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Ex-FIA president Max Mosley believes Formula One is missing an opportunity by not explaining the new V6 turbo engines to the public properly.

The new era of the sport has attracted high-profile criticism as Bernie Ecclestone, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and even world champion Sebastian Vettel have picked holes in the 2014 formula. One common theme among all the critics has been the lack of noise generated by the new engines, which Mosley is willing to take some of the blame for.

"If anybody should be 'blamed' it's me,' he told the Daily Mail. "We were the ones who looked at bringing in the new technology. It was 10 years in the making, and I actually like the noise.

"I wear these things in both my ears (hearing aids) because the noise of the engines went right through me for 40 years or more. It's too late to save my hearing but not for the next generation. The quieter engines are better for families. You can take children to races without fear of their being deafened."

Mosley believes the main problem lies in the message the sport is putting out rather than the technology itself.

"It is important for Formula One to evolve. Safety was the big challenge of the 20th Century and the environment is the big challenge of the 21st. If that that fact is not understood and embraced, the sport runs the risk of becoming irrelevant.

"Corporate social responsibility is important for car manufacturers, so there is a need to move in this direction so the sport does not lose sponsors and manufacturers. They see how important this technology is in the development of road cars.

"If there is one thing I feel could have been done better it is how the new regulations, and the reasons behind them, have been explained to the public. An opportunity has been missed."