[Sport] Formula 1 2014 - all change please

Last weekend saw the third race of the 2014 Formula 1 season, and I thought it was about time I put finger to keyboard and articulated some of my thoughts on the direction that the series is going. 2014 is a year of massive changes, many of which will take some getting used to, and most of which have caused a lot of controversy. I don't have much new to add to the discussion, but want to get my thoughts out there.

It's becoming a familiar sight at the front of the field - the silver arrows way out in front. They've only been this close

to each other in Bahrain though, and it was spectacular. (Credit: telegraph.co.uk)

One thing immediately stands out when you look at any of the 2014 Formula 1 cars - the nose. They've been compared to everything from Ann Summers products to vacuum cleans to walrus; let's be honest, they're not the prettiest. Some are far, far worse than others, but for the most part the livery designers have done a decent job of hiding the most phallic examples. My personal favourites are the Mercedes, whose swooping nose I vastly prefer to the Ferrari version (although the red cars do look amusingly like they have moustaches), the Williams, and the Red Bull. The Caterham just looks bizarre, the Lotus like a blunt instrument, and the rest are a bit 'meh'.

The whole thing derives from two pieces of the regulations which govern the height of the nose. As I understand it, the part of the nose nearest the cockpit has a minimum height, and the tip has a much lower maximum height. The latter was newly introduced this year to avoid the high noses spearing over the top of chassis during crashes, and couple with the aerodynamic benefit of a high nose drawing air underneath has led to the strange interpretations we see throughout the field. What's nice though is that there are actually several different approaches, and that none looks particularly better than the others at the moment.

Adrian Newey has once again designed a lovely looking car. It looks fantastic, and the livery hides the

'prow' rather well unless you see it absolutely side on. (Credit: jamiegamezforumla1.wordpress.com_

That being said, it's difficult so far to disentangle the effect of the nose treatment from the effect of the 'power unit' - the engine to you and me. Of the three engine manufacturers, Mercedes has clearly delivered the best product for the new rules. Formula 1 has finally gone full hybrid, with a complex combination of petrol and electric power. These new engines are incredibly powerful, and have immense torque thanks in part to the reintroduction of turbochargers (not to mention the extra electric oomph that they get on acceleration). The teams are still learning how to get the best out of these new engines, and there are teething troubles, but I'm very impressed.

The effect on the audible experience of the sport has been incredible - gone are the high pitched screams, to be replaced by throaty roars, turbo whistles, and sounds from the electric motor that make the cars sound a bit like spaceships! I have to say that I love the new sound. No longer does it feel as though I'd be deafened watching them, and it allows us to hear all the other little noises going on during the race. The tyres squealing under braking, the rattle as the cars run over the kerbs, the crowd, not to mention other sounds heretofore masked, are now audible and it's great.

Seriously Caterham, what is that? You had basically a whole year to design the car, and this is what

you came up with? (Credit: turkiyef1.com)

I read an interesting article the other day that claimed the new engines weren't actually that much quieter than the old ones on the decibel scale. But a) it's logarithmic, b) the human ear is less sensitive at the new, lower pitch, and c) the old engines hit registers associated with panicked/fearful screams, giving us a more emotional response to them. I found it quite interesting...

In any case, there's been a lot of complaining about the noise, the racing, the new fuel consumption limits, the new noses, etc. etc. Basically anything that's changed has been open to criticism, with all kinds of ridiculous claims being made. In my opinion it's a lot of nonsense. Times change, and those that are stuck in the past will be left behind. A lot of the top brass seem fixated on what they had that was working well, and not trying to see the benefits of the new way of things. I hope that that will change with time, but I'm not particularly optimistic.

The three races so far have been average (Australia), fairly dull (Malaysia), and brilliant (Bahrain). Hopefully we'll have more of what we saw on Sunday, but between teams as well as teammates  -it was like Noah's ark, everyone going around two-by-two and fighting with their partner. It remains to be seen whether anyone can catch Mercedes, but all I know is that I'm enjoying this season much more than I did last year's.

Pastor Maldonado strikes again, taking out Esteban Gutierrex in Bahrain. I was impressed by how calm

the Mexican was on the radio just after it happened. (Credit: edition.cnn.com)