“Roughly 20 Secs Faster Per Lap”: Esteban Ocon Debunks the Myth That Formula 1 is Slower Than MotoGP

Tanish Chachra | 19/04/2023
"Roughly 20 Secs Faster Per Lap": Esteban Ocon Debunks the Myth That Formula 1 is Slower Than MotoGP

Formula 1 and MotoGP are probably the most famous racing series in the world. However, the fundamental difference while F1 is an open-wheel car racing series, the latter is the premier motorbike racing competition.

Both are extremely fast and require a top-notch engineer. However, F1 is probably the most advanced motorsport series. Despite that, many fans think the MotoGP is faster than the former.

In one of the GQ Sports videos, Esteban Ocon discloses that many people believe that MotoGP is faster than F1 because they have super-light bikes. But he debunks their belief through the perspective of engineering.

F1 is mighty faster than MotoGP

While watching the movie ‘Taxi’ scene, he sees the protagonist overtaking a superbike. This provoked his mind to wander in MotoGP Vs. F1 and told that the latter is almost 20 seconds faster per lap than its two-wheel counterpart.

“Most people think a motorbike is way faster than a Formula 1 car,” said Ocon. “Because it obviously can gain speed extremely fast. It’s really light, really quick. But an F1 car has four wheels. So it’s much more stable on the road. So we go roughly 20 secs faster per lap than a MotoGP.”

Though, Ocon admits that MotoGP has a higher maximum speed than F1 and also has higher acceleration. But on the other hand, those bikes have to brake much sooner on the straights because of two-wheels. In the end, he says he respects all the riders nevertheless.

Hollywood so unrealistic with F1 cars

In the video released by GQ, Ocon speaks on multiple racing movies. The first to appear on his screen was ‘Driven’, where Sylvester Stallone plays the protagonist. The little clip from the video shows Stallone racing with another character in an F1 car.

And being the F1 driver himself, Ocon points out several inaccuracies. He first questions the drivers can’t drive an F1 car without helmets and remain unhurt. He says little stones from the rock would fly on their face because of the incredible downforce. Moreover, incredible airforce will squish their cheeks.

Hence, it’s unrealistic to drive an F1 car without a helmet. Then he also points out the inaccurate handling of the steering wheel of those cars and how nonchalantly the two actors stepped out of the car without strapping off from the much-required seat belts.

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Alpine Esteban Ocon

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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