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[Trypt]

I haven't been able to find a good source to compare. I'm just wondering, are the V8s of the last couple years competitive on the same circuits to the V10s of the last generation? When I check the lap records for some circuits, they seem to all be from the early/mid 2000s. I know there are several circuits that have been unchanged in the last 10 years, so this type of comparison should be easy. Does anyone know what kind of lap times the V8s of today are getting on the same circuits then the V10s from years back?

Are the rest of technological upgrades as well as engine technology of today enough to equal or better the lap times of the V10s?

Also, are there any tracks on the circuit left that are identical to the 80s? I mean, can one compare F1 cars today to the turbo cars of the 80s? I know the latter were faster in a straight line, but I'm assuming that they would have no chance competing with the current F1 lineup, am I right?

And finally, lets take Bahrain for example, what do you guys think about a lap time for an Indy car on the circuit? Would it be within 10 seconds of a F1 car? Again, I know Indy cars are much faster in a straight line, but they cannot hold a candle to a F1 car around corners, not by a long shot.

[Dj_polly12]

Last weekend in Australia the 2 Red Bull cars recorded the fastest ever lap times around the Albert Park circuit to lock out the front row.. However, in terms of race pace, were still a good 4 odd seconds down on the 2004 lap record set by Mr Schumacher. There is a good video floating around on youtube of a split screen between indy, f1 and motogp around the laguna seca circuit.

[Trypt]

Hmm, isn't that odd? From what I've seen, the qualifying times are usually faster then race pace. Well perhaps not any more since they have to be fully fueled.. I could be wrong.

Any more help to the OP?

[LifeW12]

Monza would be a good circuit to compare F1 cars since 2000 because the circuit hasn't changed except for a resurfacing in 2006.

Barrichello did a 1:20 flat for pole in 2004 and Hamilton did a 1:24 in 2009. But they can't really be compared because there were grooves in 2004 and it was done with less fuel.

[texasmr2]

There are just too many variables between the cars and regulations throughout the years to rightly know without a proper side by side comparison.
Also the F1 cars are not fully laden with fuel during qualifying, the tanks are topped off only for the race.

[Trypt]

Barrichello did a 1:20 flat for pole in 2004 and Hamilton did a 1:24 in 2009. But they can't really be compared because there were grooves in 2004 and it was done with less fuel.

No no, that's exactly the type of comparison I'm looking for. I want to compare different generation cars on the same track, no matter what the regulations were at the time, it's still car & driver.

The other poster said that qualifying now doesn't need a full tank, in which case this wouldn't factor into it, but you're saying that even with grooves, the 2004 car was that much faster? Incredible, so the V8s really aren't up to par, I think it's because of the rev limitation tho not due to cylinder. A V8 can perform up to a V10 of the same size no problem.

Also the F1 cars are not fully laden with fuel during qualifying, the tanks are topped off only for the race.

Really? I was under the impression that whatever fuel the cars have on board in Q3 is the fuel they must use in the race.

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Oh yeah, I can't find that youtube video, but does anyone know how much faster a F1 car is to a Indy car on a same circuit (road/track, not oval which would probably go to the Indy car as they are faster top end, or so I imagine). I remember once watching a comparison and a F1 car was about 10 seconds faster on a course with a under minute and a half lap time, which is quite a difference.

[darwin dali]

Also the F1 cars are not fully laden with fuel during qualifying, the tanks are topped off only for the race.

Really? I was under the impression that whatever fuel the cars have on board in Q3 is the fuel they must use in the race.

This changed for the 2010 season.

[texasmr2]

Oh yeah, I can't find that youtube video, but does anyone know how much faster a F1 car is to a Indy car on a same circuit (road/track, not oval which would probably go to the Indy car as they are faster top end, or so I imagine). I remember once watching a comparison and a F1 car was about 10 seconds faster on a course with a under minute and a half lap time, which is quite a difference.

I think you answered your own question .

[Jamie]

Bring back the 80's

[scotty]

The '04 cars were basically the fastest F1 cars ever, partly due to the V10's (1000hp+ in qualifying according to Alonso). In '05 they changed the front wing rules to make them less effective (probably cost them around a second in pace) and obviously the tyre rules prevented any fastest race laps, and that was the last V10 year. That said, Vettel's pole lap this year was 0.5s faster than Schumacher's '04 pole (although i think it was only 1 lap quali that season), and Martin Brundle has said the cars now 'have more downforce than ever before'! So maybe around somewhere like Monaco these current cars could be the outright fastest ever.

The old turbo cars have nowhere near the downforce of modern cars and would be left for dead in most places. Just having a quick look around, even at the old Hockenheim layout the modern-ish cars were a few seconds faster than the turbos (comparing '86 + '01). That's assuming the layout was similar though, i think it was...

Even modern Indy cars only have around 650hp and weigh a lot more than f1 cars. Nowhere near as quick. I dare say even GP2 cars are faster!

[7UpJordan]

If you refitted some of the old Turbo cars with modern brakes, developed modern day tyres for them etc I bet you could shave quite a lot of seconds off some of the times they used to set.

[Trypt]

How about sticking a 80s turbo engine into today's cars? What do you think? I know the turbo engines would have to be tuned for the new car, but still. I'm not sure how much power and what kind of power band those 80s engines produced compared to the current V8s or even the V10s from a few years back.