F1 v F2 v F3 which would you be fastest?
Discussion
Okay so the you in F1 vs the safety car got some good conversation so here goes another.
You have 5 laps of silverstone, which car would you complete the fastest 5 laps in?
I suspect for me it would be the F3 car as I would stand a chance of keeping temps and while not pushing it limits be at least closer than in F1 where all the temps would plummet and it would be like driving on ice.
You have 5 laps of silverstone, which car would you complete the fastest 5 laps in?
I suspect for me it would be the F3 car as I would stand a chance of keeping temps and while not pushing it limits be at least closer than in F1 where all the temps would plummet and it would be like driving on ice.
I think with some practice and good tutoring most of us would end up fastest in the F2 car, they look just about manageable close to the limit based on learning, as opposed to 1:10,000 racing driver ability required to think at F1 car speeds.
If we're not allowed a period of learning, then I'd imagine I'd be fastest in the F1 car actually - not because it's easier to drive.. but because in any of them I wouldn't be able to keep the car switched on for efficient braking or cornering, but at least in the F1 car once I've limped it around each corner I can point and squirt and it will go much faster than F2/3.
If we're not allowed a period of learning, then I'd imagine I'd be fastest in the F1 car actually - not because it's easier to drive.. but because in any of them I wouldn't be able to keep the car switched on for efficient braking or cornering, but at least in the F1 car once I've limped it around each corner I can point and squirt and it will go much faster than F2/3.
JonChalk said:
Fundoreen said:
Rare that an f2 or f3 whizz jumps into F1 and does anything. Its because its harder to drive.
Sorry, couldn't resist;Hamilton, LeClerc, Norris, Rosberg, Hulkenberg.
Plus, I would add Russell & Gasly, given the respective cars they found themselves in.
DanielSan said:
JonChalk said:
Fundoreen said:
Rare that an f2 or f3 whizz jumps into F1 and does anything. Its because its harder to drive.
Sorry, couldn't resist;Hamilton, LeClerc, Norris, Rosberg, Hulkenberg.
Plus, I would add Russell & Gasly, given the respective cars they found themselves in.
Leimer, Valsecchi - the only 2 who never really got a chance
Pantano - got to F1 for a year
Fundoreen said:
Rare that an f2 or f3 whizz jumps into F1 and does anything. Its because its harder to drive.
We're not talking about being competitively faster though.. assuming someone has no open wheel single seater experience then they aren't going to be able to make proper use of any of the cars. But at least if they can point the F1 car the right way they'll be able to dispatch the straights faster than in the F2/3.No chance. F1 or f2 I doubt id be out of the pit lane before crashing. F3, I might get out but would scare myself silly on full throttle, nevedmind believing what downforce could do in the corners. Maybe on old FFord from the 70s or somesuch I would manage to complete a lap. And I carry too much success balast to be quick...
Its the downforce which I havent experienced before...
Its the downforce which I havent experienced before...
I reckon f1 just because of the greater acceleration and better brakes.
By lap 5 of the F1 or F2 my neck would have gone limp so maybe it is the F3!
I'm pretty sure modern F1 cars arent particularly difficult to drive, shows like Top Gear like to dramatise how they need everything to be up to temperature. The brakes still work if they're cold, same as you don't just spin if the tyres aren't warmed up.
I doubt many of us could push a F1 brake pedal to full effectiveness anyway!
By lap 5 of the F1 or F2 my neck would have gone limp so maybe it is the F3!
I'm pretty sure modern F1 cars arent particularly difficult to drive, shows like Top Gear like to dramatise how they need everything to be up to temperature. The brakes still work if they're cold, same as you don't just spin if the tyres aren't warmed up.
I doubt many of us could push a F1 brake pedal to full effectiveness anyway!
Edited by WonkeyDonkey on Sunday 9th August 22:00
Edited by WonkeyDonkey on Sunday 9th August 22:01
Most of us, who aren’t regular single seater drivers, would likely be fastest in the F3 car. It’s relatively straightforward to drive, if a fair bit faster than the Formula Ford rental car that is likely to represent our current experience. Once we’d got the tyres warm and found the braking points, we’d probably be a handful of seconds away from a competitive time.
The F2 car is not massively faster than the F3 car but it’s a bigger and heavier car, is a pig to drive, has no power steering and doesn’t have a starter, so one spin and you’re done.
