Champ Car - Comparison With Formula One

Comparison With Formula One

A Champ Car is a single-seat (commonly called open-wheel in the US) racing car. For much of their history Champ Cars have been similar to Formula One cars, although there have traditionally been several key differences between the two.

Over the years, Champ Cars race schedule included high speed oval tracks. The increased stress and speed of these tracks mean that the cars tended to be heavier and have longer wheelbases than F1 cars (increasing stability but decreasing agility). In 2007, there were no oval tracks on the schedule.

When the weight of the driver is factored in, a Champ Car weighs over 27% more than a Formula One Car. The minimum weight for a Champ Car is adjusted from 1,575 lbs based on the weight of the driver compared to the field average; with the driver included, all cars have a minimum weight of 1741 lbs. A Champ Car piloted by 195 lb Paul Tracy (the heaviest driver in the series and 29 lbs heavier than the field average) must weigh at least 1,546 lbs when empty. The minimum weight of a Formula One Car, including the driver, is 620 kg (1,367 lbs). This difference of 374 lbs (169.64 kg) is just over 27% of the F1 car's weight.

Since the late 1960s Champ Cars have used turbocharged engines. Turbos were banned in Formula One on safety grounds in 1989. For some periods of their history, notably in the early 1970s and late 1990s, turbocharging gave Champ Cars up to 300 horsepower (220 kW) more than F1 cars, in the 70s cars had in excess of 1,000 hp. Recently in 1999/2000 the Champ Cars approached 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) before regulations on turbo boost were tightened. The current generation of cars have roughly the same power as F1 cars, Champ Cars having 800 hp (597 kW) on demand and F1 cars having about 775 hp (578 kW) (since F1 switched to V8 engines for the 2006 season), with the turbo used mainly to improve the spectacle rather than lap-times with the so-called 'power-to-pass' or 'push-to-pass' system giving drivers an increased amount of power for a limited duration during the race. Another reason for retaining the turbocharger is the muffling effect it has on the exhaust note helps keep the cars inside noise-limits, particularly at the many city street races on the schedule.

Champ Cars use methanol for fuel rather than gasoline, and refuelling has always been permitted during the race. This is a legacy of a crash at the 1964 Indianapolis 500 involving cars filled with more than 75 US gallons (285 L) of gasoline that killed Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs. Until 1994, when refuelling was re-introduced to F1 (and banned again from 2009 onwards), the coupling for the refuelling hose was a notable difference between Champ Cars and Formula cars.

Champ Cars continue to have sculpted undersides to create ground effect. This innovation was originally created in Formula One by Lotus in 1978, and was immediately used on the Chaparral Champ Car in 1979. F1 banned sculpted undersides in a bid to lower cornering speeds for 1983. In an effort to create better passing opportunities, the new spec Champ Car chassis being introduced in 2007 will generate nearly 50% of the total downforce of the car with sculpted underside tunnels versus the front and rear wings. This will reduce turbulent air behind the cars, enabling easier overtaking.

Unlike in F1, Champ Car teams are not obliged to construct their own chassis, and in recent times have tended to buy chassis constructed by independent suppliers such as Lola, Swift, Reynard, March and Dan Gurney's Eagle. The most notable exception was Penske Racing, although they also bought other cars when their own chassis was uncompetitive. Starting in 2007, Champ Car features a single, "spec" chassis, the Panoz DP01, created by Élan Technologies, a racing equipment manufacturer owned by Don Panoz. The spec chassis was introduced to reduce costs for race teams, however Champ Car had essentially been a spec series since 2004, with all teams favoring the Lola chassis mainly because of Reynard's bankruptcy in 2002.

The Formula One Car is a more expensive and technology-centric platform than a Champ Car. This was even the case during the CART PPG era during the mid to late 1990s. At this time global engine manufacturers Toyota, Honda, Mercedes and Ford vied for dominance. Since Champ Car's restructuring, a desire to keep costs down and the existence of one engine manufacturer has helped to create a series with far more parity than its European-based cousin. For instance, a competitive Champ Car team like Newman/Haas Racing team operates on approximately US$20 million per season, while the Ferrari F1 team operates on approximately US$285 million.