All’s Not Quiet on Formula One’s Clean-Engine Front

F1 threw out its signature 'screaming' engines and turned the sport into an expensive high-tech borefest won by engineers, not drivers

Since Formula One introduced its hybrid engines a year ago, perhaps the most compelling aspect of the series apart from the racing itself has been the unfolding of the sport's love-hate relationship with its new environmentally friendly technology.

The new 1.6-liter, hybrid turbo engines use a third less fuel than their V-8, 2.4-liter, normally aspirated predecessors and produce at least double the hybrid energy – as well as far less noise. But whether a team, engine provider or other interested party considers the project a success or a failure depends on the results on the track.

For the Mercedes car manufacturer and its team, which won the titles last year and is leading the series heading into the fourth race of the current season, the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, the program is not only an astounding success, but an essential factor in the German company wanting to continue in Formula One.

"For us, the current technology is an important part of our involvement," said Toto Wolff, the head of the Mercedes racing program. "Our marketing strategy focuses on the hybrid technology of Formula One."

But for Bernie Ecclestone, the promoter of the series, who has complained that the loss of the old engine roar has reduced the excitement for track-side spectators, the program is a sign that the series is in its death throes.

"The fans want the volume, the teams want the low cost – and even the racing was better," Ecclestone recently told Sport Bild, a weekly German sports magazine. "Toto can have a lovely inscription on his gravestone that says ‘I helped to kill Formula One."'

Ecclestone was referring specifically to the refusal by Mercedes to agree to a vote to change the rules in the immediate future to revert to the louder, gas-guzzling engines.

Ferrari, the most vocal complainer about the engines last year, made huge progress with its engine technology over the winter. It won the second race this season and has finished with a driver on the podium in each of the first three races. Ferrari has for now ceased to complain about the new engine formula.

The Renault engine manufacturer and the Red Bull team, by contrast, have picked up where Ferrari left off last year. Having taken a step backward in engine power, both the team and the manufacturer have threatened to withdraw from the series if something is not done.

Yet it was Renault that several years ago asked Formula One to create a new, environmentally friendly engine, seeking to make the series more relevant to its effort to sell hybrid road cars.

Meanwhile, the International Automobile Federation, the series' governing body, has a strong agenda to promote a clean environment on the world's highways. The federation signed off on the hybrid-engine regulations in the first place and has since refused to make any changes to them, even in the face of popular demand.

And what do the Formula One drivers think? In a series of interviews at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai last weekend, it became clear that while the drivers have decided to follow the F.I.A. in some areas, they also play to the other stakeholders and the fans. One common bottom-line concern emerged in their responses, though: engine power.

The interviews revealed a highly environmentally conscious group of racers, with some even waxing poetic including Lewis Hamilton, the reigning world champion and current leader of this year's series, with two victories in three races.

"I do care about the environment, absolutely," Hamilton said. "I love nature, I love trees, I love wildlife. I love the plants and all this kind of thing."

He then added a caveat that Ecclestone might appreciate.

"Do I think that our little race makes a big difference to the environment?" he said. "Probably not, considering you have got a billion cars going around here, planes, all those kind of things, houses, power stations."

But, like virtually all the other drivers, Hamilton added, "It's important for us to be leaders because all it takes is one person to do the right thing and others to follow."

Then, in a nod to fans and, again, Ecclestone, he concluded: "Do I miss the sound? Yes. If we can have clean efficient cars that make a lot of noise like the old ones, that would be pretty cool."

Valtteri Bottas, a driver for the Williams team, said the series was an excellent workshop for the development of the hybrid systems. The pressure of the competition, he said, "is also going to push the development of the road car engines of tomorrow into the hybrid side, so I think it's good."

His Williams team has long been a leading proponent of environmentally useful Formula One technology, such as its groundbreaking work in kinetic energy recovery systems.

Felipe Nasr, a driver at the Sauber team – which recently published a report of its contribution to environmental cleanliness at its team factory in Switzerland – pointed out that from a racing point of view the reduction in fuel use was also an advantage.

"It is a lot more economical than it used to be in the past," Nasr said. "Before, how many times did you refuel the car? Just a lot of wasted fuel that you give to the environment, and now the car is a lot more economical and I think that's a good thing."

Will Stevens, a driver at the Manor Marussia team, pointed out that it was difficult for the series to please everyone.

"I think there are pros and cons to both sides," he said. "I think it's good for the sport that it's heading in the same direction as the rest of the world. But, obviously, at the same time it's good to also have the image and what the fans want to see. So I think it is hard to get a mix between the two."

Stevens also mentioned engine power. That factor why there have been few complaints about the new engines from drivers.

"It is the first car I have got into that when you actually drive it for the first time, you think, ‘That's pretty quick, man!"' he said.

"In terms of the actual power delivery and how quick the cars are in a straight line, they have never been quicker – in recent years, anyway," Stevens added.

He said that as a result the series remains at the pinnacle of motor racing – which is precisely what the hybrid-engine detractors have been saying it is not. Although there are, it seems, drivers who would not agree.

"On the race track the first thing is that you want it to be as quick as possible; that is obviously first and foremost," said Daniel Ricciardo, a driver at Red Bull, which has Renault engines. "Right now, obviously I would love a few more horsepower. But if you said you could have a few more horsepower but it is ruining the environment, then, yeah, I probably wouldn't take it like that." NY Times