Why Longer Formula 1 Cars are FASTER, But WORSE

Formula 1 cars have got enormous. Look at this, here is the length and width of Formula 1 cars over the past 70 years.

Since the late 2000s, F1 cars have grown and grown. With them now being both wider and longer than a Ford F150 pickup truck.

And this has to be a bad thing, the cars may be quicker now - but they don’t look nearly as fast as they used to.

So I wanted to find out why these cars have got so big - and how there is still hope for smaller cars in the future. Let’s dive in.

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But first, why does it actually matter that these cars are getting bigger and heavier?

They are the fastest racing cars out here, lap times are faster than they have ever been, the cars are more capable and are quite rightly pushing the envelope of what is physically possible.

And from the outside, the speed is absolutely astounding. But, from onboard - the cars are so planted that it doesn’t look like they are going any faster than a GT3 car or something like that.

If you look back only a decade or so, the cars looked on edge - the drivers were wrestling them more, and they looked a real challenge.

And larger cars also make it more difficult to pass. Firstly, a wider car makes fills more of the track, making it easier to defend.

Taking this to the extremes, look at MotoGP - they have to defend by just being faster - as you can’t block very much of the track.

Whereas, with current Formula 1 - there are very few places on the Monaco circuit where you could actually fit two cars side by side.

But in the interest of not being, ‘it was better in the old days’ people - let’s dive into the reasoning.

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[Driver]

🤔 Now, do you agree? Would you like to see the return of the small, light, agile cars? Or do you like the vibe of the new ones??

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[eden]

if you've never seen an F150 you wouldn't imagine how massive it is, the fact an F1 car is larger is crazy

[MsterSuck]

"Look at this graph" proceeds to not show it

[moistgooseberry]

Fully agreed, it's something I've been thinking for years now - the cars have just become so huge that it's made certain tracks almost impossible to overtake on. I miss the nimble darts from the late 90s and early 2000s, definitely my favourite era for cars.

[billcranston]

Can I tell the difference between 320kph and 300kph when an F1 car zooms past me? Probably not.

Can I appreciate a car slowing from 300kph to 60kph in the span of how far I can piss? Yes. Yes I can. And it was especially impressive when you could see the carbon fibre rotors light up like the sun in an instant during hard braking.

[AlexAlex-Alex]

Would be nice to see the "evolution" of weight in F1 cars! So heavy today..

[TedSchoenling]

I got hooked on F1 in the late 90's early 2000s, the cars just looked violent. They were quick to start, quick to change direction quick to slow. They may not have been faster, but the LOOKED and SOUNDED faster, and that is what is important. Fans don't care about the stopwatch really, they want to see the drivers tame a beast that looks like the average motorist couldn't dream of driving it.

[wolflegion_]

Love the video, very informative!

Small note: the 3D viewing effect on the length-width graph to me was kinda annoying, as you see the data fly by but you can’t understand it.

[DonLee]

2022 cars are getting smaller. Just slightly longer than a Rolls Royce Ghost extended wheel base version. wow, that's great.

[mushieslushie]

I recently watched a clip of highlights from 2012, and those cars just looked faster. They also seemed way more agile, when they pulled out from behind a car to pass it looked way more quick and violent compared to the slowness of todays cars.

[josedacunhafilho]

I remember standing next to the Brabham BT 53 at the Montreal paddock in 1984, and realizing how tiny it was. If we put it next to this year's Mercedes it would be an amazing contrast. And that Brabham had a 3/1 power to kg ratio with its 1, 400 bhp in qualifier mode and 540 kg! That car was a beauty and a beast at the same time.

[tomhutchins]

Totally agree on them not looking as fast. We were amazed recently watching some replays from 2012 at how fast they looked, how easily they could pass, and most of all how quick the starts looked. I would love to see smaller and more agile cars, which can follow better - but only as long as it doesn't impact driver safety.

[ASHthenumber]

As you said a wider car takes more width out of the track, so overtaking is harder, also this effect doubles because both cars are wider. Same goes lenght for every meter the cars get longer its two meters more of car they need to do a full overtake. If we think about overtaking a truck or a car on the road doing 80km/h its way easier to overtake the car because its much shorter, so for we need less space to complete that overtake. With width and leght also came more space for aeroparts which make them way to dependent on that. I for myself like to see if the drivers have to wrestle the car if they are on the limit, a little oversteer always looks cool and would make the driver more importment. If this trend continiues we may see F1 cars flat out at every corner, which would create boring races (that last one is may a bit over the top but i guess you get the point)
I'm not an expert, but in short the cars should be way shorter and more narrow with less aero, without reducing the safety part.

[RhaviMarques]

as much as I am loving this title fight for this year... I want to see the 2022 cars on the road so bad

[Vorgaloth]

Watch Mick Schumacher drive his dad's 91' V8 Jordan 191 and see how excited and happy he is. Describing it as "so pure" and "true" and how connected you are with the car - being small, light, loud engine noise, a manual gearbox, no power steering. The F1 cars of the early 90s are the most beautiful. If only they would bring that style and form of racing back but with the modern safety of today. It will never happen even though it would be successful and more entertaining for the fans. The 2021 season is OK but the hybrid era F1 is not as exciting. It's not even close. This video demonstrated a small part of that. The cars today are basically a computer with a quiet engine and 4 tyres.

[michaellavery]

The pre 2017 cars looked insane when they raced and changed direction.

[fmbgkop]

Love the cars from 2003 to 2006. Those were beautiful cars.

[arvinbuensalida]

The fact that an f1 car is larger than a pickup is insane

[thorist]

i agree, recently i watched some older 1990s footage and i was like, damn, these cars look like they are really alive and the drivers actually wrestle the cars around corners, whereas todays F1 looks super clinical and planted, as if the cars drive on rails. I used to watch F1 when i was a teen, i watched almost every race starting 1993 until i believe 2006 (basically the Schumacher era).
yes the current cars are faster and for sure more safe but as far as the excitement of actually watching them race goes, its to me really a borefest, i can't get invested at all, thats why i switched to watching GT races, current GT3 cars for example feel much more alive and on top of that still sound like real racecars should.
go watch for example a race of the Porsche Carrera Cup and then compare that action and visuals to what you get from a modern F1 race, its just so much more exciting to watch.
i get it that F1 has always been the 'pinnacle' of racing and also a platform to push new technologies that eventually came later to everyday cars, but man, as a motorsport F1 to me at least is for years now not the pinnacle anymore.

[jerry]

See boys Longer is FASTER but WORSE... I rest my case.