As far as driving an open wheeler on a circuit with left and right turns, F1 drivers are the best in the world. Say what you will about the racing quality in F1, but the skill level required is greater than that of Indycar because everything is just more: More speed. More acceleration. More G-forces. More braking power. More torque. In the same way that the NASCAR drivers are the best at their form of oval racing.
Cannot agree. Your first sentence was right, but then you went too far. I'll even concede the fact that F1 drivers are great in i) an open wheel car that costs $500M; and ii) goes right and left, because that's all those guys do. That's all they have ever done. But when you make a blanket statement about "the skill level" being greater than IndyCar, I respectfully disagree. Everything in F1 is not "just more."
We can start with salaries. F1 is so awash in the need for money that only a handful of drivers make boo-koo bucks. You know the types...Rosberg, Massa, Button. Despite being in a struggle for its life until this year,
IndyCar salaries, after going down for years, now remain competitive with F1 (probably six drivers above $5M and Sainz making less than most IndyCar drivers
...and you can make $2M by winning Indy alone). In the worst year, the top 1/3rd of Indy drivers were around $5-6M, while the middle third were $1M and the lower 1/3rd less than $200,000. But with F1, most of the talent is ignored. Disparity is huge. Why? Because IndyCar drivers actually get to keep money based on how well they perform. Ergo, there is much more incentive to hire talent, and not just a young, pretty face with a rich sponsor.
More speed? More G forces? More skill? (Okay, you got me on acceleration and braking...which are done in a straight line most of the time). Maybe you forget that IndyCar races on ovals? And ratty, pothole filled street courses (not Monaco)? And has no power steering? And does not cater the schedule to avoid 100F heat? And has no manufacturer that is guaranteed to run miles ahead ever race? And avoids creating stop/go, right-angle nightmares that only Tilke could love? And...well, you get the picture.
In Toronto, Newgarten had the wheel ripped out of his broken hand. Since 1950, you are 3x
more likely to die at Indianapolis alone than in a whole season of F1, at Texas, IndyCar drivers were
reporting 5 lateral Gs sustained for 14-18 of the 23 seconds per lap (which caused the race to be cancelled one year) as opposed to F1 that rarely gets there for 1/-2 seconds, etc. etc. The only time they experienced anything close (Indy), they balked.
And if you don't believe me, maybe you will
believe someone who has won a lot in three major series':
“In F1, now as then, the driver with the fastest car wins, period,” the 40-year-old, notably heavier now than in his F1 career, told Italia Racing.
But he is happier now in the US, “I think Indycar is the maximum. On TV it’s good, the public likes it, the races are hard-fought.
“F1 today is slow in the corners, there isn’t much downforce. But at Phoenix we have 5G in the corners — not bad, right?”
-JPM
