According to Stefano Domenicali, those annoying 'sound up' messages during broadcasts will soon become a thing of the past as F1 targets louder engines under new rules.

While those fans won over by Drive to Survive continue to discover F1, fans of a certain vintage remember when the sport was not so much about personalities and chicanery but rather the sight, the fury and the sound.

From the moment the hybrid era was introduced, fans, drivers even the (then) F1 supremo, lamented the lack of that spine-tingling sound that, for many, was the essence of the sport.

As many lamented the stark difference between the sound of the 2.4-litre V8 to its 1.6-litre V6 successor, many of us were still in mourning for the V10, V12, V8... H16.

Such was the outcry over the lack of audible grunt in 2014 the sport sought out a means to artificially improve the sound, while broadcasters took to the infuriating 'sound up' moment, which saw fans treated to the 'pure' sound of the V6 with all extraneous noise filtered out. However, few remained convinced.

Aware that the sound is integral to the sport, F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali - in a rare moment of recalling why he first fell in love with the sport - has revealed that the new engine formula to be introduced in 2026 will feature louder engines.

Asked if the new formula will see even quieter engines, the Italian told Australian radio station 3AW: "No, very clearly, no.

"We need to have a different sound," he added. "It's music for my ears.

"It's true that we had the 12 cylinders, it was a different frequency, very loud. And then 10, eight, six... it's not going again down.

"It's just the situation is different," he continued. "Of course we need to be hybrid, we're going to be hybrid for the future. But the intention is to make sure in the new regulation the engine noise itself will be higher because that's part of our emotion. It is really what our fans want to hear and that's the duty for us to commit to that."

In terms of the engine rules, it is the increasing electrification of the power units that is attracting the likes of Audi to the sport, however, asked if he envisages a time when F1 might be fully electric, Domenicali - who in many ways appears to have followed Liberty Media's quest to focus on the sound of the cash register - insists that this will not be the case.

"I don't think so," he said. "Formula 1 is not electric. As you know, there is another series that has taken that direction. Electrification is a choice of mobility that has to go in that direction.

"But the mobility world and the mobility landscape will follow different directions. We have taken the direction of using for the future sustainable fuels with hybrid engines. That's where we believe we're going to stay for many, many years."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by ffracer, 28/06/2023 2:02

"

@ Pawsche: Don't knock the V6 turbos just yet. Maybe, just maybe, Stefano Domenicali had convinced Liberty to watch some 1985 clips and listen to unadulterated sound bytes...... so worried that it is going to result in an electronic sim sound blaring from some homologated contraption at the end of the exhaust pipe. Please don't.

In 1985, (1500hp?) V6 twin turbos created so much sound, it was both deafening and therapeutic, leaving fans in a utopia-like trance well after an event, no joke! They shook the ground when they blasted by, gearshifts felt like bombs going off and those magnificent engines belched the flames like flamethrowers. My friends and I still revel at how the fences and our chests shook when the Ferraris, Lotus Renaults and Williams Hondas blasted by ... Montreal '85 was F1 hedonism. "

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2. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 27/06/2023 13:43

"F1 should run the V10's and V12's as a support race over the weekend.

Teams could run their reserve drivers with any previous car that contested an F1 season."

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3. Posted by kenji, 27/06/2023 13:23

"Do they still sell team branded ear plugs at GP venues? "

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4. Posted by Wokingchap, 27/06/2023 10:40

"For me it was the V10's. 20,000 odd revs. screaming at around 8khz was hypnotic.... i still have that as one of my ringtones."

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5. Posted by Editor, 26/06/2023 22:54

"@ ClarkwasGod

Hence the picture of the Matra and the Ferrari."

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6. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 26/06/2023 20:40

"Having, very recently, experienced the cacophony that is the BRM 1.5L V16 at close quarters (at Prescott), noise is very DEFINITELY an essential part of the spectacle. Personally, I've always felt the time of the DFV8, BRM, Ferrari & Matra V12's were the best aurally, but the chances of those ever returning outside of historic racing are zero, sadly."

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7. Posted by Defiant, 26/06/2023 20:18

"I'll believe it when I hear it. I don't believe a word that comes out of that mans mouth."

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8. Posted by Pawsche, 25/06/2023 23:32

"Ah Kenji, so right... I'll admit that although the V12s and V8s got the hairs up on the back of the neck, the V10s made the most glorious "musical" sound. V6s? Pah! Sound like my old Mondeo.. :-("

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9. Posted by kenji, 25/06/2023 14:46

"When the FIA raise the level of [bio ] fuel flow and let these ICEs rev out to the full 15000RPM instead of idling around at 10/11K then we may hear some of the lost sound return. We'll never enjoy the likes of the V10 screamers running at 18000+RPM again...those days are gone forever, much is the pity."

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10. Posted by Superbird70, 25/06/2023 14:21

"Growing up we used to stick sports trading cards into spokes of our bicycles to make them sound like motorcycles. Something similar for F1 to get the noist to 11?"

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11. Posted by Chester, 25/06/2023 14:04

"Sorry, Editor. I lost it for a minute and succumbed to thinking Domenicali summoned up the courage to be a red-blooded passionate Italian."

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12. Posted by Editor, 25/06/2023 13:17

"Guys, guys… let’s not get carried away.

Domenicali is fully paid up – we’re talking $5m a year – shill for F1, Liberty’s interests are his interests.

If he’s aiming to make the engines louder it’s not for the fans’ benefit but rather Liberty has found a means of charging by the decibel and adding a sponsor or two."

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13. Posted by Chester, 25/06/2023 12:45

"Finally, Domenicali's Italian passion is showing. Yes, bring back the sound. "

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14. Posted by F1nerd, 25/06/2023 10:56

"At long last Domenicali has come up with a good idea. I totally agree that the sound of the previous engines made the race a lot better. I went to Monaco for the weekend in 1993 and the noise was as fantastic as the race."

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F1 aiming to bring back the noise?

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