@Meza994 Firstly, I give more credit to a F1 engine chief engineer than a gamer.
1. ERS is electricity. It has no sound. The sound of the exhaust you hear is because the driver shift gears with higher rpm.
2. As I said, there is only an overtake mode that deploy ERS differently. As you know, ERS give a power boost. Mainly, the power boost is given at the start of the straight line to reach top speed quickly and is off when top speed is reached. You can saw it easily at Monza or Bakou, the speed of the cars decrease far before the braking point even in qualify with open DRS. In overtake, you want more top speed, so ERS deploying later and stay on until braking as it give more chance to overtake (or to avoid to be overtake) at the braking point.
3. No, there is not. It's forbidden. There is only a safe mode that disable ERS used when engine failure. Don't you remember Mercedes whining when FIA bans party mode? There the normal mode, the safe mode, and the harvest mode than can be used only during outlap, inlap, formation lap, under safety car and during chequered flag lap. If a team want using another mode for the PU (engine or ERS) during the race or the qualification, it have to ask the FIA permission and argue a reliability problem. The only exception is like I said above, the overtake mode that deploy ERS differently (but has no effect on the petrol engine).
4. It's unrealistic since there is only one version of the software for each engine provider and it give the same power based on the throttle position.
Exemple? What I want a F1 driver doesn't do? And it's not because things matter a lot in race it have to be implement. Having the possibility to improve the engine in career is important for performance... but since it's forbidden until 2026 and the new regulation, it shouldn't be implemented, and at least give the option to turn it off for having a realistic mod. I see your point, giving optional more don't bless the less... but it is because it cost development time, it divide player online base, etc.
iRacing argument... wait, because it's a game! And it's not because the real one can it's possible in F1 as it's ban since mid 2020. Ofc, the real W12 can have this modes for practice or no F1 events, but during qualify and race, it must use only the "balanced" and "attack" mode since it's labelled as it in the game. It's not because iRacing do it than F1 game have to do it also. And definitively, it's not because it's in a game than it's like in real life. In NFS I can do a lot o things that are forbidden in real streets 😅
