Louder or more efficient engines, F1 must choose - Abiteboul

Cyril Abiteboul (FRA), Renault Sport Racing Managing Director
©WRI2

Renault's Cyril Abiteboul believes F1's quest for louder engines will be to the detriment of efficiency, which defeats the purpose of the V6 hybrid power unit.

As the sport continues to devise its future engine rules, louder sounding engines is among the requirements pursued by Formula 1 sporting manager Ross Brawn in F1's bid to cater to fans desires.

However, attempts to boost the sound of the current V6 Hybrid power unit would impact its efficiency insists Abiteboul, which in turn would call into question the entire philosophy surrounding hybrid technology and its road car relevancy.

"Fundamentally, it must be accepted that we won't do it," the Renault Sport F1 boss told Montreal radio broadcaster FM1033.

"Sound is energy. If we want powerful engines with low fuel consumption, we must be able to use all the available energy.

"If we start converting that energy into sound, then we won't achieve a good result in terms of energy efficiency. This are two contradictory objectives."

While fans consider louder, piercing sounding engines as part of F1's thrill and excitement, Abiteboul believes it is but a nostalgic whim linked to a bygone era.

"It's a generation problem. Soon, there will be several generations which will have not heard a V10 or V8 engine, for whom a silent engine will be the norm," expalins the Frenchman.

"They'll be used to other sorts of sounds: squeaking tyres, mechanical traction, a car's aerodynamics... The problem is that we are in the midst of a generational and technological gap, and it's all a bit complicated to take in."

In short, Abiteboul believes there's too much noise surrounding the issue of sound in F1.

"It's a question of time," he says. "Perhaps Formula 1 moved a bit too fast, so in a sense it's ahead of its time today, and we must accept it."

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