This feels like a strawman...I’m sure a seasoned team of GraphQL devs could getting something running faster then a team of veteran devs who are trying to use Drupal but have no experience.
Drupal however has a history dating back to 2001!
And if we’re picking Drupal because of its age (and if not then why Drupal, of all things? What’s the overlap with GraphQL?) why not go back further and assert that someone who’s great with C and CGI could do even better?