Formula 1 Car vs. MotoGP Bike

Formula 1 and MotoGP are the fastest and most prestigious categories of motorsport on four and two wheels respectively, and both have a large and loyal fan base. However, how different is an F1 car from a MotoGP bike?

Formula 1 cars and MotoGP bikes are the maximum exponents of motor racing and motorcycling and are at the forefront of technology and progress. While F1 cars have higher downforce, MotoGP bikes have higher acceleration, thus generating different types of racing.

With a very different philosophy, both machines have incredible performance and offer a great show on the track, each in its own way. Let\’s get into details!


F1 Car vs. MotoGP Bike: Weight, Consumption and Power

The 2022 Formula 1 cars are the heaviest in the history of the championship, due to the new regulations. In 2022, the minimum weight of an F1 car is 798 kg, without driver and fuel. At the start of a race, with the weight of the driver and full tank (110 kg), the car should weigh at least 908 kg.

F1 cars use a four-stroke 1.6-liter turbo V6 engine and the total power output from the combined petrol and electric elements is around 1,000 hp. Considering that they start each race (which lasts no more than 305 km) with a full tank, they consume an average of 25 to 30 liters per 100 kilometers, depending on the circuit.

On the other hand, a MotoGP motorcycle has a minimum weight of 157 kg and has a 1,000 cc, 4-cylinder in-line or V-cylinder engine, which generates about 250 hp of power.

The average consumption of a MotoGP is 17 liters per 100 kilometers. They have a capacity of 22 liters of fuel, so considering that a GP is on average 115 km long, they have no fuel problems in the race. F1 cars do run a little tighter, and drivers often have to manage fuel well to get to the end.

In an F1 car, the power-to-weight ratio is 1.25 hp per kg, and in MotoGP, it is 1.59 hp per kg.


F1 Car vs. MotoGP Bike: Acceleration

Acceleration is a complex issue, as it depends to a large extent on each start. At the race start, F1 cars tend to slip the rear wheels, losing traction, while a MotoGP bike tends to lift the front wheel off the ground if accelerating at full throttle, doing a wheelie.

Due to these limitations, from 0 to 100 kph there is no difference between an F1 car and a MotoGP bike, and both reach it in approximately 2.6 seconds. From 0 to 200 there is also no difference because although the car weighs much more, it compensates with its power. The F1 car does it in about 4.6 seconds, and the MotoGP bike in about 4.8 seconds.

From 0 to 300 kph there are no significant differences either. An F1 car takes about 10.6 seconds, while a MotoGP bike takes about 11.8 seconds. There really is no clear winner, as the differences are very small, and can vary considerably, as not all starts are equal and perfect, and elements such as the state of the track or the temperature also play an important role.


F1 Car vs. MotoGP Bike: Top Speed

At high speeds, weight is no longer an inconvenience for the F1 car, but another one appears: aerodynamic drag, which is exponential the faster you go. Because cars are so big and have such complex wings, the faster they go, the more the wind slows them down, due to their large mass, whereas a MotoGP bike cuts the wind much better, as it is much smaller and simpler.

So, assuming we have an infinite straight, a MotoGP bike could keep increasing its top speed for a long time, while an F1 car would reach a \”terminal speed\” that it could not exceed. At the Mugello Circuit, MotoGP bikes reach an average of 356 kph, while F1 cars reach about 314 kph.

However, the top speed record is held by an F1 car. Valtteri Bottas reached 378 kph at the Baku City Circuit in 2016, while the MotoGP record is held by Jorge Martin, who reached 363.6 kph at the 2022 Mugello GP, taking advantage of a slipstream.

However, Bottas\’ F1 record has a trick to it. The Finn also took advantage of the slipstream but achieved that speed on an extremely long 2.2 km straight, on a circuit with minimal downforce. In addition, the 2016 cars were smaller and therefore had less aerodynamic drag than the current cars, so they achieved higher top speeds.

However, it is worth noting that F1 cars have exceeded 360 and 370 kph on several occasions (usually taking advantage of a slipstream), while MotoGP bikes have only exceeded 360 kph on 4 occasions so far.


F1 Car vs. MotoGP Bike: Downforce and Braking

If in the previous comparisons there were no abysmal differences between F1 cars and MotoGP bikes, it is in the corners where there are.

This is where F1 cars get all their advantage, due to the incredible downforce they generate through their spoilers, which “stick” them to the ground. In addition, F1 cars are very low, so they have a very low center of gravity, and with 4 wheels they generate greater stability and adherence.

On the other hand, a MotoGP bike suffers much more when braking, since without spoilers or aerodynamics, and having only 2 wheels, they are much less stable, causing the rear wheel to lift while braking hard. F1 cars can generate a force of 5 G when braking, a figure that is practically unattainable for a MotoGP bike.

At Turn 1 of the Circuit de Barcelona, a MotoGP bike brakes at 350 meters, while an F1 car brakes at 50 meters. It is true that the bike arrives faster and has to slow down more to make the turn, but F1 cars are unbeatable in corners, especially in fast corners. An F1 car can do Turn 9 of the same circuit flat out, which would be unthinkable for a MotoGP bike.

