Formula 1 is perhaps the most famous open-wheel racing discipline in the world, but IndyCar is probably a close second. They may look similar from the outside, but there are some big differences between F1 and IndyCar.
The main differences between F1 and IndyCar are in the designs of the cars, the tracks they race on, and the race formats. F1 cars only race on purpose built race tracks and street circuits, while IndyCar races on some ovals too. F1 also allows for more freedom in car design than IndyCar.
The two motorsports are brilliant to watch, and they make for some of the most exciting racing on the planet. But before I go into the differences between the two, let’s first consider what the two motorsports have in common.
What Do F1 & IndyCar Have In Common?
They’re Both Open-Wheel
The first main similarity, and perhaps the most obvious one, is the fact that both are open-wheel motorsports. This is exactly what it sounds like, as the wheels on both an IndyCar and an F1 car are not covered by fenders. For this reason, the cars do look fairly similar.
Both Have Long Seasons
Both motorsports have fairly long seasons, running from March through to September for IndyCar and from March through to November for F1. However, IndyCar only has about 17 races compared to Formula 1’s 23. They both have championships for the drivers and the manufacturers, although in the case of IndyCar it is the engine manufacturer, rather than the team that wins, as it is in Formula 1.
They Both Involve High-Speed Action
Both are also high-speed motorsports, with IndyCar regularly involving speeds of around 230 mph on ovals (although lower on road tracks), and F1 involving speeds of more than 200 mph too. IndyCar and F1 also involve a lot of money and are lucrative sports for sponsors. They also each attract a lot of fans and are watched worldwide by millions of people.
They Sometimes Share Drivers
In some cases, the sports have even shared drivers, as was the case with Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya, who both raced in F1 and then gave IndyCar a try. Former F1 drivers Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean also race in IndyCar now as well.
They Have Similar Rules
Finally, both sports operate a similar flag system, with the yellow flag being the most common, used to designate the need for caution, causing the cars to slow down. There are many race rules common between them as well, with both sports designed to be non-contact (although motorsport fans know this rule is often broken!).
Now that we have gone through the similarities between IndyCar and F1, it’s time to think about the differences.
F1 vs IndyCar: The Cars
The Engines
As I mentioned in the first section, the cars used in Formula 1 and IndyCar may look similar, but they vary in plenty of ways. The first way they vary is in the engines used. Although both use V6s, IndyCar engines are 2.2 liters and the F1 engines are 1.6 liters.
F1 engines are single turbocharger engines, while IndyCars use a twin turbocharger system. There is also a difference in horsepower between the two, with IndyCar engines capable of between 550-700 HP, and F1 engines putting out close to 1000 HP. They also run on different fuels, with IndyCar running on a more ethanol-heavy fuel than F1’s unleaded petrol.
In Formula 1, there are four engine suppliers, while in IndyCar there are just two. They are limited to 12,000 RPM, with F1 engines limited to 15,000 RPM. Aside from the engine, the teams in F1 must design their own chassis, whereas in IndyCar the cars are all made to a set of specs, which means they only differ very slightly with things like the engine and some aero tuning.
Smaller Differences
The brakes are also very different between the two cars. Formula 1 brakes are made of carbon fiber as standard, while IndyCar brakes are made from steel for most of the races. The exceptions to this are the 2.5-mile speedways, which allow for the use of carbon fiber brakes. This means F1 cars stop quicker, which helps make them faster on tracks with more turns.
The cars do have similar weights, but there are some other smaller differences that still have a large effect on the way the car drives. For example, IndyCar uses six forward gears, while F1 cars have eight forward gears. The IndyCar vehicles also have an aeroscreen, which provides similar safety features to the halo that is used on an F1 car cockpit, although the aeroscreen looks more like a windshield.
The Money Involved
The final main difference between the two cars is the cost. IndyCar uses a spec system as we have said, and so the parts are all effectively mass produced. This brings the cost down, although it still costs several million dollars to build one. The high level of customization in F1, in order to get the edge over competitors, means teams spend up to $135 million each year on two cars.
Summary: F1 cars are heavier and more powerful than IndyCars, and the teams have more freedom in terms of their development
F1 vs IndyCar: The Tracks & Locations
The tracks and locations also present a lot of differences between IndyCar and Formula 1, with the main one being the presence of oval tracks in IndyCar. These are tracks that are abundant in NASCAR, with some in IndyCar, but they are fully absent in F1 racing. These tracks allow for the very high speeds of IndyCar, reaching up to 230 mph (370 kph) on the straights.
