Formula 1 is often regarded as the world’s most glamorous sporting spectacle and with good reason. Throughout the years, the FIA Formula 1 world championship is the definition of glitz and glamour. 

To some, the real stars of the show are the race car drivers and for many others, it’s the race cars themselves. They sport giant wings on the front and rear with seemingly strange, but highly important aesthetics in between. Screaming like a bat out of hell at 16,000 RPM, these cars produce the most unique sound in motorsports that can provide a sense of euphoria to any spectator. As the sound echoes through the city of Monaco or bounces off the trees through Eau Rouge at Spa Francorchamps – this this was the real soundtrack for many on Sunday mornings.

Only this sound is now missing from the sport. Replaced, swapped out, improved, ruined, you can choose whatever verb or adjective you like to describe the 2014 Formula 1 cars, but they’re not the cars we all grew up listening to. 

Could this be a major problem for the sport? Only time can really reveal that answer, but the symphony is clearly playing a different, softer tune. The deafening screams have been replaced by a turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 engine with the all-new ERS hybrid system. The cars now produce a tone that is more comparable to a fighter jet or a spaceship as they decelerate.

Was this change welcome among hardcore fans? Hardly, but the sport has constantly been the grounds used for pioneering technologies that eventually make their way onto our driveways. That being said, the change was at some point inevitable, as the FIA have been calling for more fuel-efficient cars that can meet the needs of the organization as well as its manufacturers. 

Formula 1 is the test bed for many companies. Carbon fibre was first used in the industry and now it’s become commonplace being used in more ‘affordable’ vehicles such as the BMW i3. KERS was being tested in 2008 and became part of the regulations in 2009 and now Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren all produce vehicles that have a very similar system with Honda/Acura lining up the new NSX with this same technology.

Change is inevitable with everything in life. If you look throughout the history of Formula 1 there’s always been evolution in the sport and this year is no different. Formula 1 is a sport known for its trailblazing ways and moving forward in leading the automotive world with new technologies. 

As we enter this new era, I believe it’s important for the fans to adjust and grow with the sport, learning to adapt with the new technologies so that we may appreciate those innovations that will be powering our children’s racecars and keeping them safe, while helping out our environment at the same time. These new sounds provide us a glimpse into the future of our own cars, and I say, let a new era of glamour and partying begin, even if it’s a tad quieter than before.