They just don’t make them like they used to, and by “them,” I mean sounds, and “they” I mean F1 cars. That was the lesson learned by the Imola Grand Prix track after it allowed a 2013 Red Bull Racing RB9 on its track in October.
The car, built for the final year of Formula One regulations that allowed naturally aspirated V8 engines, was so loud that the Italian racetrack was forced to pay a small fine, per motorsportweek.com.
“On 12 October, Red Bull showed up with an older car than the current one and the limits were exceeded. It was a matter of a few laps,” Elana Penazzi, a track representative, told media. “The Red Bull event was the only occasion on which the Autodrome has made noise in the past year, always remaining within the limit, despite the many activities carried out.”
What is, perhaps, surprising is that Imola has been on the Formula One calendar for the last handful of years and hasn’t had to pay fines for those races, in which 20 modern F1 cars show up, along with all of the associated feeder series.
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The fine is a reminder, then, of how much louder the old naturally aspirated cars used to be. As someone who has attended Grands Prix in both the modern turbo-hybrid era and the V8 era, I can confirm that although the modern cars a loud, I couldn’t stand to be around the older cars without earplugs in.
Long a complaint leveled against the engine formula, the modern cars are quieter for a variety of reasons, according to The Race. Thanks to their turbochargers, the engines provide peak power at around 11,000-12,000 rpm, whereas older engines could rev all the way up to 20,000 rpm. The turbocharger, too, acts as a muffler, making the cars quieter than the older ones, whose exhaust systems were relatively simple.
Despite that elevated volume, I don’t anticipate Imola will be too worried about finding the funds to pay its ticket. Truly, the fine was the gentlest of slaps on the wrist, totaling just €500 ($543 USD at current exchange rates).
The reason for the fine, meanwhile, was a filming day for the Red Bull Racing team. Formula One strictly limits the amount of running teams can do with their current car, but allows teams to run older cars for promotional purposes. Driven by Sebastian Vettel to a world championship title in 2013, the RB9 was the last championship winner for the team before a seven-year drought that was ended by Max Verstappen in the RB16, in 2021.
