Last year's Formula 1 finale was epic, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton battling it out to the very end. But it could have been even better. An F1 fan edited the footage from last year's final lap, adding '90s F1 V10 engine noises, and it's so good it'll break your heart.
The Formula 1 V10 engines of the late '90s and early '00s were incredible. They were smaller, lighter, and more efficient than the V12 engines they replaced but still made sensational, spine-tingling noises. They typically made around 900 horsepower and some of them, such as Honda's and BMW's engines, could reliably rev as high as 19,000 rpm. The V10 era was truly the greatest era for Formula 1 engines and it's missed now more than ever.
Formula 1 is still thrilling today. In some ways, it's more fun to watch (and some ways less fun) because of the parity of the cars. It puts more focus on the drivers' skill, which is why you can still get thrilling finales, such as last year's in Abu Dhabi. But no matter how good the racing is, this current V6 era of F1 will never make your heart race like it did in the V10 era. This video proves that.
If you watch the original broadcast of the final lap, you get to see brilliant drives by both Hamilton and the eventual champion Max Verstappen. Literal sparks fly as the two trade blows to the bitter end. However, it falls kind of flat because you can hardly hear the cars. Even during the on-board shots from both cars, their engines are barely audible. So as great as the driving is, the champion-deciding lap ultimately feels a bit underwhelming. Watch the V10 F1 fan-edit, though, and it suddenly becomes a heart-pounding, adrenaline-inducing thrill ride.
It comes with the sting of sadness, though. Watching the V10 fan edit reminds us that we'll never get to hear F1 engines like that again. The next-generation of hybrid F1 power units will actually increase their electric power, relying even less on internal combustion than they do today. Unless some unforeseen magical fuel promises decreased emissions, we're likely to never see, or hear, larger displacement, high-revving F1 engines again. And after watching this fan edit, I'm not sure how that doesn't make every motorsport fan at least a little it sad.
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