Ecclestone: No all-electric mode in 2014

[Mothers Worry]

Ecclestone: No all-electric mode in 2014

From thef1times.com:

Ecclestone: No all-electric mode in 2014

Friday 05th August 2011

Bernie Ecclestone has denied that Formula 1 cars will be all-electric in the pit lane from 2014 onwards, despite the regulations stating so.

The right's holder believes such a scenario would be more than dangerous as the cars, entering the pit lane at speeds of 100kph without the engine running, could kill people if they're unable to hear them.

"There's no way that it will be electric in the pit lane," he told the Express. "People could be killed because they won’t hear the cars coming.

"Formula 1 is absolutely not the right place to have electric engines," he added. "It's like having ballet dancers with sneakers. More comfortable, but it doesn't work."

He urged fans not to blame FIA president Jean Todt for the change in engine regulations, but rather his predecessor, Max Mosley, who ushered in the changes before he left the governing body.

"We can't blame Jean Todt because this was started by Max. It was Max's original idea. His idea is what is being promoted now," concluded Ecclestone.

[bpratt]

They are in part right, but there are whistles from the pit lane marshalls, along with a siren that gets trigfgered automatically whenever a car enters pit lane.

It'd certainly be different to 'hear' the cars going down pit lane though.

[Mothers Worry]

I'll have to side with Brundle and Coulthard on this one:There's nothing quite like the sound of a high performance internal combustion engine.

Maybe they can have little noisemaker chip to produce an engine sound that engages when they are running electric .... just like a cheap Chinese toy.