Formula 1 cars too quiet: Australian Grand Prix organizers

Australian Grand Prix 2014

The new Formula One rules have made the cars too quiet which detracts from what the fans want, according to the Australian Grand Prix organizers.

With the onset of 2014 season, the sport has seen a lot of changes, especially as it looks to push the boundaries of hybrid technology, with the machines consuming almost 35 percent less fuel than they previously required.

The year has also seen a return of turbocharged engines, which have not been used since the 1988 season. The 1.6-litre V6′s have replaced yesteryear’s 2.4-litre V8′s.

This has resulted in a considerable lowering of the noise produced by the cars, which has not gone down too well with the Australian GP organizers; they have submitted a complaint citing breach of contract by the FIA.

Ron Walker, the Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix, has expressed his disappointment stating that the lack of noise was not what he or the audience had paid for.

“I was absolutely delighted with the whole weekend, but I was not too happy with the sound,” he told Fairfax radio, while also adding that if you were sitting in the grandstand you could barely hear the cars coming down the home straight.

“We are resolving that with Bernie (Ecclestone). It’s clearly in breach of our contract.

“I was talking to him last night (Sunday) and it’s not what we paid for. It’s going to change. He’s horrified about it. It will be an issue for all promoters all round the world.

“Everybody was talking about it,” he added.

“When you take the excitement away, you have trouble selling tickets. You have to create demand and part of that demand is people liking the noise of the race cars.”

Andrew Westacott, the chief executive of the Australian Grand Prix agreed with Walker, adding that he didn’t even need his ear-plugs in the pit lane.

“One aspect of it was just a little bit duller than it’s ever been before and that’s part of the mix and the chemistry that they’re going to have to get right,” he said, adding that hardcore racing fans in Europe will likely be even less impressed by the quieter cars.

“We pay for a product, we’ve got contracts in place, we are looking at those very, very seriously because we reckon there has probably been some breaches.”

Ecclestone was unavailable for comment.

Earlier, on Friday, Walker had revealed that a deal had been negotiated for the extension of the Australian Grand Prix beyond 2015, but he added that the proposed arrangement was yet to be signed off by the Victorian state government.

The Australian Grand Prix has been part of the F1 calendar since 1996, but the state government has said that even though it wants to continue with the race, a final decision would be made based on the value for money.