The Indy 500
Perhaps the most famous oval track of all is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is home to the famous Indy 500, a 500-mile race that takes place over 200 laps of the oval track. This also differs from F1, as it acts as a standalone competition within the normal IndyCar season, offering different qualifying conditions and some extra points to be gained as well.
There has been one circuit that has been part of both F1 and IndyCar in recent years, and that is the Circuit of the Americas. F1 races there every year, but IndyCar only visited COTA in 2019.
F1 Is A Global Affair
IndyCar races primarily in America, with one race in Canada. There have been races in Japan, Australia, and even Brazil as well, but these are not part of the regular season. F1 by contrast is a global sport, with races taking place on 5 continents every year. There are around 23 races on the regular calendar, compared to the 17 of the IndyCar season.
Track Length
It’s not just in number and location that the tracks differ, but also the shapes and lengths of each. Obviously, we have already touched on the lack of ovals in F1 racing, but the track lengths differ substantially too.
In F1, there are limits as to what can constitute a race-worthy track, with the limits being from around 3 km (1.9 miles) to 7 km (4.3 miles). However, IndyCar tracks start at less than 1 mile, with the Iowa Speedway at around 0.8 miles in length (1.3 km). They go all the way to over 4 miles with the Road America track, but most are between 1 and 2 miles.
Summary: F1 never races on ovals, and sticks to purpose built race tracks and street circuits all over the world, while IndyCar does race on several ovals, and only races in the USA and Canada
F1 vs IndyCar: The Drivers & The Teams
The structure of the competition of each motorsport is also very different, and this has a lot to do with the history of each one. IndyCar in its current form has only been around since 1994, with the current series founded in 1996 (although the name IndyCar was only officially adopted in 2011). This is in contrast to F1’s long heritage, hailing back to around 1950. However, IndyCar has been around in various other forms for longer than just a few decades.
The Indy 500 has been an event since 1911, which is why it is such a prestigious race. It is part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, along with F1’s Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But in terms of the drivers and the teams that have arrived out of this rich history in each motorsport, there are plenty of similarities as well as differences.
Fitness Required
Both sports require a high level of fitness, due to the extreme conditions inside the car and the strong forces that both sets of drivers are exposed to. But there are more drivers on the track in IndyCar than in F1, with about 26 starting each race (33 at the Indy 500). In Formula 1, there are only 20 drivers on the grid, although this has been larger in some years.
There Are More Teams In IndyCar
The 30+ drivers come from a larger number of teams in IndyCar, with around 13 full-time teams and a few part-time teams as well (some drivers are part-time as well). In Formula 1, there are 10 different teams, and they each put forward two drivers. Some teams in IndyCar have as many as six drivers, and some only put forward one driver.
Summary: IndyCar has more teams than F1 and more drivers in each race
F1 vs IndyCar: The Racing
Race Duration
The races in a Formula 1 season are strictly limited to 2 hours, no matter how many laps have been driven (this does not include race stoppages due to red flags). IndyCar races can go on longer, with the Indy 500 regularly taking around 3 hours or more. The pit stops are different too, with F1 pit stops taking around 2-3 seconds, while IndyCar stops may take between 6 and 10 seconds, due to the need to refuel the car as well.
Differences In Qualifying
More differences appear in the qualifying before the races. F1 qualifying is a 3-stage process, set up with Q1, Q2, and Q3. Q1 sets the positions 16-20 on the grid for the race, with the top 15 drivers progressing to Q2. This sets the positions 11-15. The top 10 drivers go through to Q3 and compete to set the fastest times to set their positions for the grid on race day.
Note: F1 also features Sprint qualifying at some races, which is a 100 km (62-mile) dash with its grid set by Friday knockout qualifying. The results of the Sprint set the grid for Sunday’s race.
IndyCar qualifying is dependent on the type of race. The road courses take a similar format to F1 qualifying, being split into 3 segments where the fastest laps take the better starting positions on the grid. The difference is that the cars are split into 2 groups for segment 1, and then the fastest 6 from each group go into segment 2, with a total of 12 drivers in this segment.
The fastest 6 cars then go through to segment 3. Then, the top 6 cars try to get the fastest times in order to set positions 1-6, in a similar fashion to Q3 in F1.
Different For The Ovals
However, this changes for the oval races. For these, there is a reverse order system using the points standings, with those in last place going out first and those nearer the top of the table going out last.