To give another example, F1 cars go around the Rindt corner at the Red Bull Ring at 190 kph, while MotoGP bikes go around it at 120 kph, and brake about 200 meters earlier than cars. At the Aspar corner at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, an F1 car goes from 312 kph to 240, while a MotoGP bike goes from 327 kph to 115.


Which Is Louder, an F1 Car or a MotoGP Bike?

Sound is measured in decibels and abbreviated to dB. A-weighted decibels (abbreviated dBA) express the relative loudness of sounds in the air as perceived by our ears. Well, current F1 cars with V6 engines put out sound levels of about 130 dBA, and F1 races typically reach 140 dBA.

F1 cars were much noisier in the past. V8 engines emitted a sound of around 145 dBA, while V12 engines reached over 150 dBA. On the other hand, a MotoGP bike has a maximum noise level of 115 dBA allowed during racing. However, the actual dB level of an unmuffledrace engine is much higher.

To get an idea of their intensity, a loud thunderclap can be around 120 dBA, while fireworks can reach 150 dBA, and a gunshot can be around 150-170 dBA. On the other hand, a normal conversation can be around 60 dBA, a busy street between 75 and 85 dBA, and a rock concert can reach up to 120 dBA. 


Do F1 and MotoGP Use the Same Tracks?

F1 and MotoGP do use some of the same circuits, such as Silverstone in Great Britain, the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, the Circuit de Barcelona in Spain, and the Red Bull Ring in Austria, although they may use different variations where chicanes are included or eliminated, associated with safety reasons in each category.

However, there are also many different circuits where F1 races and not MotoGP and vice versa, such as Monaco, Spa-Francorchamps, and Baku in the case of F1, or Jerez, Le Mans, and Sachsenring in the case of MotoGP.

This is often because there are certain circuits that are better suited to the characteristics of motorcycles, while others are better suited to cars. The FIA classifies circuits into 6 grades according to whether they are suitable for the category, with Grade 1 licensed circuits being able to host F1 races. Likewise, circuits hosting MotoGP races must have an FIM license.

Therefore, many circuits are suitable for both categories, while others are suitable for only one of the two. Other reasons why a circuit only hosts races in one of the categories may simply be due to the contract the category has with that specific circuit.


F1 Car vs. MotoGP Bike: Which Is Faster?

In terms of lap times, F1 cars are much faster than MotoGP bikes, due to their high downforce and cornering speed. However, how much faster are F1 cars than MotoGP bikes?

To check this, we will compare the lap times of each at some of the circuits where both categories race:

TrackF1 Lap RecordMotoGP Lap Record
Circuit of the Americas, USA1:36.169 (Charles Leclerc, 2019)2:02.039 (Jorge Martin, 2022)
Silverstone Circuit, UK1:27.369 (Lewis Hamilton, 2019)1:59.936 (Marc Marquez, 2019)
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain1:14.637 (Michael Schumacher, 2006)1:38.771 (Aleix Espargaro, 2022)
Red Bull Ring, Austria1.02:939 (Valtteri Bottas, 2020)1.23.027 (Marc Marquez, 2019).

As we can see, on all circuits the F1 cars beat the MotoGP bikes by 20 seconds or more, which is a considerable time, considering that in these categories the differences in lap times between rivals are minimal.

F1 cars hold virtually all the lap records for the circuits they race on. However, MotoGP bikes are also quite fast and beat the lap times of many car categories.


F1 Car vs. MotoGP Bike: Driving Style

Both an F1 car and a MotoGP bike are incredibly difficult to drive/ride. Each vehicle offers its own challenges to overcome its limits and they are really impressive and impossible to imitate for a normal person, as it requires great determination and the physical shape of a top-level athlete.

In MotoGP, body positioning is really important, as they always have to be shifting their body weight left and right for cornering, while often touching their knees to the ground. It is also crucial when accelerating and braking, as they must always position the body to achieve the lowest possible aerodynamic resistance, which is a real challenge. It takes years to learn and perfect body positioning techniques.

Braking is particularly hard, as it creates great strain on the hands and wrists, as they have to practically support more than twice their own weight. For all these reasons, overtaking is very tense and technical for the driver\’s body. Training the core and arms is essential for a MotoGP rider.

On the other hand, F1 drivers do not have their bodies as exposed, but that does not necessarily mean that in certain situations they are safer. The main challenge of driving an F1 car is the massive G-forces to contend with, which especially affect the neck.

These G-forces are a product of the high speed at which they take the corners, and they cause your body to be in high tension all the time and your heartbeat to increase a lot. Therefore, driving an F1 car during a full race requiring the absolute best reaction times is very complicated.

Another challenge of an F1 car is its high sensitivity in all aspects (handling, tires, temperature, fuel), so managing these factors at the same time as driving is an added difficulty. The essential muscle that F1 drivers train is the neck, but also the arms and legs because to fully depress the brake pedal requires a force of up to 125 kg. 


Conclusion

Formula 1 and MotoGP are different sports that share the same passion and intensity for speed and racing, as they are the two great categories of motorsport.

F1 cars are faster than MotoGP bikes due to their fast cornering, thanks to their high downforce and levels of grip, while MotoGP bikes are more versatile and accelerate faster. However, both offer excellent races, each with its own particular characteristics, which one do you like the most?


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