Is F1 the fastest motorsport...?

Nothing will lap a race circuit quicker than an F1 car, it has not always been that way but it pretty much has for the last 30 years or so and F1 is the pinnacle of what can be done within defined rules to lap a race circuit. A Top Fuel dragster in the same way is the quickest thing on the planet with an internal combustion engine and wheels to run a 1/4 mile for like F1 that is what it's be designed to do.

Group C ran close to F1 times in its peak and in the 70's Indycars were quicker on some road courses I believe due to immense power compared to the DFV era cars but F1 is and has been for most of our lives the ultimate to go around a race circuit. If the challenge were different the teams that build the F1 cars would build something even quicker for they are also the ultimate builders of things to go around race circuits.

Golf turbos of course are quicker than anything with 15K spent on them.
 
Only 300mph? That's not even close to the fastest, I would say:

Acceleration: Top fuel dragster.
Cornering G-force: F1, karts or Air-race aircraft, or maybe Formula Student...
Pit stop: DTM.
Top speed: Land Speed Record cars (Thrust SSC @ 763MPH), or Saturn V rocket at humanity's record of 25,053mph.
 
Housey said:
Without question if by proper track you mean an international road circuit. NOTHING quicker on the planet around a race circuit.
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There's been faster one offs.

An F1 car can easily be thrashed if you're not required to have limits like: Engine size, intake restriction, rev limit, aerodynamic limit, wheel size, open wheels required...
 
BigglesPiP said:
There's been faster one offs.

An F1 car can easily be thrashed if you're not required to have limits like: Engine size, intake restriction, rev limit, aerodynamic limit, wheel size, open wheels required...
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But if those limits were offered to the F1 teams we are still in the position. Fact is, the F1 car IS the quickest and if there were no rules the people who build F1 cars would still build the quickest.

In the late 60's CANAM cars were quicker than F1 cars on some circuits, in the 70's Indycars were quicker on some circuits as were the 917's/312's at Spa but today, for going around Spa/Silverstone/Monza etc etc you won't find anything quicker. If the rules were no rules then all bets are off, but I would expect an F1 team to still be the quickest for they have the best of the best when it comes to building race cars.
 
Housey said:
But if those limits were offered to the F1 teams we are still in the position. Fact is, the F1 car IS the quickest and if there were no rules the people who build F1 cars would still build the quickest.
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1. That's not exactly what we're on about, I thought this was what is the fastest series, not who's best at getting close to their given rules (I think others equal F1 in that discipline).
2. That's kind of a snobby thing to say.
3. Those rules do apply to F1.

There are definitely one offs faster than an F1 car round the likes of Silverstone.
 
F1 top speeds are much slower these days. I remember on the old hockenhiem track or monza the cars would do over 230mph. Now MotoGP bikes have a faster straight line speed.

Indycars used to do over 250mph on the ovals, I don't know what they get up to these days.
 
BigglesPiP said:
Cornering G-force: F1, karts or Air-race aircraft, or maybe Formula Student...
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Karts and Formula Student aren't even in the same ballpark when it comes to cornering G force. Its around 3 times higher in a F1 car.

BigglesPiP said:
There are definitely one offs faster than an F1 car round the likes of Silverstone.
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I would also like to know what these one off cars are?!

Like Housey, I'm not aware of anything since the 70s that was quicker around somewhere like silverstone than a F1 car from the same period.

I think you underestimate just how quick a F1 car is.
 
At low speed in the very wet the SAE cars will pull comfortably more than 1G sustained on the skid pad. There are a couple with aero (like the OS/Revensburg car: http://news.global-formula-racing.com/2011/pictures/gfr_the_only_aero_car_at_uk_places_15th.jpg)

If they ever got up to high speed for the aero to be more than only just an advantage (they reckon the 22Kg package gains about half a second a lap on a suitable course), they might be able to pull more G than F1, but they don't work at high speed, usually breaks something in the suspension.

F1 is definitely higher G force. SAE is probably the highest G force in autocross. I'd like to compare the 2 round a hairpin which isn't too small for F1.
 
Probably similar G's as none of the aero on the F1 is working in that situation, Then you build up the speed and aero comes into it and the G's rise massively. I don't get your point?

