FI and INDY 500 race cars. What is the main difference and which would win if raced together?

Question

FI and INDY 500 race cars. What is the main difference and which would win if raced together?

Answer 1

F1 cars are faster by a mile, f1 cars look better

Answer 2

indy cars are faster but f1 cars can turn left

Answer 3

F1 definately.....unless the Indy driver causes a crash :P

Answer 4

On an oval, Indy Car.  On a circuit, F1.  They are designed for two different purposes.  I also noticed that D. Patrick car had a RPM of 10,000 while the F1 cars go upto 19,000 rpms.

Answer 5

On ovals... the Indycars are much faster, as their wide track and turbo-charged cars mean that they can reach 230mph... F1 cars can reach this, but only in the very end of the V10 era (I think it was Pizzonia in 2004 that reached 233mph at Monza)... but their narrow track suspension, grooved tyres and higher downforce would make these speeds harder round an oval...

On a road course (which Indycars race on too...)... F1 reigns supreme... in comparison at a venue where both have raced... Montreal.. the Indycar/Champ car was over 5 seconds slower.... thats a lifetime in Formula One...

It would be fair to say that Indycar is about 5-7 years behind F1 in technology terms... in some aspects nearly 20 (they've only just fitted semi-automatic paddle shift gearboxes...)

Answer 6

There's been a lot of argument about this. If the Indy cars had EQUAL horsepower, they would be definitely faster.

They have lss downforce, fewer wings and drag producing components and are sleeker. As much as I like F1, I would really bet on the Indy car.

Answer 7

F1 cars are superior where they need to be to go faster on a race track, they have more turning and braking power and better acceleration.

It's the result of huge amounts of downforce combined with low weight.

Presumably they would race with the tires they use in their own championships, if they were free to choose a tire it would make a huge difference in favor of the F1 car, they have to use hard compounds because they have a small contact patch with grooved tires.

If they put on slicks they would get more rubber on the ground giving better grip, and they could be softer for the same reason.

If you increase weight of a vehicle you have to make the tires either wider or harder to last the same.

And because F1 cars are much lighter they could also use softer tires than the Indycars for even better grip.

With free choice of tires but same dimensions F1 cars could end up something between 5-10 secs a lap faster than they currently are although I doubt any human would be able to withstand such punishment.

Answer 8

F1 will win it beacause it is way faster.