Formula 1 driving & MotoGP riding: four wheels and two. But there is another aspect in which these forms of motorsport vary so wildly, and that’s to do with complexity. A Grand Prix driver will be surrounded by it. A Grand Prix rider has to conjure it.

An example of this lies directly in the controls racers have to hand. A mere glance at a F1 steering wheel will reveal a costly assortment of controls, trims, buttons, gauges and adjustments.

In MotoGP, where the rider is working a lot more physically and with the dabs and shifts of body weight required to manipulate the lean and grip of the bike, things tend to be a lot simpler.

The way a rider flexes around a cramped and compact MotoGP machine has an exact bearing on braking, tyre wear and traction. Every move has a consequence, and even seemingly disbelieving forms of bodily contact between racetrack and motorcycle can save crashes and catastrophe if your name is Marc Marquez, the reigning world champion.

F1 drivers can call on millions and millions of euros in R&D at the tip of their fingers. MotoGP riders are guiding the pinnacle of motorcycling technology and ideas but their input for pace is arguably more tactile.