Rob White: Engine sound won't change in 2013

2013: the year of the return of turbo engines. We will find four-cylinder engines with a displacement of 1600cc, direct injection and 12.000 rpm as the limit but what is worrying is the sound that has always characterized F1 cars which risks disappearing.

The voice of Rob White, current technical manager for Lotus Renault engines, officially dispels the fears of all those who see this problem realistically.

This new rule, desired by the Federation to give this sport a more "environmentalist" image, has not only met with antipathy from Bernie Ecclestone, patron of F1, but also from many engineers or simply lovers of the discipline; White tries to explain why nothing should change that much. “Even engines that can rev at a maximum of 12.000 rpm have a good sound” – the Briton told Auto Motor und Sport and continued – “we are already working on these engines and it cannot be ruled out that some new manufacturers could enter F1 thanks to this new rule."

For Renault, this regulation is defined as a "grace", since as an engine supplier, also due to the current situation of their freezing, its customers (such as Red Bull) constantly accuse it of having insufficiently powerful engines.

“We know very well that our engine is not the most powerful, but we also need to be able to look carefully at other factors such as driveability and reliability... we work hard to improve as much as possible and make it easier for the drivers in the races” – concluded White.

Eleonora Ottonello