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LONDON, England - F1 will continue to push for louder engines, according to disgruntled Australian Formula 1 chief Ron Walker.
Earlier, in Barcelona, Mercedes tried a trumpet-shaped exhaust during tests with the intention of turning up the volume of 2014's turbo/hybrid V6.
The unanimous conclusion was that F1's first try at making itself louder didn't work and many people were relieved that artificially tweaking the new and very sophisticated 'power units' had not proved so simple.
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Walker, however, insists that F1 will not stop there. He had a rare meeting in Barcelona with almost every promoter on the F1 calendar. "Everybody agreed," he told Fairfax Media.
The subjects discussed at the meeting had not been confirmed but Walker added: "We're all concerned about the noise level. We can't wait until 2015 - something has to be done soon.
"Everybody agreed. We're all in the entertainment business. The people in the stands don't understand the new regulations. They want aggression, they want a gladiatorial contest.
"My customers don't care about using 100kg of fuel in a race. Ticket sales are hard to get these days because the sports market is so competitive."
However, according to quadruple F1 champion Alain Prost, the mixed messages coming out of F1 has created is a bigger problem for the sport.
Prost is now involved in the new Formula E series whose battery cars run almost silently.
Prost thought F1's move to hybrid engines was "fantastic" but the mixed messages were drowning out the good news. He said: "Right now the cars have the same power (as before) but are using 30 to 40% less fuel, which is amazing, but the fans perhaps do not care too much so there is a little confusion and young people aren't following and aren't interested.
"Formula E is much more interesting."
Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 Monaco GP this weekend.
Earlier, in Barcelona, Mercedes tried a trumpet-shaped exhaust during tests with the intention of turning up the volume of 2014's turbo/hybrid V6.
The unanimous conclusion was that F1's first try at making itself louder didn't work and many people were relieved that artificially tweaking the new and very sophisticated 'power units' had not proved so simple.
ON THE SAME PAGE
Walker, however, insists that F1 will not stop there. He had a rare meeting in Barcelona with almost every promoter on the F1 calendar. "Everybody agreed," he told Fairfax Media.
The subjects discussed at the meeting had not been confirmed but Walker added: "We're all concerned about the noise level. We can't wait until 2015 - something has to be done soon.
"Everybody agreed. We're all in the entertainment business. The people in the stands don't understand the new regulations. They want aggression, they want a gladiatorial contest.
"My customers don't care about using 100kg of fuel in a race. Ticket sales are hard to get these days because the sports market is so competitive."
However, according to quadruple F1 champion Alain Prost, the mixed messages coming out of F1 has created is a bigger problem for the sport.
Prost is now involved in the new Formula E series whose battery cars run almost silently.
Prost thought F1's move to hybrid engines was "fantastic" but the mixed messages were drowning out the good news. He said: "Right now the cars have the same power (as before) but are using 30 to 40% less fuel, which is amazing, but the fans perhaps do not care too much so there is a little confusion and young people aren't following and aren't interested.
"Formula E is much more interesting."
Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 Monaco GP this weekend.