When it comes to the differences between Formula 1 and NASCAR, the former is by far the most superior one out of the two for these following aspects:
- Formats of the race
- Aerodynamics
- Power-to-weight ratio
- Design
- Acceleration
- Deceleration
Why an F1 Car is Faster than a NASCAR
Table of Contents
F1 and NASCAR have cars performing in a highly regulated fashion, and in many ways, they have so many differences, which will be explained later. For NASCAR, it emphasizes the driver’s role in the totality of the performance of the race, while F1 is more inclined with the build quality of the car and how fast it can go. Therefore, F1 is more focused on how new technology can be incorporated into the overall design and performance of the vehicle, while NASCAR embodies the star-quality of the drivers.
Here is a closer look at the different aspects of why an F1 car is faster than a NASCAR, and it will be elaborated further on these following points:
Design
In technical innovation and marvel, you can immediately see F1’s more sleek design and technical features. Of course, you can’t compare an average road car with both NASCAR and F1. But F1 cars are considerably better since they focus so much effort on making them as fast and technologically advanced as ever.
NASCAR’s are built with similar chassis with the same transmissions, power output, and engine size. In addition, it features a similar design except for a few parts that differentiate them between Ford, Toyota, and Chevrolet manufacturers.
This makes it so that the racing is closer and more overtaking occurs during high-stake races. In addition, it insights skills for drivers to play around with, which is a massive contributor to the wins racers get when on the road. NASCAR is also very close to Sedans in terms of style and weight that gives it a 3,200 lb and 5.8-liter engine that makes 750 hp and revs up to 9,000 rpm. While the differences between a single road car and a NASCAR is significant, these efforts set by the different specifications of a NASCAR edges it closer to a road car where drivers are most familiar with it.
On the F1 side of things, these cars are very complex in the design aspect because they aim to become as fast as possible. This means the weight is so integral to the overall look of the car. Therefore, it’s pretty uncommon to see a heavy-duty F1 car because the weight adds so much drag when racing. It helps when the chassis and overall profile of an F1 racing car are subtle and conservative as not to compromise with the speed.
Furthermore, you can expect them to look futuristic, computer-generated designs, and have the best motors in previous cars, unlike you’ve ever seen before. Teams are essential to manufacture and sell all the car’s components, and the fact that the design is very intricate and specific to how the car runs is a trade secret these manufacturers only know.
From its chassis, the wheels, engines, clutches, suspension, and the items that come in the rear and front wings of the car all have unique features that make the F1 a fantastic ride. However, while automotive engineers have all the freedom to make the most out of their expertise to create the most advanced care possible, they try not to overstep the parameters of becoming unreasonable.
Making a car that is still on par to make the driver’s experience great is that if the vehicle is highly advanced, there needs to be no skill involved when racing anymore. However, the design must still look at the functionality wherein you don’t feel like being driven by the technology itself and still pose a challenge when racing.
In terms of the look and individual components of the F1 car, here are the following specifications:
- Open-wheeled
- Open-cockpit racers with a minimum weight of 1,604 lb.
- 1.6-liter turbocharged V-6 engines that are powering the vehicle of up to 800 hp
- Revs up to 15,000 rpm with an 8-speed semi-automatic transmission
These racers will feel the features of how incredibly complex the aerodynamics is where the downforce is generated with significant levels of traction that are eerily similar to jet fighters to slice through the air.
Power-to-weight ratio
The weight aspect is briefly discussed in the previous section, but here is the in-depth ratio analysis of why an F1 car is faster than a NASCAR. For starters, the NASCAR engine generates around 750 hp, 50 hp lower than what the F1 offers, which is 800 hp. This means they may have similar top speeds and acceleration numbers, but looking at the whole picture, you will soon find out that that’s not the case.
A closer inspection, it’s even worse for NASCAR because it weighs around 3,250 lb with a 5.8 liter that’s naturally aspirated and a V8 engine that moves with 750 hp. This gives it a ratio of 0.233hp/lb.
