The Jacarepagua circuit in Brazil was never the most inspiring of venues. A flat, featureless ribbon of tarmac which twisted and turned back on itself, its only claim to fame, aside from hosting the Brazilian Grand Prix ten times, was the fact it was one of the few circuits which ran anti-clockwise.

In 1988 McLaren arrived in Brazil with the MP4/4, a car which ultimately dominated the season. It won 15 of that year's 16 Grands Prix and could have claimed them all had Ayrton Senna been a little more patient when lapping Jean-Louis Schlesser's Williams at Monza. It was one of the few new cars that year, regulation changes mandating that any new turbo-charged engine be accompanied with a new chassis. There was method to the governing body's madness, the rules designed to deter teams from creating new cars with bans on turbos for the following year. It was a rudimentary form of cost control.

Watching that race again one lazy afternoon recently it was clear that Formula One has taken great strides in its professionalism on all fronts. As for the race itself, well, it was an unspectacular affair. Senna claimed pole, stalled on the grid before being disqualified after officials ruled, at about half-distance, that he'd changed cars after the green flag was shown, after the first start had been aborted. It was a typically chaotic affair somewhat typical of the era.

The race may have been unspectacular however, it held my interest for two reasons, both of which were the Honda RA168E. It was the final turbo Formula One engine produced by the Japanese company before the regulations forced them to supply normally aspirated units for 1989. At peak performance it produced close to 1,000bhp and red lined at 13,000rpm, all out of a 1.5 litre V6. It was the class of the field and bolted to the back of the McLaren chassis the combination was almost untouchable.

What struck me were the parallels the engine shares with the regulations set to be introduced for 2014. The FIA has announced, after some dithering, a new 1.6 litre V6 turbo engine formula with a 15,000rpm rev limit. Suddenly the RA168E is more than an antiquated racing engine consigned to the history books. That 1988 race footage, and the soundtrack from it, provided a glimpse of what we might expect in 2014.

When the 1,000bhp McLaren Honda blasted by, the ground shook and your ears wanted to bleed. It was a glorious sound which did things to one's libido the high-revving V8's simple can't manage. Today the ground still shakes and young men still say 'phwoar', so in essence nothing has changed.

It's well documented that there has been opposition to the reintroduction of turbo engines from a number of corners, not least Bernie Ecclestone. Banded together behind Ron Walker, the circuits too are crying wolf, everyone seemingly concerned that the revamped engine regulations will reduce the shrill scream of a Formula One engine to a dull grumble.

However, the 2014 regulations aren't new for a number of reasons. We've witnessed the sport with turbo V6 engines before, even V6 normally aspirated engines, though that was during the days when Grand Prix racing ran to Formula 2 regulations, and Renault introduced the turbo in 1977.