The Main Differences Between Indycar and F1
By
Richard Janvrin
Contributor Updated: 05 March 2025
Richard Janvrin Contributor
Richard has been writing about sports since he was a teenager. Still, his first professional role came in 2015, covering all things NFL and fantasy football-related. From there, in December 2018, he started in the sports betting industry, covering sportsbook reviews before arriving to where he is today.
Indycar vs. F1
While the vehicles used in IndyCar and F1 are fairly similar-looking, there are a plethora of differences between the two.
Believe it or not, there are more than you’d think.
Below, we’ll examine IndyCar vs. F1 in depth, including the car design, race format, cost of cars, and more.
You’ll leave this page with all of the answers to the question, “What is the difference between Indy and F1?”
- The Car Design
- The Race Format and the Tracks
- The Competition Within
- Global Reach
- The Cost of Cars
- Point System
The Car Design
The most noticeable difference when comparing IndyCar vs. F1 is the overall car design, including the chassis, engines, and more.
IndyCar has a standardized chassis with Dallara. With these similarities, there’s a lot more strategy to consider. Conversely, with F1, each team builds its own car within the FIA regulations. So, Red Bull could have different technologies than Ferrari, which can make some cars far better by default.
Then there are the engines—one of the biggest differences in IndyCar vs. Formula 1. IndyCar has traditionally used a 2.2L twin-turbocharged V6 engine from either Chevy or Honda, which produces around 700 to 750 horsepower. As for F1, it uses a 1.6L turbocharged hybrid V6 engine with advanced recovery systems that produce about 1,000 horsepower.
F1 cars are plenty more technologically advanced. This can lead to massive advantages between drivers.
While F1 typically maxes out at about 220 mph, they can turn corners way faster than IndyCar.
The Race Format and the Tracks
IndyCar vs. F1 race on fairly different types of tracks. In IndyCar, they’ll race on a lot of ovals like in Indianapolis, road courses, and street circuits. As for F1, they race on a lot of road courses and street circuits, too. While there are some similarities, F1 is far more specialized, particularly in high-downforce racing.
There are also differences between F1 and Indy in the length, pit stops, and how the race starts. It is safe to say that the IndyCar does employ similar F1 strategies and tech, with both sharing a DRS system and rules.
At IndyCar, races last two to three hours and are about 200 to 500 miles. There are also rolling starts and pit stops for fuel and tire changes. In F1, races last about two hours and are about 190 or so miles (sometimes less). There are only pit stops for tire changes, and there are rolling starts.
In IndyCar, there are 45 tracks (24 ovals, 10 road, 10 street, 1 combined road). In F1, there are 75 tracks worldwide, with 50 of them carrying an FIA grade to host F1. It’s also done in 34 countries compared to just two for IndyCar.
F1 banned refueling in 2010 due to safety concerns. Thus, pit stops are about three seconds faster than IndyCar—a noticeable difference between F1 and IndyCars.
IndyCar allows refueling, which creates another layer of competition, excitement, and strategy, especially when betting on IndyCar Series .
The Competition Within
In watching IndyCar vs. F1, I’d say IndyCar has far more disparity. This is because, as mentioned above, the cars are extremely similar and have lower budgets, which makes them more acceptable than F1.
With F1, teams have budgets of around hundreds of millions, and the cars are different than one another.
When you look at the championship winners, there have been some other racers to get wins here and there with IndyCar. With F1, it’s been Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen every year except one since 2013.
It’s easier to pass other racers—another big difference between F1 and Indy. Racers in F1 tend to rely more on Drag Reduction System zones to pass.
Global Reach
There’s no denying that F1 has a bigger reach than IndyCar. F1 is more of a global entity, whereas IndyCar is more concentrated in North America. The biggest event in IndyCar is the Indianapolis 500, whereas in F1, it’s the Monaco Grand Prix.
Viewership-wise, IndyCar draws about one million per race, while F1 can be upward of 100 million. Needless to say, in that battle of IndyCar vs. Formula 1, F1 wins easily.
Part of the global appeal is the drivers. The drivers come from all over the world and from F2, F3, and more. In IndyCar, most of the drivers are from the Americas or were formerly in F1.
The Cost of Cars
We’ve mentioned it a few times, but the cost for cars and teams drastically differs when comparing IndyCar vs. F1.
The team budgets are about $20 to $30 million in IndyCar and hundreds of millions in F1.
Cars cost about $500,000 in IndyCar and sometimes well beyond $10 million in F1. There’s a massive financial difference between F1 and Indy.
So, IndyCar is far more accessible to drivers. To succeed in F1, you need a lot of financial backing to climb the ranks and be competitive. However, suppose you’re able to reach it. In that case, you can stay atop the pack and win far more often due to the technology that’s available and allowed in F1.
Point System
An IndyCar season is about 17 races, whereas F1 is about 22. The seasons are roughly at the same time, with IndyCar starting in late February and ending in mid-September. As for F1, it starts in mid-March and ends in mid-November.
The point systems differ when comparing IndyCar vs. Formula 1, per Redbull.com.
In F1, here’s how the points break down:
- 1st place: 25 points
- 2nd place: 18 points
- 3rd place: 15 points
- 4th place: 12 points
- 5th place: 10 points
- 6th place: 8 points
- 7th place: 6 points
- 8th place: 4 points
- 9th place: 2 points
- 10th place: 1 point
- 11th-20th place: 0 points
As for IndyCar, it’s like this:
- 1st place: 50 points
- 2nd place: 40 points
- 3rd place: 35 points
- 4th place: 32 points
- 5th place: 30 points
- 6th place: 28 points
- 7th place: 26 points
- 8th place: 24 points
- 9th place: 22 points
