Team-BHP - Driving Skills: WRC vs F1

WRC and F1.

Both extreme forms of racing, that demand immense all around skills from the drivers.

I personally enjoy watching/following F1 more than WRC .. possible since it's a straight race over 1.5 hrs, compared to the longer multi-day event that rallys are.

I am not at all qualified to judge the driving skills of the drivers in either form of racing. However, given a choice, I tend to feel the WRC drivers are probably better !

Lets have a vote !!

Id agree, although the skill level required are equally demanding in both forms of motorsport still my vote definitely goes to wrc drivers. Wrc might not be as fast as F1 but the cars are much much more fragile and run in more dangerous conditions. Blind faith in your navigator and death defying turns all contribute to the dangers involved which these drivers have to brave.

Theres no way of comparing the driving skills for both. They both are very demanding and requires top physical & mental strength to get through.

In some ways, i feel F1 drivers are better off in terms of safety & availability of medical help.

I luv watching WRC, as i feel more at home than an F1 drive.

It's another one of those impossible to answer questions. Although Schumi himself has said that he thinks the rally guys are nuts, and that he would never have the guts to do what they do as there is just so much you can control in a rally environment, and the danger levels are so much higher.

However, F1 is far more physical than rallying. The G forces, the races that go on for 1.5 hours without a break, driving in all sorts of weather and at those speeds takes a lot. Plus the pressure a driver experiences when he is racing on the same tarmac as 20 other drivers is different to that faced by rally drivers who are racing the clock.

It's a different set of skills they both have to have. It's like comparing apples to oranges IMO.

They're both equally skilled in their repsective fields.

I have a Evo vs Subaru episode of BMI where they invite a Jap rally driver (who races a rally Imprezza) to come and race with them on the Tsukuba circuit (which is not very technical at all).

But, the rally driver just wasn't able to handle the car the way the other GT drivers did.

So who's to say who's better.

Shan2nu

havent voted yet ..
tough call ...WRC drivers position is very demanding ..like arush mentioned blind faith in their naviagtor to guide em ...drivng at 80 plus miles an hour on the edge of a cliff ismuch harder than doing breakneck speeds on a circuit with the tarmac laid with fresh rubber on racing slick...compare that with gravel and rally ...closed cockpit no A/C,at times having to drive the whole stage with various failures ,without power steering ,broked suspension ,blown turbo etc ...
F-1 too requires a lot of skill and talent but they have tons of assistance electronic ,mechanical,pit stop etc ... so i guess now that iam ending this post ..i'll vote for the WRC driver..

turbo_lover: An F1 pitstop is for 6-8 secs max. WRC drivers drive a maximum of about 15-20 minutes flat out, then have a break, then drive another 15 mins flat out etc.

A WRC car has more electronics in it that a F1 car probably has. Also, F1 drivers, like any race driver, would have to deal with their share of problematic cars.

I'm not saying F1 is better or WRC is better, just pointing out some discrepancies in your points.

I vote for WRC Drivers. Think more experienced BHPians will discuss about the Driving Skills but I just wanted to highlight 1 point.
If a F1 car stalls or stops in between theres only one option for the Driver,QUIT. In WRC u just have to look how the Driver/Navigator work hard to replace a punctured tyre, repair a overheating Radiator, or do some kind of repair work to get the car going. That's really interesting. I'm not saying that F1 drivers should repair their cars but just felt that in WRC man and machine complement each other whereas in F1 with all the Techno Gizmos I feel that'snot the case.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiku007

If a F1 car stalls or stops in between theres only one option for the Driver,QUIT.

That is true .. but if F1 was run over a span of 4/5 sessions, then they may not have quit so easily. It's very difficult to make up time in F1 ..

My vote goes for WRC drivers. I'd say it so much more of a challenge driving in the WRC than F1. In F1 you make a mistake and at the worst you end up with a car in the tyre wall and usually walk away. IN WRC we are still getting deaths. And also the reactions required for driving in the WRC are amazingly quick and much quicker than F1. Without knowing any figures, I'd say that the F1 drivers get paid more. But IMO its the WRC who are worth far greater money.

Kiku, you forgot to mention that forget repairing cars the f1 guys can't even strap themselves in the car.

I say that driving in WRC takes a lot of talent, courage and guts. Its just way too risky. There are cliffs, potholes...almost everyting.

But in F1, its a more controlled environment. It requires skills and everytin too, but i feel the risk is not AS much as in the WRC

F1 and WRC are both pinacle of motorsports.Both the drivers are equally talented.i'm sure F1 drivers can drive a rally car really well with little practice and vice-versa for the rally drivers.

a talented driver is always a talented driver,no matter what kind of vehicle he drives.all they need is a little practice to get used to the change in driving style.so i voted for both are equal.

I rate their skills as equal, both are very different forms of motorsport and we can't compare them directly. Everybody is saying driving WRC car needs more skill but its equally difficult to drive an F1 car at speeds of 300kph and it also require very quick reactions and concentration.