On the other hand, the F1 weighs 1,741.65 lbs, about half the weight of a NASCAR. This gives it a ratio of 0.498 hp/lb, which is better than that of NASCAR. This also offers F1 an acceleration that goes from 0 to 62 mph in a second. While it sounds awe-inspiring, this power cannot convert to forward motion where the car runs because of traction loss. The sudden power will burn the tires and can’t move forward than its current location.
When the speeds go up to 80-90 mph, the traction loss decreases, and the air around the car will rise its downforce to accelerate the car much quicker. This is why the higher the power-to-weight ratio is, the better it is to accelerate. So when the F1 car can accelerate from 0 to 200 mph in a matter of 10 seconds, it’s hard to say that it isn’t a superior race car compared to NASCAR’s 0 to 160 mph in the same 10 seconds.
The acceleration and deceleration
The incredible power-to-weight ratio numbers of the F1 enable it to accelerate from 0 to 100-200 mph in mere seconds because of the higher ratio count. Acceleration is significant if you want to go past the opposing racer, and deceleration is essential when you want to slow down for a pitstop. Both the F1 and the NASCAR are built to withstand the roughest conditions when racing. It’s also essential for both vehicles to accelerate without heating up so much. Considering that the F1 is so technologically advanced, the heat sync for the race car is suitable for fast engines that heat up pretty quickly.
Furthermore, the F1 generates an acceleration number of 1.45 Gs which means that the driver’s neck won’t be pushed back by a force that is 1.45 times greater than the earth’s gravity itself. This special force rises at speeds reaching 200 mph or beyond, and drivers who experience a 4.74 G on a straight cruise will make a driver’s head push back five times more. To put things in a better perspective, a rocket launch gives a 3 G acceleration force. To think that a rocket is more stable for a driver speaks volumes to the advantages of an F1 acceleration figure.
F1 and NASCAR’s aerodynamics specialty and their brake system alongside the tires specifically help racers cut through air when driving. Air tension stops the actual force from achieving incredible speeds since, by some metric, it still slows down due to friction in the air. It’s hard to believe at first, but the equal force when driving at really high speeds reciprocates with the air rushing against the direction of where the car is moving.
Speaking of acceleration, while it is one of F1’s most excellent features, the deceleration is even more impressive. The brake systems allow for a smoother transition to reaching the pit stops during the race. For the deceleration force, race cars have an average of 6.78 Gs, which is almost seven times greater than a regular car which only has 1 G. This will practically break the ribcage of a driver when driving.
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics describes the air passing over when drivers race. And under F1 and NASCAR, reducing drag is paramount to winning the competition; unfortunately, The air passing through is a vast contributor to drag, and it’s the car’s technology’s job to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
There are two main areas where aerodynamics focus on the performance of the car against air tension. When comparing how an F1 and NASCAR look, the latter’s aerodynamics may seem more unsophisticated to an untrained eye, but it still gives the exact principles as F1 in seeking to avoid drag due to air.
NASCAR’s aerodynamics technology has low and wide front spoilers where wind-tunnel-shaped body shell surfaces are steeply raked in the windscreens to allow air to pass through a more slippery surface. The technology aims to regulate drafting and improve the racing spectacle since cars move way faster with better aerodynamics.
Formula 1’s aerodynamics are achieved through millions of dollars worth of research to lower the race car’s lap times by tenths of a second per lap crossed. With many left and right corners of different speeds, an F1’s aerodynamics focuses more on the downforce to improve the grip to achieve better cornering than reducing drag for more incredible speeds.
The race format
NASCAR’s race format usually takes 3-4 hours when drivers clock up between 400 to 500 miles in every race over 350 laps that are 1-2 miles long. NASCAR drivers are more focused on maintaining more incredible speeds with as few brakes as possible. F1 races are completed in less than 2 hours, and cars run around 185 miles over a tight and twisting corner track.
NASCAR drivers aim to clock at 200 mph without lifting a single step off the gas, while F1 tracks require drivers to carefully turn, accelerate and brake accurately around 22 corners for an average of 57 laps per race.
