F1 2014: New sounds, old faces? Steve Slater sees Barrichello return

It is amazing to think that that we now just have a handful of races left in which to savour the shriek of the 2.4 litre V8 engines singing their way up to 18,000 rpm. When Formula One begins its 2014 season the cars will sound very different indeed.

 

The new technical regulations which come into force next year mandate 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines, revving to a maximum of 15,000rpm. It is now 25 years since turbo engines raced in Formula One and now as then, if the current normally aspirated V8 is the high-scoring soprano of the engine world, the V6 turbo engine will be more of a gruff baritone.

The new smaller engines will place a greater emphasis on ‘hybrid’ energy recovery systems. Current engines produce around 750bhp, but the new 2014 units will produce just 600bhp, with additional power coming from Energy Recovery Systems, a more powerful evolution of the KERS units which generate and store energy from the cars’ brakes.

 

ERS units also generate power using waste heat from the engine’s turbocharger . While the current KERS gives drivers an extra 80bhp for six seconds per lap, the ERS will offer 160bhp for 33 seconds.

 

The 2014 season will also of course, see a different line-up of drivers on the starting grid and

some older faces may even make a re-appearance. Prime among them is Rubens Barrichello. The 41 year-old Brazilian notched up a record 322 starts with Jordan, Stewart GP, Ferrari, Honda and Brawn, before driving what we had all assumed was his final Grand Prix with Williams in 2011.

 

Since then Barrichello has kept his racing skills alive in American Indy car single-seaters, GT sports cars and the Brazilian stock car series, as well as remaining in the Grand Prix paddock as a commentator and pundit for Brazilian TV. He has never hidden his wish to race in Formula One again.

 

Now it seems, he has been in serious discussions with Sauber about a return to the Formula One grid. Speaking in Yeongam ahead of the Korean Grand Prix, it was notable that Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn refused to quash the speculation. “We know what he has, his experience, we know that he’d like to come back. So let’s see”.

 

There appears to be an ill-disguised bidding war going on for the seats at Sauber, which along with a number of the mid-grid teams is walking a tightrope of financial viability. The team has proved reluctant to confirm either of its current drivers for 2014, perhaps waiting to see which candidates bring the best blend of sponsorship and driving performance.

 

Barrichello has always had access to a lucrative portfolio of sponsors from his native Brazil, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but this could mean that Nico Hulkenberg may be on the move. He is one of the best young talents on the Formula One starting grid, but has always eschewed the “pay driver” route.

 

Last year Sauber paid Hulkenberg to move from Force India, but some now link the German with Kimi Raikkonen’s former seat at Lotus. Meanwhile other rumours suggest that he could be a replacement for the fast but mercurial Sergio Perez at McLaren.

 

A further variable is the arrival at Sauber of 18-year-old Formula Renault 3.5 championship driver Sergey Sirotkin. His father is a prime mover in the Russian consortium which bought a major stake in the team earlier this year and although it will be no mean task, his backers hope that Sirotkin can qualify for his mandatory FIA Super Licence in time to race in Formula One next season.

 

The young Russian only drove a Formula One car for the first time last weekend. Joined by fellow young driver Rodolfo Gonzales in the Russian-owned Marussia, Sirotkin demonstrated a 2012 Sauber F1 car on a 700m section of the new Sochi circuit that will host the inaugural Russian Grand Prix next October.

 

Meanwhile, Caterham boss Tony Fernandes has indicated that he might reverse his ‘pay driver’ philosophy by re-hiring Heikki Kovalainen next season. The former McLaren driver drove for Caterham from its inauguration as Lotus Racing in 2010, but the Finn was dropped from a race seat at the end of last year when Caterham opted for Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde who, although less experienced, brought lucrative sponsors.

 

Caterham is a team in the flux of change. It recently restructured its technical department in a bid to make the most of the new 2014 regulations. It is thought that a return for Kovalainen would allow him to use his experience of 109 race starts, to help the team optimise the new engine and car designs.