Which Car Is Faster?

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

So, you put an F1 car, an Indycar and a Nascar car on a track and race.

Which one would be faster?

(has it ever been done?)

[Quiet One 15]

F1 versus Indy. Keeping n mind that it is Laguna Seca, not an F1 track, the car is a Toyota and the driver is Trulli, I think that is the worst case scenario for F1 yet it still came on top. F1 is easily the fastest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHnUAsgDePY

Of course, NASCAR should be even slower. But, much to my surprise, I've found an undisputable document proving otherwise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9gzMj79gDc

[radical-one 0]

Bugatti Veyron

[Rainmaster 7]

Other than a drag race F1 is much faster. I'm guessing the top speed of a NASCAR might be higher than an F1 car but I have no idea about how long it would take to get there.

[Massa 0]

On a normal circuit, Formula One would be much faster than both. The Champ Cars were always slower than F1 on shared tracks, and today's IndyCar is slower than the Champ Cars were (not by much). A stock car is horribly slow on normal circuits because it just won't turn. Braking is a huge advantage for F1, thought IndyCar finally got rid of the steel brakes, I think. I don't think NASCAR even uses brakes.

On an oval track, an IndyCar may beat an F1 car, but I guess it depends on what the FIA regulations would allow as a low downforce setup for an F1 car. It has been done before at a Honda event. However, they used a standing start, as opposed to a flying or rolling start, which is standard procedure for an oval. F1's acceleration advantage allowed the car to "win" the "race" over a few laps. Had it been a flying/rolling start, I'm not entirely sure. Plus, ovals aren't all the same, so if it's close, there may be some tracks where it'd go either way. Again, the stock car would be a totally non-factor. I would also say that if an F1 car were designed for oval racing, it would beat the IndyCar, no contest...

...but today's IndyCar is much slower than the fastest era of CART racing on ovals, mostly because it only uses 500 horsepower and has a ton of drag. Gil de Ferran did a 241.426 mph average around Auto Club Speedway in 2000 (216.069 was the pole speed average in 2012). Could an F1 car in super low downforce configuration (while still being legal to FIA standards) beat that? Don't know.

Then George brings up the drag race scenario, and is 100% right about that. The stock car will likely win the drag race as long as it is long enough for it to hit top speed. This was witnessed on the salt flats, where a NASCAR stock car did go faster than the BAR F1 car. However, an actual, NHRA-legal drag race, which is just shy of a quarter-mile...well, the F1 car would win handily, because of how it launches on a standing start.

A rough approximation of speed around normal circuits, using qualifying times from various shared tracks of 15 different types of cars:

1. Formula One

2. GP2

3. IndyCar

4. LMP1

5. LMP2

6. Super GT500

7. DTM

8. LMPC

9. DP

10. GT3/GTE/Super GT300 (it's honestly way too close to conclusively say anything there)

13. World Challenge GT

14. GTD

15. NASCAR

[HandyNZL 1]

You have too much time on your hands Eric. The question was between three cars not fifteen...

[Guest]

It's not so much about speed, as speed of change of direction, and the accompanying change in G force.

For an F1 car, imagine going on any of the largest roller-coasters on the world, then imagine that the car was on tarmac instead of rails, then imagine you had to steer , accelerate and brake for 2 hours.

That's a pretty good approximation of driving an F1 car.

The others are the same - just on less and lesser scary rides.

[radical-one 0]

You are comparing Apples, Mangoes and Bananas

[HandyNZL 1]

Juicy

[radical-one 0]

Juicy

May I borrow your blender ?

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

A rough approximation of speed around normal circuits, using qualifying times from various shared tracks of 15 different types of cars:

1. Formula One

2. GP2

3. IndyCar

4. LMP1

5. LMP2

6. Super GT500

7. DTM

8. LMPC

9. DP

10. GT3/GTE/Super GT300 (it's honestly way too close to conclusively say anything there)

13. World Challenge GT

14. GTD

15. NASCAR

Sorry Eric for the delay in replying - very informative post. Thank you.

Must admit I did not realise F1 cars were that much faster....

[Emmcee 0]

I remember when the champcars raced on Gilles villeneuve circuit one year and were neally 7 seconds of the f1 pole time. The question that I've always wondered. What would win on a circuit with a Aussie v8 supercar and NASCAR and dtm. Plus that Laguna seca comparison is Ricardo zonta not jarno trulli.

[Angellica 0]

On a normal circuit, Formula One would be much faster than both. The Champ Cars were always slower than F1 on shared tracks, and today's IndyCar is slower than the Champ Cars were (not by much). A stock car is horribly slow on normal circuits because it just won't turn. Braking is a huge advantage for F1, thought IndyCar finally got rid of the steel brakes, I think. I don't think NASCAR even uses brakes.

On an oval track, an IndyCar may beat an F1 car, but I guess it depends on what the FIA regulations would allow as a low downforce setup for an F1 car. It has been done before at a Honda event. However, they used a standing start, as opposed to a flying or rolling start, which is standard procedure for an oval. F1's acceleration advantage allowed the car to "win" the "race" over a few laps. Had it been a flying/rolling start, I'm not entirely sure. Plus, ovals aren't all the same, so if it's close, there may be some tracks where it'd go either way. Again, the stock car would be a totally non-factor. I would also say that if an F1 car were designed for oval racing, it would beat the IndyCar, no contest...

...but today's IndyCar is much slower than the fastest era of CART racing on ovals, mostly because it only uses 500 horsepower and has a ton of drag. Gil de Ferran did a 241.426 mph average around Auto Club Speedway in 2000 (216.069 was the pole speed average in 2012). Could an F1 car in super low downforce configuration (while still being legal to FIA standards) beat that? Don't know.

Then George brings up the drag race scenario, and is 100% right about that. The stock car will likely win the drag race as long as it is long enough for it to hit top speed. This was witnessed on the salt flats, where a NASCAR stock car did go faster than the BAR F1 car. However, an actual, NHRA-legal drag race, which is just shy of a quarter-mile...well, the F1 car would win handily, because of how it launches on a standing start.

A rough approximation of speed around normal circuits, using qualifying times from various shared tracks of 15 different types of cars:

1. Formula One

2. GP2

3. IndyCar

4. LMP1

5. LMP2

6. Super GT500

7. DTM

8. LMPC

9. DP

10. GT3/GTE/Super GT300 (it's honestly way too close to conclusively say anything there)

13. World Challenge GT

14. GTD

15. NASCAR

Good workings out, well done I assume GTE and Super GT300 is why there is no 11 and 12 on the list.