New rules shouldn't take the thrill away from fans, insists Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel

Reigning Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel has said that the string of new rules in 2014 season shouldn’t take away the thrill factor from the sport.

There have been worries around the Formula One world that the new turbo V6 engines, which are set to be introduced in 2014, won’t be as loud or as exciting as the V8 engines of this year. Vettel backed the worries and insisted that the sport should be kept intact for the drivers and fans.

“I am a bit sad because my first test in F1 was in a V10. I remember that test, and then we went to a V8 a year afterwards. When I had my second go in an F1 car I could tell the difference. I just hope that we are not going down from a power point of view. We will lose the revs which I think is a shame – because it is a new direction that we go into and a new technology,” Vettel said on the stage at Autosport awards.

Vettel also recalled the first time he went to watch a Formula One race and said that the cars should be loud and smelly as they are integral part of the interaction with fans.

“I also still remember the first time I went to see F1 was in 1992, it was raining and only free practice in Hockenheim. The cars were only coming out for installation laps, and just to hear the sound of the car coming around, to feel it in the ground; they are the first memories I have. I just hope in the future we will not lose this excitement. I think the cars need to smell, the cars need to be loud, it needs to give you something that you don’t forget,” he said.

The German added that next season will be pretty unpredictable because of the inexperience of teams with new rules.

“I think it is very difficult to know. Every team and every engine manufacturer probably has an idea of how it should turn out, but it is a surprise at this stage. Next year getting the cars on the track for the first time will be very interesting and then we see how many engines blow up or not,” he added.