Group B v F1

[Nick Short]

I've just been watching a documentary about Henri Toivonen, the late, great rally superstar, and one of the facts amazed me. He took his 1986 Lancia Delta S4 rally car around the Estoril F1 circuit, and lapped in a time that would have put him 6th on the starting grid for that year's race! Nigel Mansell tried an S4 for size and reckoned it out-accelerated his F1 car off the line! So if that was the case, how would a Delta S4 (or any of the other 1986 Group B rally supercars; Audi Sport Quattro S1, Peugeot 205 T16 E2, Ford RS200E etc) fare in an F1 race? They accelerated faster than the F1 cars, and although had a much lower top speed, could lap competitively, and had engines built for endurance. I reckon we missed out on a real spectacle there! And the Group S cars that were to follow Group B, plus Audi, Ford and Peugeot's Pikes Peak evolution cars would have wiped the floor with the F1 cars. So much for F1 being the pinnacle - how would they have done on gravel, mud, snow or ice?

[ferrari fan]

Originally posted by Nick Short
I've just been watching a documentary about Henri Toivonen, the late, great rally superstar, and one of the facts amazed me. He took his 1986 Lancia Delta S4 rally car around the Estoril F1 circuit, and lapped in a time that would have put him 6th on the starting grid for that year's race! Nigel Mansell tried an S4 for size and reckoned it out-accelerated his F1 car off the line! So if that was the case, how would a Delta S4 (or any of the other 1986 Group B rally supercars; Audi Sport Quattro S1, Peugeot 205 T16 E2, Ford RS200E etc) fare in an F1 race? They accelerated faster than the F1 cars, and although had a much lower top speed, could lap competitively, and had engines built for endurance. I reckon we missed out on a real spectacle there! And the Group S cars that were to follow Group B, plus Audi, Ford and Peugeot's Pikes Peak evolution cars would have wiped the floor with the F1 cars. So much for F1 being the pinnacle - how would they have done on gravel, mud, snow or ice?

F1 is still a class with rules and restrictions.
The 1936/8 F1 cars of Mercedes and Audi were having also HUGE HP and Torque held back by tyres and regulation.
Maybe herein lays the awnser.