The F1 car is massively physically demanding, and way beyond what the majority of us will have experienced previously. Keeping the hot bits hot and the cold bits cold would require constant coaching from a race engineer looking at the telemetry. If we could cope with the sensory overload and the back-of-the-mind remembering that it’s worth millions, maybe we could get it around faster - but only on a good day.
Most F1 Experience type things build you up to the fast one over a day or two - and after half a dozen laps in it, most people desparately want a new neck!
For reference, fastest race lap by each car this weekend at Silverstone -
F1 - 1.28.4 (12.5% faster than F2)
F2 - 1.41.0
F3 - 1.46.6 (5.5% slower than F2)
The F2 car is not massively faster than the F3 car but it’s a bigger and heavier car, is a pig to drive, has no power steering and doesn’t have a starter, so one spin and you’re done.
The F1 car is massively physically demanding, and way beyond what the majority of us will have experienced previously. Keeping the hot bits hot and the cold bits cold would require constant coaching from a race engineer looking at the telemetry. If we could cope with the sensory overload and the back-of-the-mind remembering that it’s worth millions, maybe we could get it around faster - but only on a good day.
Most F1 Experience type things build you up to the fast one over a day or two - and after half a dozen laps in it, most people desparately want a new neck!
For reference, fastest race lap by each car this weekend at Silverstone -
F1 - 1.28.4 (12.5% faster than F2)
F2 - 1.41.0
F3 - 1.46.6 (5.5% slower than F2)
I won't go into the details on my experience driving an F1 car and the lap times compared to F2 and MotoGP but that's covered in the other thread for those that want to take a look. However I think the simple answer is you would be able to go fastest in an F1 car purely because that it is significantly faster than the others.
I found that a Formula Renault I drove was harder to drive quickly than the F1 car because it just didn't provide the same level of feedback or instil confidence. The F1 car was totally planted whereas the FR was sliding around. I am sure an F3 car would be better again but still nowhere near an F1 car for the same reasons. That being said, I got closer to the limit of the Renault than I did in the F1 but remained considerably quicker around Barcelona in the Prost F1 car than I was in the Formula Renault despite having had far more time in the Renault. This highlights that the straight line speed and average corner speed of the F1 car will get you around quicker than anything else can even in just a handful of laps.
For those saying your neck would be gone... you are well wide of the mark. You would be so far away from the limits in the corners that you would never have to worry about your neck going. And if you did manage to get to such a speed that the neck became an issue then you would definitely be going fast enough in the car to blow away an F2 or F3 lap time.
But to answer the original question... you would comfortably do the fastest lap in the F1 car.
I found that a Formula Renault I drove was harder to drive quickly than the F1 car because it just didn't provide the same level of feedback or instil confidence. The F1 car was totally planted whereas the FR was sliding around. I am sure an F3 car would be better again but still nowhere near an F1 car for the same reasons. That being said, I got closer to the limit of the Renault than I did in the F1 but remained considerably quicker around Barcelona in the Prost F1 car than I was in the Formula Renault despite having had far more time in the Renault. This highlights that the straight line speed and average corner speed of the F1 car will get you around quicker than anything else can even in just a handful of laps.
For those saying your neck would be gone... you are well wide of the mark. You would be so far away from the limits in the corners that you would never have to worry about your neck going. And if you did manage to get to such a speed that the neck became an issue then you would definitely be going fast enough in the car to blow away an F2 or F3 lap time.
But to answer the original question... you would comfortably do the fastest lap in the F1 car.
Sandpit Steve said:
For reference, fastest race lap by each car this weekend at Silverstone -
F1 - 1.28.4 (12.5% faster than F2)
F2 - 1.41.0
F3 - 1.46.6 (5.5% slower than F2)
I hadn't appreciated how relatively close the F3 is to F2, and then a much bigger jump to F1. This was posted on the F1 channel yesterdayF1 - 1.28.4 (12.5% faster than F2)
F2 - 1.41.0
F3 - 1.46.6 (5.5% slower than F2)
thegreenhell said:
I hadn't appreciated how relatively close the F3 is to F2, and then a much bigger jump to F1. This was posted on the F1 channel yesterday
This is why I said I think i'd be quickest in the F1 car. I don't need to be quick by F1 standards... I don't need to deal with 3g in the corners or 4g under braking...I would just need to get the thing around each corner as well as I could in the F2/3 cars and then once settled clearly the F1 car is going to excel on the straights. And the positive g of acceleration is easily handled by anyone that has ridden a modern roller coaster without their head falling off.
I'll take the F1 car please. I'd appreciate a few laps practice and some tuition before anyone gets the stopwatch out though
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