Who is faster, IndyCar or F1?

But now both races have one and the same racetrack on the agenda, Circuit of the Americas in Texas Austin, which allows a direct comparison between the two race cars.

Formula 1 cars and the IndyCar series are indeed similar, but at the same time significantly different. Racing car series IndyCar the design is reminiscent of Formula 1 racing cars from two decades ago, and everything is set at a much simpler and lower cost level. A series created after the reunion of competitions CART in IRL, is based on a single chassis, which is reassembled every year at Dollars. The only development that teams can carry out is limited to the chassis. In Formula 1, everything is ten times bigger, more expensive, more extreme and more complicated.

There have been inn debates for decades, who is actually faster, Formula 1 or IndyCar. Twenty-five years ago, Indycar series-powered engines reached atmospheric levels in Formula 1 in terms of power. Certainly the IndyCar is a more versatile race car, after all, among the racetracks in the calendar are city tracks, real racetracks and ovals. Formula 1 is not designed for racing on ovals, as a hybrid V6-turbo would be transformed into a classic internal combustion engine without electric assistance in such a case.

Both series have recently changed the look of their race cars. IndyCar presented in 2018 more compact design a car with less aerodynamic drag while formula 1 in 2017 it switched to wider racing cars, which create significantly more pressure on the ground, and this year things in this area have become even a shade more extreme.

Marcus Ericsson, another Alfa Romeo Sauber racer last season, had the opportunity to drive both cars, summing up the difference between them as follows: “The Formula 1 race car has significantly more pressure on the ground, which makes qualifying significantly more fun than in Indy. In duels, I would give preference to IndyCar, because it is much easier to follow the car in front of you in an American car. "

The end of the inn debates, a direct comparison is here

For a long time a direct comparison between the two race cars could not be made. Formula 1 and IndyCar have been avoiding each other for decades over the range of races on their calendars, until this year, when the IndyCar series of races also included Circuit of the Americas v Austin. Americans don’t overly hide their data, so their colleagues are at Car engine and sport you can easily extract everything you need for a direct comparison between qualifying rounds Will Power v Penske-Dallara Chevrolet, taken on 23 March 2019 and Lewis Hamilton v Mercedes of 20 October 2018. Mercedes also offered help with the comparison, and GPS records from the 5,513 km long racetrack, which is divided into 20 minisectors between 121 and 625 meters long, were also helpful.

The driver	Team (Series)	Hour
Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes (F1)	1:32,250 mins
Will Power	Penske-Dallara (IndyCar)	1:46,017 mins
		Δ +13,767 seconds

We’re not going to complicate things too much, the numbers speak for themselves. Formula 1 is faster, significantly faster.

Formula 1 is 15 percent faster

There is a difference on a good five kilometers long track almost fourteen seconds. Every mile is Hamilton for 2,49 seconds faster than Power, which is not strange after all. The Formula 1 race car has 260 horsepower more and generates 30 percent more aerodynamic thrust. The times of the minisectors and the average speeds in them reveal where the biggest difference is created. The curves are where an F1 race car makes a second or more difference at a few hundred meters, at an average speed that can be as much as 30 percent higher than the IndyCar series car. Aerodynamic thrust in all its efficiency and with the help of additional tire grip.

The Formula 1 car is much more powerful, but on the planes the IndyCar lag is still somewhat reduced. For 621 meters between the 11th and 12th minisectors je Hamilton took 7,315 seconds, Power and an additional 1,013 seconds. Nevertheless, the difference in speed at the end is a good 38 km / h.

Overall, Hamilton is for 15 percent faster from the Australian in IndyCar, but the ratios between the two series will definitely change in the future, as F1 intends to cut costs and give up part of the ground pressure, and IndyCar is planning a new car design for 2022 and hybrid powertrains capable of over 900 horsepower.