THE SOUND OF MUSIC

The 2016 season is almost upon us. Launch season is here. The first test session of the season is only next week. All drivers have been confirmed. So what will the cars look like? We can only guess. We'll have to wait till next week at least to have a look when the first test starts in Barcelona.

How will they sound? We've been told that they'll sound louder and better. The main “improvement” in the quality of F1’s sound for 2016 will come from new regulations allowing two exhaust pipes instead of one. Mercedes’ technical chief, Paddy Lowe, is convinced the system will work, although he admits he is unsure of how much louder, exactly, the new 2016-spec. engines will be.

According to Williams technical chief Pat Symonds it will be up to 25 per cent louder. Although Symonds admits the wastegate "doesn't open very much" on modern-day engines, with the turbo units designed to be as efficient as possible, the layout of the exhaust system used in 2014 and 2015 still had a negative impact on the quality of the sound produced - creating a so-called 'dead zone' in the pipe. And even without the changes, Symonds says F1's engine sound would have continued to produce more sound in 2016 as manufacturers continue to make development breakthroughs.

But really, how much louder can it get? On normal street turbo cars they use huge exhausts that make the sound very loud. Well at least for us mortals. Since F1 regulations like to strangle fun, I'm not so sure. Although even a small improvement is still better than nothing.

Although seriously, if you make a direct comparison there is no competition. See the video below.

Amazing isn't it? I really do miss the sounds of the old V8 and V10. Hopefully the new sounds will be better. For your convenience below are the sounds from 4 of the teams for 2016.

To be honest the Ferrari sounds the best so far. It has that unmistakable V8 burble, I like it. We'll know for sure soon enough. Can't wait to hear them at full tilt.

If you enjoyed this posting, please do share it with your network so more people can enjoy it as well. Also, check out my Lewis Hamilton inspired designs at my online shop. Unique, personal Triple F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton inspired designs for the loyal Lewis Hamilton fan. Support Lewis this season by owning this collection. Get yours now!

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THE CHOKING OF RACE ATTENDANCE

I read an interesting article today written by Keith of F1Fanatic. I always reads his blog and his views are quite on the spot of things F1. The article was about F1 attendance figures at the live races, on track. We know as F1 fans that attendance figures have dropped due to many factors. One of the fan favorite and most enduring factor is cost.

Every F1 fan would like to attend a live F1 race at least once in their lifetime or maybe even a few. But sad to say the price of admission has prevented us from going. Yes we can buy the cheapest ticket but that is reserved for the hardcore fan who doesn't mind the heat or cold or rain.

Keith commented that:

It’s an unfortunate fact of Formula One that merely being well-attended is not enough for a race to keep its place on the calendar. So many races are now subsidised by governments that promoters cannot expect to cover the hosting fees Ecclestone demands by selling tickets.

A case in point is the United States Grand Prix, which returned to the F1 calendar in 2012 at the newly-built Circuit of the Americas. Despite having had over a hundred thousands fans on race day on each of the four occasions so far, it emerged last year the promoters had fallen behind on their payments to Ecclestone.

The way I look at it and I think this is what many F1 fans think as well, is that the cost of watching F1 live and most of the things that go with it such as food, drinks, merchandise even parking rates are determined by how much Bernie makes from the circuit. I can't blame the circuit because they can hardly cover the race fees, much less make a profit to keep the place going. And Bernie just keeps squeezing every year.

How much does he plan to take with him to the grave anyway? If he made it cheaper for the circuits to hold races, it would filter down to everything and make F1 a more fun event to attend. Look at Nascar. They have so many more races than F1 in a year but every race is filled to the brim. It's overflowing with people. It's crazy!

Personally I've been to the Sepang and Abu Dhabi race live. Both was sponsored so I didn't have to pay. The grandstand seats are nice, much better than the open air, grass lined hills. But to be honest even with a USD1000 seat, I'm not really that interested to watch a race live at the track. Why? Because I'm the kind of fan that needs to know what is happening at every second of the race.

At the track, you only see the cars whizzing by for a few seconds and the positions changing on the leaderboard. The most you can watch on the big screen, which isn't very clear because the circuit can't afford a high tech one because they have to fork out most of the money to Bernie.

Watching at home I can have a high def feed plus live timing plus live chats with other fans worldwide plus telemetry data from some teams. It's nice, cool and dry. The sofa is not made of cement or grass. And I don't have to pay Bernie a cent!

Really I'm not sure how long F1 can go on like this. Sucking the sport dry and ignoring new media and new fans. Even my mad interest in F1 is waning. You can see this in the declining posts that I have on this blog. Some days I just don't know what else to say.

The good news is nobody lives forever.