What you mean to say is the SAE cars have good mechanical grip?

This one off that is faster also?
 
BigglesPiP said:
At low speed in the very wet the SAE cars will pull comfortably more than 1G sustained on the skid pad. There are a couple with aero (like the OS/Revensburg car: http://news.global-formula-racing.com/2011/pictures/gfr_the_only_aero_car_at_uk_places_15th.jpg)

If they ever got up to high speed for the aero to be more than only just an advantage (they reckon the 22Kg package gains about half a second a lap on a suitable course), they might be able to pull more G than F1, but they don't work at high speed, usually breaks something in the suspension.

F1 is definitely higher G force. SAE is probably the highest G force in autocross. I'd like to compare the 2 round a hairpin which isn't too small for F1.
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I repeat, NOTHING will lap a GP circuit quicker than an F1 car today and this has been the case pretty much since the late 70's, into early 80's. Ovals then perhaps, though F1 cars never ran ovals to compare, but rest assured if there was something that could lap a circuit quicker than a contemporary F1 car we'd all know about it. It's not arrogance to suggest F1 teams are at the very bleeding edge of racing car construction for that is a indisputable fact I would suggest, questioned by no one involved with the sport. Small innovations may happen in other areas of the sport, but building the quickest race cars is what F1 is all about and always has been about, within defined rules that change most years to prevent them getting to quick.
 
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BigglesPiP said:
At low speed in the very wet the SAE cars will pull comfortably more than 1G sustained on the skid pad. There are a couple with aero (like the OS/Revensburg car: http://news.global-formula-racing.com/2011/pictures/gfr_the_only_aero_car_at_uk_places_15th.jpg)

If they ever got up to high speed for the aero to be more than only just an advantage (they reckon the 22Kg package gains about half a second a lap on a suitable course), they might be able to pull more G than F1, but they don't work at high speed, usually breaks something in the suspension.

F1 is definitely higher G force. SAE is probably the highest G force in autocross. I'd like to compare the 2 round a hairpin which isn't too small for F1.
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I drove the Formula student car for my university back in 2003. The fact is with a restricted 600cc engine you're never going to be going fast enough to generate F1 levels of G force .. and as you say even if they could, something would break as they've only been engineered for lower loads.
Comparing them around a tight hairpin would be a rather limited comparison!

I doubt SAE are even the quickest cars around an autocross. I bet a well sorted bike engined racecar of similar dimensions to SAE like a Jedi would perform better out of the box, and there are doubtless other things that would be signifcantly better again!.

But what's the one off car you are thinking of? I am genuinely curious
 
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Housey said:
I repeat, NOTHING will lap a GP circuit quicker than an F1 car today and this has been the case pretty much since the late 70's, into early 80's. Ovals then perhaps, though F1 cars never ran ovals to compare, but rest assured if there was something that could lap a circuit quicker than a contemporary F1 car we'd all know about it. It's not arrogance to suggest F1 teams are at the very bleeding edge of racing car construction for that is a indisputable fact I would suggest, questioned by no one involved with the sport. Small innovations may happen in other areas of the sport, but building the quickest race cars is what F1 is all about and always has been about, within defined rules that change most years to prevent them getting to quick.
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Yup and even a small adjustment of rules would make an F1 car mind bogglingly quick! For example not having a minimum weight, traction control and other aids, another few thousand RPM on the engine again...
 
Duke said:
Yup and even a small adjustment of rules would make an F1 car mind bogglingly quick! For example not having a minimum weight, traction control and other aids, another few thousand RPM on the engine again...
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And this is the whole point, remove the limits and lap times, top speeds, cornering performance, braking and power would all increase hugely and lap times would decrease accordingly. The fact, with constantly restrictive rules that F1 cars are still the quickest things on the planet around a race circuit shows just how clever an innovative F1 designers are.

To even put a student formula car in comparison to an F1 car is ludicrous.
 
If there was any chance of another series becoming faster than F1 I'm not sure the teams and bernie would allow it. They'd change the regulations or the FIA wouldn't certify the series or something. F1 will always be the fastest cars.
 
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