There is nothing else out there quite like the new F1 power units. Pat Symonds, Chief Technical Officer at Williams, told us as much last week.

While we are used to seeing turbos replacing swept capacity in new cars from the likes of AMG, the so-called MGU-H (motor generator unit-heat) which converts heat energy from downstream of the turbo into electricity is almost unique. And vital. Without it, the new 1.6-litre V6s do not have enough four star (only 100kgs remember) to get to the end of the race.

The MGU-H drives through an evolved version of last year’s KERS unit, now renamed MGU-K. Together they can store the equivalent of 160bhp in the battery, which can be deployed over 30 secs each lap. But the MGU-H is considerably more efficient than that, and is effectively ‘always on’, driving through the MGU-K ensuring the ‘500bhp’ quoted for new V6s is more than a little conservative.

The new cars may be a little heavier at 690kg, but the powertrains have somewhere north of 700bhp. And they sound great. Not crazy like the higher-revving V8s, deeper and less piercing and, under braking, like nothing you have ever heard.