If you enjoyed this posting, please do share it with your network so more people can enjoy it as well. Also, check out my Lewis Hamilton inspired designs at my online shop. Unique, personal Triple F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton inspired designs for the loyal Lewis Hamilton fan. Support Lewis this season by owning this collection. Get yours now!

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GUEST POST - THE YOUNG VIKING RETURNS

Hello everyone. It's been some time since I posted. Been busy and had nothing worthwhile to write about. Too many rehash news to bother. The new season is upon us and some exciting things happening. One of it is that Magnussen is back. The underated Dane didn't have such a good time at McLaren but he may have a second chance to show what he's made of. If it doesn't work out, he can always form a retro 80s boy band. He certainly has the hair for it.

To explain about his potential we have a guest writer this time, Joshua Mason speaking about the Dane.

The Young Viking Returns

1000 years ago the Vikings crossed the seas to pillage our lands and create kingdoms of their own. While those barbaric times are over, the modern equivalent battles, of high end Sport, are experiencing the same thing. Kevin Magnussen of Denmark has returned to Formula 1 and after failing to impress Mercedes enough, he has been given a lifeline in the form of Renault’s return. Will they both benefit from each other’s returns; we hope to find out in 2016!

Renault’s return will be welcomed, as there always seems to be a more competitive edge to F1 when big manufacturers are involved. Kevin Magnussen’s return will be different in comparison. Most, including himself, view this as his last chance to become a great F1 driver. He will have to be calling on all his ancestral Viking courage to battle his way back. To put even more pressure on the young Dane, he is teaming up against a debutant in the form of exciting Brit Jolyon Palmer. Any poor performances against Palmers will be the nail in the coffin, and he will be constantly compared to his rookie colleague in 2016. Of course with his return after only one season, this feels like a second chance at his debut appearance since his unspectacular 2014.

Magnussen had fought up the usual route of Karting as a boy, and then rising up the Formula levels. A place on McLaren’s youth development scheme came and he eventually got his chance in 2014, replacing Sergio Perez. The season could not have got off to a better start. A 3rd place finish in Australia was bumped up to second, due to an engine irregularity from Daniel Ricciardo, making his second place the best by a rookie since Jaques Villeneuve in 1996.

The dream season was not to be however, the next best finish was a 5th place in Russia. 55 points was deemed not good enough for McLaren, and with Alonso available, they had no choice but to replace him. Magnussen’s career looked like it could be crashing and burning like an Anglo-Saxon house. A year on the sidelines must have been excruciating at McLaren, and when his opportunity came, when Alonso missed a race with concussion, in a 2015 McLaren, the engine failed and he must have felt it would never happen for him.

McLaren promised to help him achieve a driving seat this year, but when he lost out on a seat for Haas F1 to Grosjean and Gutierrez, it became apparent he was on his own. When Renault bought out Lotus, they probably planned on Maldonado as their experienced head, next to Palmer’s inexperience. Maldonado however, breached his contract and it seems Magnussen finally found some luck; he was in the right place at the right time for once and took the seat. He reportedly only signed the contract the day before Renaults launch.

Renault has decided to go back into F1, after realising the impact it can have on their brand. Having a successful or notable F1 team will be great marketing, and also lay trust with customers in their sporting ranges. They also hope that any advances in technology their F1 team will produce, will move to their manufacturing too. Renault will be hoping to fight for the constructors Championship in the future, tipsters at bookmakers.tv have said 2016 might be a step too soon. The French car giant will provide engines for Red Bull for one more season, but after this I am sure they will be looking to hold keep it to themselves, like the Ferrari model, and increase the focus on only helping the Renault.

Magnussen will have to find his inner-berserker when he starts the season in Australia. While he deserves another chance in my opinion, the seat he has found will complicate matters. His teammate is a rookie, and the team will be in its infancy in its second stab at F1. It is already not looking positive, with Magnussen tempering Renault’s expectations, saying it will take time for them to compete. This is not good PR, and already shows the Dane’s lack of confidence. But as you have read from this article on BadgerGP, his luck has been lacking and everything has gone against him so far. If he wanted more luck, I can’t help feeling he would have been better off as an Irishman, rather than a Danish Viking.

Written by Joshua Mason

If you enjoyed this posting, please do share it with your network so more people can enjoy it as well. Also, check out my Lewis Hamilton inspired designs at my online shop. Unique, personal Triple F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton inspired designs for the loyal Lewis Hamilton fan. Support Lewis this season by owning this collection. Get yours now!

1. Hamilton Tees (fixed designs) - http://shop.spreadshirt.com/hamiltontees/

2. Lewis Hamilton T-shirt (design your own) - http://lewishamiltontshirt.spreadshirt.com/

Thank you for your support. May you enjoy it with this new season and your favorite team/driver wins!

Here is a sample.