Going deeper on this comparison because I only just remembered it was a comparison we could make: In the 2022 Monaco E-Prix (FE), the best qualifying lap time

Going deeper on this comparison because I only just remembered it was a comparison we could make: In the 2022 Monaco E-Prix (FE), the best qualifying lap time was 89.839s [0]. For the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix (F1), the pole was 71.376s [1]. It's worth noting that this is with slower cars than have recently been the case; the same times last year were > 1 second faster. The top level Formula 3 series (currently FIA International F3, formerly GP3/European F3) doesn't race at Monaco; the last time a top tier F3 championship did race there was GP3 in 2012 (88.008s) [2]. Note that these are 10-year-old cars; current top-tier F3 cars are ~15% faster [3] (at modern Silverstone, which is the only circuit configuration used both years) than they were in 2012. While GP3/F3 weren't present, Formula Regional European, a Tier 4 series that races in Formula 3 cars did race there; pole was 89.802s [4]. However, these are a lower tier of driver and team; last year, they were 7% slower at Barcelona [5] than FIA F3. As such, one could argue that current FIA F3 would be a bit (10%?) faster than Formula E cars at Monaco. On the other hand, this comparison is not quite fair to the electric cars! The chemically-fueled cars do qualifying with as little fuel as possible (to reduce their weight to the minimum), where electric cars have to take the full weight hit of their total energy store during qualifying. The F1 cars can't come anywhere near their qualifying pace until the very end of the race; in theory, a Formula E car would be capable of a qualifying-paced lap at any point during the race. As such, we should also compare Formula 1 cars' paces at the start of the race. Unfortunately for the comparison this year, the F1 race started off wet; the fastest laps around Lap 3 (after the start had cleared) were ~101s [6]. The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, which was dry, is an easier example: the fastest laps on lap 3 were about 77s [7] , still substantially faster than the FE cars ever get. To make the Indycar comparison we need to look all the way back to 2019, since Indycar has scrupulously avoided racing at F1 tracks whenever possible, up to and including conspicuously not marketing the Indianapolis road course to F1 (despite its qualifications and history as an F1 track, and the soaring demand for US-based F1 races). In that event, the fastest qualifying lap was 105.454s [8]. For F1, the pole lap of the 2019 US GP was 93.750 [9]. There is a reason Indycar avoids comparisons. [0] https://formulaspy.com/formula-e/qualifying-results-2022-monaco-e-prix-78884 https://formulaspy.com/formula-e/qualifying-results-2022-mon... [1] https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2022/races/1112/monaco/qualifying.html https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2022/races/1112/mon... [2] https://motorsportstats.com/results/gp3-series/2012/monaco/classification/2nd-qualifying https://motorsportstats.com/results/gp3-series/2012/monaco/c... [3] https://www.fiaformula3.com/Results?raceid=1032 https://www.fiaformula3.com/Results?raceid=1032 [4] https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/corsa/monaco-2022/ https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/corsa/monaco-2022/ [5] https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/corsa/barcelona-2021/ https://formularegionaleubyalpine.com/corsa/barcelona-2021/ [6] https://www.racefans.net/2022/05/29/2022-monaco-grand-prix-interactive-data-lap-charts-times-and-tyres/ https://www.racefans.net/2022/05/29/2022-monaco-grand-prix-i... [7] https://www.racefans.net/2021/05/23/2021-monaco-grand-prix-interactive-data-lap-charts-times-and-tyres/ https://www.racefans.net/2021/05/23/2021-monaco-grand-prix-i... [8] https://www.indycar.com/results/ntt-indycar-series/2019/indycar-classic/qualifications---round-2 https://www.indycar.com/results/ntt-indycar-series/2019/indy...