# Montreal Lap Time Comparison (F1 vs. CC)



## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (2.709-mile)

2006 Lap Times

750hp F1 Renault _ 1:14.726

800hp Champ Car Lola-Cosworth _ 1:20.005

300hp Atlantic Swift-Cosworth _ 1:32.171

240hp Star Mazda _ 1:37.017

http://www.formula1.com/archive/grandprix/2006/759/24.html

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=230426&FS=CHAMPCAR

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=230421&FS=ATLANTIC

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=222579&FS=STARMAZDA


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Montreal Circuit Map

http://www.formula1.com/race/circuitmap/759.html


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

Do you really believe that F1 cars only make 750 HP?


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## LmtdSlip (May 28, 2003)

After nearly a decade of F1 and CC agreeing to avoid racing on the same circuits politics and $$ made the inevitable comparison a reality.....Unfortunatly after the peak of the CC series HP wars.

Regardless CC would be a couple of second slower per lap than an F1 car.


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

5.3 seconds is a bit more than a couple.


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## LmtdSlip (May 28, 2003)

Pinecone said:


> 5.3 seconds is a bit more than a couple.


I said "at their peak" CC are down oh HP since the the days of direct manufacturer involvement.

In those days they were pushing well above 800 HP. And I am sure the gap was less than 5 seconds depending, of course, upon the track. Id like to see a comparison at someplace like Road America.


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

But then again in the turbo age, F1 cars were making over 1500 HP in qualifying trim.

Everything changes.


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## LmtdSlip (May 28, 2003)

Pinecone said:


> But then again in the turbo age, F1 cars were making over 1500 HP in qualifying trim.
> 
> Everything changes.


But thats not what I am referring to. I'm referring to around 1996 or so. CART had full manufacturer involvement from several manufacturers so engine development was nearing its peak in the series. Cars were as fast as they were ever going to get in the late 1990s.

Around this time F1 reduced displacement to 3 liters from 3.5 with the number of cylinders left for the teams to decide the config that worked best for them.

Based on the development momentum in CART and the changing rules in F1 causing most teams to revamp current engines rather than develop all new motors meant that this was the closest the cars had ever come in terms of performance overlap.

This was also a time when CART was successfully expanding internationally. And had a gentleman's agreement with F1 not to race on road courses (except Australia) for overseas events.


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## brave1heart (Jan 7, 2002)

F1 cars should be quicker - they are ~ 300 lbs lighter, not to mention that most F1 teams spend more on aerodynamics alone than a typical Champ Car's entire annual budget.


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## Pinecone (Apr 3, 2002)

If you are going to compare peak in one class, you should compare with the peak in the other class.

But in most years, F1 times have fallen, maybe not the first year after an engine formula change, but certainly within a couple.


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## LmtdSlip (May 28, 2003)

Pinecone said:


> If you are going to compare peak in one class, you should compare with the peak in the other class.
> 
> But in most years, F1 times have fallen, maybe not the first year after an engine formula change, but certainly within a couple.


Peak to peak would never make a fair comparison nor would it be relevant. Why would I be at all interested in comparing an early 80s turbo F1 car to a late 90s Champ car?:dunno:


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

The 2000 season featured the fastest ever Champ Cars.
The 2004 season featured the fastest ever F1 cars.

Outright Montreal track record:

900hp F1 Williams-BMW _ 1:12.275

http://www.formula1.com/archive/grandprix/2004/721/16.html


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