Hello folks, Will Buxton here. Corporate schill. FIA apologist. TV puppet. Whack job. Clueless hack. Fucking idiot. Or any one of the other tags I’ve had attached to me over the past fortnight for simply stating that I actually don’t mind the sound of the 2014 Formula 1 power units.

Frankly, I’m getting a little tired of the fact that at the beginning of one of the most technically fascinating and competitively open championships for a generation, all we seem to be doing is arguing about noise. But that is all it is. Noise. Wasted energy. Yours and mine. And the cars’.

I wasn’t going to write a blog on the topic because over the past week, it is all anyone has seemingly cared or written about. I have retweeted numerous articles whose opinions I have agreed with, and yet still people are either unwilling or unable to accept that I am genuine in my statements that these things sound pretty cool. And so I am writing this so as to be unequivocal.

Here are the facts as I see them.

The 2014 V6 Turbos are not as loud as the 2013 V8s.

The 2014 V6 Turbos are not as high pitched and thus are not as exciting to listen to as the 2013 V8s.

They sound crap on TV.

But, in the flesh they really do sound quite awesome. And they sound different depending on where you stand. You are going to get a different impression of these cars if you are standing in the middle of the straight where the cars are at full revs, to if you are in the braking zone and are experiencing the fascinating sound of the two MGUs kicking in. If you stand mid corner you will hear tyre screeching as the drivers scrabble for grip with the huge torque being produced. If you stand on corner exit, you’ll hear the growl of the engine and watch huge black lines being laid down, tyres screeching as the cars wheelspin up to 5th gear.

I’ve had messages from people here in Sepang who said that after watching the Australian Grand Prix on TV, they were worried about how it would sound for real. But they’ve been pleasantly surprised. Even Bernie Ecclestone admitted to me yesterday on NBCSN that the cars sounded far better in the flesh than they had done on TV. As such I put it to him that this was by far and away the biggest problem and the one that needs resolving. It is down to his company to bring to the wider world the sounds that we are hearing trackside. That is easier said than done, but it is pivotal to making this new formula a success as 99% of the fans of this sport do not have that luxury of standing trackside as we do.

If you look back at the articles post Australia, there was an interesting division between those who came out positively in favour of the new engines and their sound and those that did not. I would say that the largest percentage of those in favour of the new engines were at the track and heard the engines for real. The vast majority of the doom-mongers were bloggers who had received their impression of the new engines through the TV.

Now obviously, I appreciate that not everyone gets to visit the races and what I have never said is that what you hear at home is not disappointing. I am well aware that it is. All I have said, from day one, is to please give it time because what you are getting through your TV set right now is not in any way representative of what these cars actually sound like.

The point has been made and rightfully so that without these new power units, we would be down to two engine manufacturers in Formula 1, maybe even just one, as Renault and possibly Mercedes would have left the sport. Honda would not be coming back. One engine manufacturer would have pushed Formula 1 closer towards being a spec championship and I don’t know anyone that wants that.

These new power units are not green. Formula 1 will never be green. But it must be road relevant to keep the manufacturers interested. No we’re not endurance racing, but efficiency is hugely important. And it always has been. Build an engine that is more efficient with your fuel, carry less fuel, have a lighter car, go faster. Build a car that is more efficient with its tyres, require fewer pit stops. This is simply a continuation and an evolution of a basic tenet of motor racing.

Fans cried for a return to the halcyon days of the Turbo era, with more power than grip and drivers having to fight their cars rather than just point the thing and hit the throttle. Well that is what we have. Revel in it. Revel in the majesty of the best drivers in the world having to actually DRIVE.

If the FIA is to be believed, the future of motor racing is Formula E. Compared to that, the 2014 F1 power units are fire breathing, lung busting, animalistic growling monstrosities. Perhaps we should be thankful for what we’ve got.

The fact is, this IS what we’ve got. It isn’t going to change. The sport had to move forward and while V8s were all well and good, they were old technology and outdated. I liked the sound of a Cosworth DFV, but you place that alongside a 2014 F1 power unit and its like comparing Stephenson’s rocket with NASA’s Orion Spacecraft. Times change.

There have been suggestions that the teams are listening to the opinions of the fans and are worried about the negative response to the new sound. But from the comments I have received it seems there is a definite and clear divide. I’d say 40% like it and 40% hate it, while 20% remain unsure. Meanwhile, I’d estimate close to 95% of fans hate the idea of double points races, and yet the teams didn’t see fit to budge on that one.

What does not help is having an F1 team boss standing on the pitwall proclaiming “This is not Formula 1.” Because it is. This is how it is. He had a chance to influence the way this sport was going technically, and if he or his team failed then they have nobody to blame but themselves.

What does not help is having the commercial rights holder come out so negatively before he has heard the cars in person, because while his backtracking this weekend is commendable, the damage has already been done.

What does not help is having the reigning world champion decrying the new engines as “shit.” A case of placing the sport in disrepute under Article 151c? Arguably. The last driver to say F1 rules were “shit” was Jacques Villeneuve and he was threatened with suspension. And would Sebastian even have dreamt of saying such negative things if his engine was powering him to pole positions and victories?

What does not help is having people sat at home, writing with supposed and, via the weight we give online media, unquestioned authority about how these engines sound in the flesh when they have only heard them through their TV.

So call me a hack. Call me a schill. Call me an annoying fanboy sycophant (After 13 years as a journalist and broadcaster in this industry, I think I like this one the best.) I’ve been called far worse. Fernando Alonso has said he’s not going to wade into the discussion as he knows he’ll get slammed from either side no matter what he says. Such is the wonder of social media.

But please, just give this new Formula time. The sound will improve, the way it is relayed to you at home will improve. And when it does, hopefully you will appreciate this new technology for what it is. An exciting new beginning for a sport that had to evolve.