be the discipline where you are always pushing the (engineering) boundaries beyond their known limit, so some unreliability is supposed to be present.

I just checked the opening rounds of the F1 championships from 40, 30, 20 and 10 years ago. It's interesting to compare with last year.



1974 (Argentinian GP - 13 cars finished ... 7th and 8th without fuel )


PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
16 Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford531:41:02.01109
212 Niki LaudaFerrari53+ 9.2786
311 Clay RegazzoniFerrari53+ 20.4124
433 Mike HailwoodMcLaren-Ford53+ 31.7993
514 Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBRM53+ 51.84142
64 Patrick DepaillerTyrrell-Ford53+ 1:52.48151
77 Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Ford52Out of Fuel6
810 Howden GanleyMarch-Ford52Out of Fuel19
915 Henri PescaroloBRM52+ 1 Lap21
105 Emerson FittipaldiMcLaren-Ford52+ 1 Lap3
1127 Guy EdwardsLola-Ford51+ 2 Laps25
1228 John WatsonBrabham-Ford49+ 4 Laps20
131 Ronnie PetersonLotus-Ford48+ 5 Laps1
Ret26 Graham HillLola-Ford45Engine17
Ret2 Jacky IckxLotus-Ford36Clutch7
Ret8 Richard RobartsBrabham-Ford36Gearbox22
Ret9 Hans Joachim StuckMarch-Ford31Clutch23
Ret37 François MigaultBRM31Water leak24
Ret3 Jody ScheckterTyrrell-Ford25Engine12
Ret18 Carlos PaceSurtees-Ford21Suspension11
Ret20 Arturo MerzarioIso Marlboro-Ford19Overheating13
Ret24 James HuntMarch-Ford11Overheating5
Ret19 Jochen MassSurtees-Ford10Engine18
Ret16 Peter RevsonShadow-Ford1Accident4
Ret17 Jean-Pierre JarierShadow-Ford0Accident16



1984 (Brazilian GP - 8 cars finished)



PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
17 Alain ProstMcLaren-TAG611:42:34.49249
26 Keke RosbergWilliams-Honda61+ 40.51496
311 Elio de AngelisLotus-Renault61+ 59.12814
423 Eddie CheeverAlfa Romeo60+ 1 Lap123
515 Patrick TambayRenault59Out of fuel82
618 Thierry BoutsenArrows-Ford59+ 2 Laps201
717 Marc SurerArrows-Ford59+ 2 Laps24
810 Jonathan PalmerRAM-Hart58+ 3 Laps26
DSQ3 Martin BrundleTyrrell-Ford60Disqualified18
Ret16 Derek WarwickRenault51Suspension3
Ret26 Andrea de CesarisLigier-Renault42Gearbox14
Ret22 Riccardo PatreseAlfa Romeo41Gearbox11
Ret8 Niki LaudaMcLaren-TAG38Electrical6
Ret12 Nigel MansellLotus-Renault35Accident5
Ret1 Nelson PiquetBrabham-BMW32Engine7
Ret2 Teo FabiBrabham-BMW32Turbo15
Ret28 René ArnouxFerrari30Battery10
Ret24 Piercarlo GhinzaniOsella-Alfa Romeo28Gearbox21
Ret25 François HesnaultLigier-Renault25Overheating19
Ret9 Philippe AlliotRAM-Hart24Battery25
Ret20 Johnny CecottoToleman-Hart18Turbo17
Ret5 Jacques LaffiteWilliams-Honda15Electrical13
Ret27 Michele AlboretoFerrari14Brakes2
Ret21 Mauro BaldiSpirit-Hart12Distributor23
DSQ4 Stefan BellofTyrrell-Ford11Disqualified22
Ret19 Ayrton SennaToleman-Hart8Turbo16
EX14 Manfred WinkelhockATS-BMW0Excluded




1994 (Brazilian GP again - 12 cars finished)



PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
15 Michael SchumacherBenetton-Ford711:35:38.759210
20 Damon HillWilliams-Renault70+1 Lap46
327 Jean AlesiFerrari70+1 Lap34
414 Rubens BarrichelloJordan-Hart70+1 Lap143
53 Ukyo KatayamaTyrrell-Yamaha69+2 Laps102
629 Karl WendlingerSauber-Mercedes69+2 Laps71
712 Johnny HerbertLotus-Mugen-Honda69+2 Laps21
823 Pierluigi MartiniMinardi-Ford69+2 Laps15
920 Érik ComasLarrousse-Ford68+3 Laps13
1011 Pedro LamyLotus-Mugen-Honda68+3 Laps24
1126 Olivier PanisLigier-Renault68+3 Laps19
1231 David BrabhamSimtek-Ford67+4 Laps26
Ret2 Ayrton SennaWilliams-Renault55Spun off1
Ret8 Martin BrundleMcLaren-Peugeot34Collision18
Ret15 Eddie IrvineJordan-Hart34Collision16
Ret6 Jos VerstappenBenetton-Ford34Collision9
Ret25 Éric BernardLigier-Renault33Collision20
Ret4 Mark BlundellTyrrell-Yamaha21Spun off12
Ret9 Christian FittipaldiFootwork-Ford21Gearbox11
Ret30 Heinz-Harald FrentzenSauber-Mercedes15Spun off5
Ret7 Mika HäkkinenMcLaren-Peugeot13Engine8
Ret24 Michele AlboretoMinardi-Ford7Engine22
Ret10 Gianni MorbidelliFootwork-Ford5Gearbox6
Ret28 Gerhard BergerFerrari5Engine17
Ret19 Olivier BerettaLarrousse-Ford2Collision23
Ret34 Bertrand GachotPacific-Ilmor1Collision25
DNQ32 Roland RatzenbergerSimtek-Ford
DNQ33 Paul BelmondoPacific-Ilmor



2004 (Australian GP - 14 cars finished)


PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
11 Michael SchumacherFerrari581:24:15.757110
22 Rubens BarrichelloFerrari58+13.60528
38 Fernando AlonsoRenault58+34.67356
44 Ralf SchumacherWilliams-BMW58+1:00.42385
53 Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams-BMW58+1:08.53634
69 Jenson ButtonBAR-Honda58+1:10.59843
77 Jarno TrulliRenault57+1 Lap92
85 David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes57+1 Lap121
910 Takuma SatoBAR-Honda57+1 Lap7
1011 Giancarlo FisichellaSauber-Petronas57+1 Lap14
1115 Christian KlienJaguar-Cosworth56+2 Laps19
1216 Cristiano da MattaToyota56+2 Laps13
1317 Olivier PanisToyota56+2 Laps18
1419 Giorgio PantanoJordan-Ford55+3 Laps16
Ret12 Felipe MassaSauber-Petronas44Engine11
Ret18 Nick HeidfeldJordan-Ford43Transmission15
NC20 Gianmaria BruniMinardi-Cosworth43Not Classified20
Ret14 Mark WebberJaguar-Cosworth29Transmission6
Ret21 Zsolt BaumgartnerMinardi-Cosworth13Electrical17
Ret6 Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren-Mercedes9Engine10


Last year (2013) (Australian GP - 18 cars finished)
Pos.No.DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
17 Kimi RäikkönenLotus-Renault581:30:03.225725
23 Fernando AlonsoFerrari58+12.451518
31 Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault58+22.346115
44 Felipe MassaFerrari58+33.577412
510 Lewis HamiltonMercedes58+45.561310
62 Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault58+46.80028
715 Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes58+1:05.068126
814 Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes58+1:08.44994
95 Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes58+1:21.630102
108 Romain GrosjeanLotus-Renault58+1:22.75981
116 Sergio PérezMcLaren-Mercedes58+1:23.36715
1218 Jean-Éric VergneToro Rosso-Ferrari58+1:23.85713
1312 Esteban GutiérrezSauber-Ferrari57+1 Lap18
1417 Valtteri BottasWilliams-Renault57+1 Lap16
1522 Jules BianchiMarussia-Cosworth57+1 Lap19
1620 Charles PicCaterham-Renault56+2 Laps22
1723 Max ChiltonMarussia-Cosworth56+2 Laps20
1821 Giedo van der GardeCaterham-Renault56+2 Laps21
Ret19 Daniel RicciardoToro Rosso-Ferrari39Exhaust14
Ret9 Nico RosbergMercedes26Electrical6
Ret16 Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Renault24Spun off17
DNS11 Nico Hülkenberg



Also checked last year's numbers of retirements. Consider the full field was of 22 cars:

Australia - 4
Malaysia - 4
China - 4
Bahrain - 1
Spain - 3
Monaco - 6
Canada - 2
Great Britan - 2
Germany - 3
Hungary - 3
Belgium - 3
Italy - 2
Singapore - 2
S. Korea - 2
Japan - 3
India - 3
Abu Dhabi - 1
USA - 1
Brasil - 3


We will probably get a "back to traditional retirement values" in the first few rounds of the Formula One 2014 Championship. It'll be entertaining, and I do hope some litle teams do grab their unexpected chance for higher finishing positions. 👍

 

[perrlu1]

I remember an opening GP (Australia 2008) when the points went to 8th place, and only 6 cars finished...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Australian_Grand_Prix

 

[Diehardracer]

What does everyone think of the new sound the 1.6ltr turbocharged engine?