These sessions are made up of 2 warm-up laps, and then 2 hot laps, 1 car at a time. The total of these 2 times is called the aggregate, and it is this time that is used to set the grid positions for the race. This again changes for the Indy 500, which uses a similar format but instead the order is determined by blind draw and the aggregate is taken using 4 hot laps instead of 2.
Practice Sessions
F1 also has three 1-hour long practice sessions, with only two being held if it’s a Sprint weekend. IndyCar typically only has two practice sessions per race, and they’re usually shorter than F1’s as well. The Indy 500 is where things vary even more, with more practice sessions than usual.
Summary: While F1 and IndyCar races follow fairly similar formats, they vary a lot in their practice and qualifying formats
F1 vs IndyCar: Rules & Points Systems
Plenty Of Similarities
A lot of the rules in IndyCar are similar to F1, such as the flag system that I mentioned earlier. The penalty systems are also similar, but there are some subtle differences. IndyCar uses a fine system for its generic “Hazardous Conditions” rule, whereas F1 usually only hands out fines for speeding in the pit lane during practice/qualifying, or other similar offenses.
Both sports do implement similar penalties but for various different things, with IndyCar favoring the drive-through and stop and hold penalties, which slow the driver down dramatically. F1 on the other hand favors the time penalty system, with the 5-second penalty being the most commonly used, with drive-through penalties being much rarer.
The Points Systems
The points system of F1 is also different from that of IndyCar. In Formula 1, there are constructor and driver championships, and this is similar to IndyCar. However, the way the points are given out differs quite a lot. In an F1 race, only the top 10 drivers can score points both for themselves in the Drivers’ Championship and for their teams in the Constructors’ Championship.
The winner gets 25 points, with second place getting 18 points, and so on in a scaled fashion down to 10th place, which receives 1 point. The driver that sets the fastest lap time gets a bonus point, but only if they place in the top 10. This means positions 11-20 never receive any points, putting more importance on the qualifying sessions alongside the race itself.
Note: Normal qualifying yields no points, but there are points for the top 8 in Sprint qualifying sessions. First place gets 8, second gets 7 and so on down to eighth place, which gets 1 point.
The IndyCar System
In IndyCar however, every driver receives points, even those in last place. The winner gets 50 points, with second receiving 40, third getting 35 and so on in a similar scaled fashion to F1. The bottom 9 drivers each receive 5 points, which reduces the importance on the lower-placing drivers to push themselves if they are too far off the pace of those placing in the late 20s.
There is also a bonus point for those who take pole position in qualifying, as well as those that lead at least one lap. The driver who leads the most laps of the race receives 2 extra bonus points. There is a different points system used for the Indy 500, with extra points on offer for those qualifying in positions one through nine.
The Manufacturers
The constructors in F1 earn points based on the combined total of their two drivers. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship. In IndyCar, the points for the engine manufacturers are only made up of the combined totals of the top two drivers who race the full season, and there are various manufacturer bonuses concerning the Indy 500 and engine usage.
Summary: F1 and IndyCar use a lot of the same rules, but one of the biggest differences between the two lies in the points systems used in each sport
Are F1 Or IndyCars Faster?
F1 cars are faster than IndyCars around a lap, but IndyCars can reach higher top speeds than F1 cars. This is because F1 cars produce much more downforce than IndyCars, and so they can corner much faster, leading to lower lap times. IndyCars may reach 230+ mph (370 kph), while F1 cars top out around 210 mph (340 kph).
This means IndyCars would reach very high speeds on the straights of F1 tracks, but they would lose time to F1 cars in the corners, even with a high downforce setup. However, F1 cars would lose out to them on oval tracks, unless they had major modifications made to their chassis and their engines.
It’s also worth noting that the 230 mph reached by IndyCars is only on ovals, as on tracks like St Petersburg, they might only reach 170 mph or so (270 kph).
Would An F1 Car Win The Indy 500?
An F1 car would not win the Indy 500 if it was up against other IndyCars. The reason is that, while F1 cars can go around a traditional race track faster than an IndyCar can thanks to higher downforce, IndyCars have less drag and are therefore faster on ovals, reaching upwards of 230 mph.
While F1 did used to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a road course layout, and even at the Indy 500 in the early years, the (road course) race in 2005 was showered in controversy given only 6 cars completed the race. This was down to the way the tires worked (or didn’t work) with the surface and layout of the track, and F1 has not raced at the venue since 2007.
Final Thoughts
There are lots of differences between IndyCar and Formula 1, with the majority of them being to do with the cars and tracks. Regardless of their differences, they are both incredibly entertaining to watch!
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