Probably the most obvious difference to a layman is that Indy cars run exclusively on ovals while F1 cars run on street circuits and road circuits...
Indy was a breakaway from the champ car circuit back in 1996. The goal was to focus on oval racing (where a lot of overtaking takes place) and keep costs down. However with time Indy has become super-expensive for teams and the latest set of measures such as the 3 litre detuned engine mentioned earlier are in line with bringing the costs as well as speeds down - the Indy cars were hitting 235 mph on the superspeedways last year. There have been a couple of deaths and major injuries over the last couple years all prompting some of these changes.
F1 is widely regarded as the pinnacle of motor racing - all drivers aspire to drive in F1 and it is held on some of the most beautiful circuits in the world. For many years F1 has been the technological path-breaker and a testbed for finding new ways of going faster. However, the world of F1 today is quite different from the yesteryears - even if go as recent as the 80s. Safety concerns have prompted several changes in circuit design (including a plethora of chicanes cluttering up the circuits), car design and rule changes.
It can be said that in the past years the driver made a significant difference in the performance of the car. Today, it is said that drivers account for about 30% of the total car performance - therefore items like the tires, aero grip and engine power play a very significant part in race performance
F1 has ebbed and flowed across time - with periods of dominance by one driver and/or team and periods where there is intense competition till the end. This is dictated by the quality of drivers at the time and more importantly the number of competitive cars around..
High costs of development and testing mean that there is a wide gap between the haves and have-nots. The 2004 one engine rule was one of the factors that would attempt to bring down costs. There are many more changes slated for 2006.
The future of F1 beyond 2006 is still being talked about - a couple of team are threatening to break-away and form their own series - the issue is primarily about money - their cut of the television revenues.
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"Tazio Nuvolari - The greatest driver of the past, the present and the future" - Ferdinand Porsche
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