Will rule changes affect F1 fans' allegiances?

So the 3-week summer break has begun, and with the many stories floating about the paddock, leaving the silly season aside, the main topic of discussion has been regarding the rules and regulation changes for 2014.

Next year sees a change in the engine from a 2.4 Litre normally aspirated V8, to a turbocharged 1.6 litre V6. The fans haven’t really taken very kindly to this.

Second, are the tyres. A dark shadow has been cast over the future of Pirelli in F1, and with Michelin not ruling out a return in 2014, it seems like we are in for tyre wars again.

And finally the tracks. The sheer delight which was evoked in me by the return of the A1 Ring (now the Red Bull Ring) was soon dampened when Mr. Bernie decided to scrap India from the 2014 race entry list.

In this article, I am going to take each of these issues, leaving the one about the Pirelli’s, as those are discussed all over the internet, and discuss not only where F1 is headed today, but also in which direction it should go (in the humble opinion of a hardcore F1 fan).

So let’s begin with the engine. Turbos return to F1 for the first time since their exit in 1989, and are placed in a 1.6 litre V6 engine. As a friend told me, “I can’t still get over the fact that Ferrari will make a V6 F1 car”, and I think this is a sentiment shared by a majority of the fan base that F1 has.

A few days back, Mercedes put up a video of a lap around Monza, with the V6, which in many people’s opinion sounded like a “blender”. I couldn’t agree more.

The engine sounds, well, just very off. This is going to be coupled with a great deal of fuel saving, which is just going to slow the race pace down. I believe that they should have held on to the V8s (V10s were better).

That sound, the one you hear when an F1 car passes by you at 18000 RPMs is something that one has become so conditioned to, it has become an integral part of what we expect to hear when we go to the track.

There is one reason I am, however, looking forward to the 2014 season, and that’s the return of the Red Bull Ring. The fast, sweeping, undulating circuit had me riveted to the telly as a kid, and I am sure it will do so again.

However, with the addition of the Red Bull Ring, and the race at Sochi, Russia, a couple of tracks were ought to get the boot if 2014 was to be a 20-race season. And India got the boot. This was disappointing, but in a way, it was ought to happen. While the on-track action is great, the organizers have been pathetic with off-track events like autograph sessions and other promotional activities.

Usually, every team has 30 minutes for an autograph session on Thursday, but this concept isn’t there in the Indian GP. Instead, as far as I saw last year, those with “contacts” met with the drivers. That is just plain ridiculous.

There are other tracks also, which deserve an axe. Korea is one of them. The FIA should bring back tracks like Imola and Magny Cours challenging, but with plenty of overtaking opportunities (Remember Schumacher’s climb from 13th to 2nd in 2005).

So to sum up, I’ve come across many people who have been hardcore fans, and now, with the sweeping regulation changes, the falling quality of the grid and well, the falling quality of the pinnacle of motorsports that is F1, are beginning to doubt their allegiances.

I have seen countless posts across the internet, pleading to “Save F1″ I would love to hear what the readers think on this, and let us hope the FIA give heed to what the fans want too.