 

[BHRxRacer]

Couldn't go during any of the testing days, unfortunately. Really wanted to hear and see the new cars up close.

Anyway, judging by the reports and news it'll be quite an unpredictable season. Not sure it'll be a good thing to have so many things that can go wrong. Tyres, fuel, failures and spins.

What the reports and interviews don't really show is how each driver is affected by the changes. We saw the difference between Hamilton and Button in 2011 and 2012, and how it was all done to tyre temperature. 2012 favoured Hamilton because he abused the car into generating enough heat, thus performance. The opposite with Jenson in 2011. I guess we'll have to wait.


edit

I've seen all the interviews with the drivers up to day 3. Does anyone know what Kimi said about his crash in day 4?

What does everyone think of the new sound the 1.6ltr turbocharged engine?

I think everyone already said what they think in the new regs/engine thread. We can't say for sure until we hear them in person.

Interesting theory that I heard this morning: Renault knew early on that these issues would cone up, and put pressure on Bernie and the FIA to introduce double points in Abu Dhabi so that their teams had a better chance of competing.

After all, the most extreme predictions suggest Renault will not be able to fully resolve their issues until Silverstone.

There is no evidence that this was anything more than a coincidence. The Illuminati, Templars, Freemasons, Opus Dei, Elders of Zion, Majestic-12, Bilderberg Group, Phoebos Cartel, Propaganda Due, Skull and Bones and/or SPECTRE were not involved.

Honestly, the suggestion that the FIA was somehow manipulated by Renualt is one of the stupidest things I've read this year.

 

[Hun200kmh]

^^^ You could've refrained from writing that unnecessary last paragraph.

About sounds, from all I heard up to now I must say I like them. Especially the mix between jet engine and the low rumble with the rattling farts under deceleration

It's also interesting how the cars are very different in sound, especially the Mercedes and Ferrari sounds are very distinct from each other.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Honestly, the suggestion that the FIA was somehow manipulated by Renualt is one of the stupidest things I've read this year.

Definitely.

Last week the F1 community were up in arms because the ex-Peugeot motorsport boss was linked to an F1 team principal's job. Clearly people felt they'd get preferential treatment from the FIA being a) French and b) Jean Todt's group (he was also boss of Peugeot Motorsport).

Now they're suddenly pro-Renault.

This is like soccer fans claiming that referees are corrupt when every week the players lie on the ground cheating in front of TV cameras. Crazy.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

^^^ You could've refrained from writing that unnecessary last paragraph.

No, I know what he's doing. I shot down the theory - possibly his theory - that the owners of the ski resort where Michael Schumacher had his accident deliberately delayed his treatment to avoid getting some bad press. It was a stupid theory, and I said as much. He is obviously still smarting about it, because he quoted me word-for-word just now in his response.

 

[Hun200kmh]

I see ... well then I'll comment like @Tornado did in the other thread, with this:

Pretty sure Barichello isn't involved either.

Although in this case I should probably replace the Barrichello reference with a diMontezemolo one

 

[BHRxRacer]

No, I know what he's doing. I shot down the theory - possibly his theory - that the owners of the ski resort where Michael Schumacher had his accident deliberately delayed his treatment to avoid getting some bad press. It was a stupid theory, and I said as much. He is obviously still smarting about it, because he quoted me word-for-word just now in his response.

There there, everyone directly contradicts himself from time to time

PS it was someone else that suggest that theory.

 

[joetruckv8]

A very good tape, super glad I watch this 1, Trust!


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The announcers are going to have a full day with all the talks of the new technical sporting reg's. They may need an extra 30 min TV slot to do the explaining!,. ​

 

[neljack]

Very good morning for Red Bull, having at least gone 300 yards further than they expected on their 2nd run.

 

[joetruckv8]

DK,

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

You can really hear the turbo spool out as the Ferrari decelerates, I quite like it. However, the deeper v6 sound of the Mercedes is my favorite, these cars sound as menacing as the old engines from the 80s, if not more with the new technology. It's pretty cool.

 

[joetruckv8]

You can really hear the turbo spool out as the Ferrari decelerates, I quite like it. However, the deeper v6 sound of the Mercedes is my favorite, these cars sound as menacing as the old engines from the 80s, if not more with the new technology. It's pretty cool.

Funny you say that, I was thinking the same thing. I think for 1st timer F1 spectators are family members whom are not into F1 racing will enjoy the deeper throaty sounds of the V6 engine better than the hi pitched sound of the V8's. We respect that hi pitched sound because we know about the F1 engine and all of its magic but I can tell much easier when a driver lifts of the gas and powers the gas back up again on the V6 chassis. I might be able to tell who gets on the power sooner than the next driver this season also.