'Less gears to turn up the revs and increase the noise'

Niki Lauda thinks F1 has turned up the volume in 2015. "Look at last year," the Mercedes team chairman told the British broadcaster Sky in Monaco. "The noise has increased, no question, so I think we're going in the right direction. The only one that is still a little less loud is Renault," said the F1 legend, "but they have less horse power."

The milder sound of the sport's new 'power unit' era has been highly controversial, and is often cited as one reason for a decline in spectator interest. There have been efforts to artificially spice up the sound, like modifying the exhausts, and Lauda said those sorts of investigations are continuing.

"We are working on a programme for 2017, although we could do it next year, to have six gears, not eight, because you only use eight in Monza and maybe Spa. With six gears they're going to rev higher," added Lauda, "so you're going to increase the noise level." (GMM)