🏎️🏍️ F1 vs MotoGP: Which One Is Faster?
Have you ever wondered who wins in a head-to-head battle under the same conditions? The car or the bike?
Hello!
How are you doing? I hope this scorching summer is letting you get some rest. I must admit I’ve parked the bikes for now—in this heat, here in Seville, I much prefer the shelter of air conditioning.
Today I’m bringing you a question many of us ask when we watch racing: Which is faster—a Formula 1 car or a MotoGP bike?
At first glance, given the spectacular overtakes and the sheer vulnerability of the riders, it might look like a MotoGP bike could hold its own against a Formula 1 car. But nothing could be further from the truth: the F1 absolutely dominates.
The longer answer is much more interesting, because behind that difference there are tons (and millions 🤑) of engineering.
Let’s compare these two monsters of racing and understand why, even though a MotoGP bike has over 300 horsepower and weighs less than 160 kg, it doesn’t come close to matching an F1 car on a circuit.
⚙️ Power-to-Weight Comparison
The first figure to look at is the power-to-weight ratio. Here, the bike wins by a mile: for the same power, it weighs far less.
MotoGP
Power: ~290–300 hp
Minimum weight with rider: ~157 kg
Weight/power ratio: ~0.52 kg per hp
F1
Power: ~1,000 hp (hybrid engine + ERS)
Minimum weight with driver: 798 kg
Weight/power ratio: ~0.79 kg per hp
So, why isn’t the bike faster?
The Key: Aerodynamics
The answer lies in aerodynamics.
The big secret of Formula 1 is that the bodywork and wings generate enormous downforce, which increases exponentially with speed. Literally, the faster it goes, the more it gets glued to the asphalt. If you could put the car upside down in a wind tunnel at 250 km/h, it would stick to the ceiling.
That means the tires can withstand massive lateral forces without losing grip. And that translates into much higher cornering speeds—corners are where the F1 car builds most of its advantage.
To give you an idea:
In a fast corner like Copse at Silverstone, an F1 goes through at 280 km/h, while the bike can’t get past 180 km/h.
Another critical factor is braking:
An F1 can brake from 300 to 0 km/h in 120 meters, thanks to 28 mm carbon discs, massive slick tires, and aerodynamic drag.
A MotoGP bike takes about 250 meters to do the same.
Real-World Examples: Silverstone and Mugello
Silverstone Circuit (5.891 km):
Fastest F1 lap: ~1:27.0 (Lewis Hamilton, 2020)
Fastest MotoGP lap: ~1:58.1 (Marc Márquez, 2019)
31 seconds difference per lap!
The bike does claw back some time in pure acceleration on long straights (0–300 km/h), but the gap in braking and cornering is massive.
Mugello Circuit (5.245 km):
F1: ~1:15.1 (Lewis Hamilton, 2020)
MotoGP: ~1:45.4 (Marc Márquez, 2019)
30 seconds slower for the MotoGP bike.
Interestingly, Mugello is a track where the main straight lets the bikes hit 365 km/h, their top speed, but even then, they can’t match the braking performance and cornering speeds of an F1 car.
Thanks for reading—wishing you safe rides and cool days ahead.
See you in the next edition!
Rafa