Tag Archives: F1

A modest proposal for the Formula 1 noise problem

This year there has been two hot topics Formula 1. The noses and the noises. The nose-topic has of course been about the ugly noses. And it does not mean that Alain Prost has made a comeback, it is the noses of the 2014 cars that are considered ugly. Well, I guess I could drop that word “considered” from that sentence, because they really are ugly.

The other issue has been the noise, or the lack of noise. And this is what I am really writing about. The noise of Formula 1 cars has been really big issue this year. Because there is no noise. The cars just hum along on the track as the new spec engines just… THEY ARE SO DAMN QUIET! Some people are even complaining that the F1 fans are being ripped off because they don’t get permanent ear damage at the F1 races anymore.

This all sounds (pun intended) a bit silly. But having experienced the brutal noise of a F1 race (only once, back in 2004)… It was really something special, you just sort of felt the power of the cars. That sound is not really captured on TV. I claim that my little pocket camera with its simple video recording capability somehow captured the raw sounds of F1 better than the TV broadcasts. So I sort of understand the disappointment caused by the new cars.

So here is my modest proposal for getting the noise back to F1. Lets take the loudest heavy metal band in the world, Manowar, and offer them the job of being the “Formula 1 house band”. They would play at every F1 race, during every practice session, qualifying session and of course during the race. PA would broadcast the thunderous sound of heavy metal as the F1 cars hum quietly on the track.

Nobody would anymore complain that there is not enough noise. Problem solved.

Photo by Sergio Alcántara is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Manowar – The Formula 1 house band?