e_one09

What do you think guys?

pocholin

F1 is my guess, but I don't know for sure.

MB-BOB

Which Indy are you referring to, the bumbling CART series, or it's junior cousin, the busch-league IRL?

Regardless, not sure you can compare either to F1. Not that F1 is better (I'm sorry, I meant "faster") because flat-bottomed F1 cars are geared to handle corners and the occasional straight, while either American series (esp the IRL) is an aero-package series concerned with straight line speed.

I'd bet an F1 car can be geared to keep up with an IRL car in terms of top speed on an oval, but top speed in F1 is always a compromise between brute speed and handling, so the F1 cars seldom see the 240mph top speeds that the American series do. Put all these cars on a road course and the tables will quickly turn favoring F1. At Montreal this Summer, the F1 cars were 6-8 seconds faster per lap than the CART cars, on the same track.

Since few are trolling the Motorsports forum at the end of the season, we'll leave this here for a while before moving it.

e_one09

Thanks for the info guys, I also thought that F1 would be "faster" than Indy.

tifosiv122

F1 cars are faster then Indy, Cart or Nascar.

Erik

trench

The way I like to think of it is that F1 cars are quicker, while CART cars are faster.

In standard racing trim:
F1 cars are quicker (that is in terms of being able to accelerate to a high speed in a short period of time), primarily due to their better power to weight ratio. This is why they are so much quicker over the lap of a road course.

However, CART cars in oval trim will be faster (with regards to highest top speed reached); primarily due to more effiecient high speed aerodynamics (the venturi underbody of a CART car is far superior to the F1 car's stepped, flat bottom in this regard - even with different gearing and the lowest drag wings they have). I think the highest ever trap speed for a CART car was at the Michigan oval, where Paul Tracy recorded a trap speed of 256.948 mph (I believe that the fastest trap speed recoreded in F1 was 222.016 mph by Verstappen at Monza). Also, a CART car in oval trim can easily run at those high speeds for 500 miles - an F1 engine probably wouldn't last more than a couple of laps on the Indy oval (they're designed for the constant acceleration of F1 road courses, not sustained high speed cruising).

Surprisingly, if NASCAR still ran to the same rules as they did in the mid-80s they would actually be faster than either CART or F1 (in terms of top speed). They'd be doing lap times well over 240 mph at places like Daytona without the restrictor plates and other drag inducing elements they've had to incorporate over the years to keep speeds down. This is because the exposed wheels of F1, CART, IRL cars are tremendous sources of aerodynamic drag. Probably fastest of all would be the late 80's Group C racers, the chicanes were placed in the Mulsanne straight partially because Mercedes felt that they would be able to reach sustained speeds of around 250-260 mph (these cars had the some of the best aerodynamic properties ever - closed wheels and underbody venturi's). The highest trap speed ever recored at LeMans was 252 mph in 1988 by Roger Dorchy driving a WM Peugeot P88 (this was prior to the inclusion of the chicanes).

IRL cars are neither.

Cheers, BT

SpeedLimits?

Nascar wouldnt have had to impose those speed restrictions if the cars werent such death trap pieces of sh*t. I could build a safety cage like that in my shop with a TIG welder and chromoly tubing. Pathetic...then go look at the carbon fiber pieces of art that make up F1.

trench

I agree with you, the F1 cars are works of art. I also like how the rules state every team has to build it's own chassis - gives the cars from each team distinct personalities.

Cheers, BT

steve s

try crashing at 200+ mph in a nascar race car like that japanese driver did in a monoque fiber carbon shell f1 car...doubt u'd be living...he survived btw...

zanardi didn't fare to well in f1, not really his fault, bad timing, bad car, unable to properly use his fanatic brake techniques....until we get some american blood into f1, like mario did, then american racing will always be considered 2nd to european/brazilian race drivers

MB-BOB

BTW, Zanardi suffered his 2001 accident in a CART race in Germany, not F1.

... although even today, F1 cars (by rule) have to be built to a common template, with common dimensions, configuration, layout, etc. The days of radically creative innovation (ie., the Tyrell 6-wheeler, Brabham Sucker "Fan" car, Chapman's chassis- within-chassis aero Lotus', etc.) are gone...

They accomplish alot within the today's rules package, but bold risk-taking is certainly discouraged.

derek m

F1 cars are much more quicker and more advanced. Here in Montreal, we were lucky enough to have the F1 grand prix and a CART race here on the same track. The formula one cars were roughly 6 seconds faster during qualifying, if not more. Unsure of the actual race speeds to both events, as only attended the Formula One race,practice and qualifying sessions.....

jco-amg

You are really talking apples and oranges here.

An F-1 car will always beat a CART car on a road or street course.
It is too specific in it's design and because of different rules, competition and much larger technical budgets to be challanged by a CART machine.

The same qualities that make it the best on the road would give it a big handicap over a CART car on a Superspeedway such as Fontana...with the right balance of wing package and HP figures from 1999 season a CART car could probably turn laps pushing 250mph...with straightaway speeds around 260mph...and a very ballsy driver!

Of course if you want to see real speeds...take out the chicanes on the Mulsanne straight...the old Porsche 917 could top 240mph back in the early 70's...with a clear track, the right set up and a contemporary 1000+hp gound effects prototype could reach 300mph...for a few seconds anyway!