NASCAR races also emphasize the drivers behind the wheel to win a championship, while F1 focuses on team championships. As a result, an F1 team will spend countless hours developing strategies for cars to score as many championship points as they can take and are usually not allowed to have teammates fight for a victory.
In NASCAR, it is common for teammates to race each other in the whole race down to the last mile to secure a win. Either way, each format is different and has unique perks to differentiate why both are highly varied in most terms. (edited)
How fast can an average F1 driver go with a competent F1 car?
F1 cars speed up to 380km/h or 236 mph. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in a matter of 3 seconds which beats any other racing leagues in the industry. For F1 cars, it’s normal to go 360 km/h, which is one of the fastest vehicle speeds in the world for land-based transportation technology.
How fast do f1 cars take corners?
An F1 car can take extreme corner speeds of 300 km/hr or 190 mph where the lateral force increases with the square of the speed. For a 90-degree turn, an F1 vehicle can generate an upward 5Gs in a corner with braking traction of 25 mph.
What makes F1 Car faster？
There are so many contributing factors as to why an F1 car is faster than any other cars in the world. For starters, the weight of an average car is designed to make it faster with horsepowers that rival that of NASCAR’s. While there is very little difference between the two speeds, the F1 is lighter which makes it move faster.
Furthermore, the aerodynamics of the car makes F1 racing much faster since the corner speeds after going around sharp corners is paramount to winning the race. With little air friction coming in the way of an F1 car, it sure beats any other car’s technology if you look at it through this lens.
Furthermore, the best part about an F1 car is its acceleration. When it accelerates from standing still of 0 mph to 100 mph in less than 5 seconds without combusting into flames, you are sure to have a fast ride regardless of what kind of F1 car it is. However, you should note that this amount of power is simply not possible to expect a vehicle to run that fast without catching flames, so a more realistic figure would be about half of that in a second, then moving past 100 mph after 3 to 5 seconds since the engine started.
How Powerful is F1 Engine
With a twin energy-retrieval system that augments the 1.6 liter V6 combustion internal engine, it produces an output number of about 1000bhp. The number makes the F1 car’s engine have a horsepower of about 1050 HP. This power is stored in an electrical unit where it generates the speed that allows the car to drive very long distances at a relatively quick time.
What is the most Powerful F1 Car Ever
The Benetton B186 is the most powerful F1 car ever built. The Benetton team won the 1986 F1 World Championship which used this car to do that. The power is about 1350-1400 HP and a weight of only 548 kg! Its fuel uses the BMW Wintershall.
Is Lewis Hamilton the best F1 driver ever?
Saying Lewis Hamliton is the best F1 driver ever is arguable at best, but one cannot deny his remarkable achievements throughout his career. He captured his seventh F1 championship as of late after a historic run that snatched a Turkish Grand Prix that saw Lewis Hamilton finish at first place from a sixth place headstart.
However, many allude to Michael Schumacher for being the greatest to ever live since he mastered the art of racing from speed, focus, judgment, and even arrogance down to the barrel of being one of the best to ever do it.
F1 vs NASCAR pit stop
The pitstop speed for NASCAR is significantly slower than that of F1’s because it is more challenging to do a pitstop routine for the former. There are over a dozen personnel handling a pitstop for an F1 while only six can be involved in a NASCAR pitstop.
Furthermore, the NASCAR pitstop has more challenging methods of changing tires and engine configurations that will give racers a run for their money when racing. It’s extremely difficult to pitstop on a NASCAR which adds to the overall race time during the league.
The longest pit stop in F1 was 43 hours and 15 minutes combined. The contributing factor to the long hours of pit stopping is the removal of the right front wheel of the Valtteri Bottas F1 sports car.
Conclusion
F1 cars are much faster than NASCAR’s because of a different style of racing that they embody. Nevertheless, there are so many things to love in both leagues of racing, and it’s up to you to decide which style is apt for your taste in both racing and watching.
