The Purple Sectors
F1 Circuit Records
The lap record is Formula 1's purest stopwatch test — one car, one flying lap, the absolute fastest a circuit has ever been driven. This is the definitive record of the fastest race lap at every current Grand Prix track, who set it and when, the marks that have refused to fall for decades, and the fastest lap ever turned in F1 history.
Fastest Race Lap — Every Current Circuit
The official F1 lap record is the fastest lap ever set during a race at a circuit's current configuration (qualifying laps don't count toward the official record). Notice how heavily the 2018–2021 era dominates this list — those cars remain the fastest racing machines F1 has ever built.
| Circuit | Grand Prix | Lap Record | Driver | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Park | Australia | 1:19.813 | Charles Leclerc | 2024 |
| Shanghai Int'l | China | 1:32.238 | Michael Schumacher | 2004 |
| Suzuka | Japan | 1:30.965 | Kimi Antonelli | 2025 |
| Bahrain Int'l | Bahrain | 1:31.447 | Pedro de la Rosa | 2005 |
| Jeddah Corniche | Saudi Arabia | 1:30.734 | Lewis Hamilton | 2021 |
| Miami Int'l | Miami | 1:29.708 | Max Verstappen | 2023 |
| Gilles Villeneuve | Canada | 1:13.078 | Valtteri Bottas | 2019 |
| Monte Carlo | Monaco | 1:12.909 | Lewis Hamilton | 2021 |
| Barcelona-Catalunya | Spain | 1:16.330 | Oscar Piastri | 2025 |
| Red Bull Ring | Austria | 1:05.619 | Carlos Sainz | 2020 |
| Silverstone | Great Britain | 1:27.097 | Max Verstappen | 2020 |
| Spa-Francorchamps | Belgium | 1:44.701 | Sergio Pérez | 2024 |
| Hungaroring | Hungary | 1:16.627 | Lewis Hamilton | 2020 |
| Zandvoort | Netherlands | 1:11.097 | Lewis Hamilton | 2021 |
| Monza | Italy | 1:20.901 | Lando Norris | 2025 |
| Baku City | Azerbaijan | 1:43.009 | Charles Leclerc | 2019 |
| Marina Bay | Singapore | 1:33.808 | Lewis Hamilton | 2025 |
| Circuit of the Americas | United States | 1:36.169 | Charles Leclerc | 2019 |
| Hermanos Rodríguez | Mexico City | 1:17.774 | Valtteri Bottas | 2021 |
| Interlagos | São Paulo | 1:10.540 | Valtteri Bottas | 2018 |
| Las Vegas Strip | Las Vegas | 1:33.365 | Max Verstappen | 2025 |
| Lusail Int'l | Qatar | 1:22.384 | Lando Norris | 2024 |
| Yas Marina | Abu Dhabi | 1:25.637 | Kevin Magnussen | 2024 |
Official race lap records for each circuit's current layout, as recognised by Formula 1. Records change as tracks are resurfaced or reconfigured; figures current as of the 2025 season.
Who Holds the Most Circuit Records
Setting a lap record requires the fastest car and a perfect lap on the right day. Across the current calendar, the silver-arrow era of Mercedes and a clutch of Ferrari one-lap specials dominate the tally. Lewis Hamilton leads the way overall with eight circuit records to his name.
Records held on the current calendar. Hamilton's all-time tally of eight includes circuits not on the 2026 schedule. Mercedes is the most successful constructor, holding the most current circuit lap records of any team.
Most Career Fastest Laps (All-Time)
A different record entirely: the most fastest laps set across an entire career, at any circuit. Michael Schumacher's total has stood at the top for two decades.
Schumacher and Räikkönen share the single-season record of 10 fastest laps. Hamilton has set fastest laps at more different circuits (27) than any other driver.
The Fastest Lap Ever Driven
On 6 September 2025, in Q3 of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen threw his Red Bull around Monza in 1:18.792 — an average speed of 264.7 km/h (164.5 mph) over the full 5.793 km lap. It is the fastest lap, by average speed, ever recorded in Formula 1.
Because it was a qualifying lap, it does not count as Monza's official race lap record — that honour went the next day to Lando Norris, whose 1:20.901 finally ended Rubens Barrichello's 21-year-old race record. But for raw, outright pace, Verstappen's pole lap is the high-water mark of the entire sport.
Monza's status as F1's "Temple of Speed" is no accident: its long straights and minimal corners demand the lowest-downforce setup of the year, producing the highest average speeds anywhere on the calendar — and, now, the fastest lap in history.
Highest Average Speed — A Single Lap
Average speed in km/h over a full lap. Monza has held the "fastest lap" mantle for most of F1 history thanks to its low-drag, high-speed layout.
Lap Record Progression — Monza
No circuit tells the story of F1's relentless pursuit of speed better than Monza. Watch how the race lap record tumbled across the eras — and note the 21-year plateau, when Barrichello's V10 mark survived the V8, V6 hybrid and early ground-effect generations before finally falling in 2025.
Lando Norris — McLaren · 1:20.901
Broke Barrichello's two-decade-old record by 0.145s during the Italian GP — the first sub-1:21 race lap in Monza's history.
Rubens Barrichello — Ferrari · 1:21.046
The 3.0-litre V10 era at its absolute zenith. Survived every rule change for two decades — the defining benchmark of peak-power F1.
Damon Hill — Williams · 1:23.575
The active-suspension Williams-Renault — one of the most technologically advanced cars ever to lap Monza.
Henri Pescarolo — March · 1:23.8
Set during the legendary 1971 Italian GP — the closest finish in F1 history — before chicanes tamed the old high-speed Monza.
Selected milestones across Monza's evolving layout; the circuit gained chicanes in 1972 and 1976, so times across eras are not directly comparable. The trend — the relentless march toward more speed — is unmistakable.
The Records That Won't Fall
When the 2022 ground-effect regulations made the cars heavier, F1 actually got slower for the first time in decades. The result: a cluster of lap records from the 2004–2021 super-car era that have proven nearly impossible to beat.
Shanghai — China
Schumacher, 2004 · 1:32.238
F1's longest-standing lap record. Set in the screaming V10 Ferrari F2004, the most dominant car of its generation — and untouched even after China returned in 2024.
Bahrain
de la Rosa, 2005 · 1:31.447
A one-off fastest lap from McLaren's super-sub that has outlasted every modern Bahrain night race.
Interlagos — Brazil
Bottas, 2018 · 1:10.540
Set at the tail end of the pre-2019 era; the heavier cars that followed have never matched it round the short, undulating Brazilian classic.
Baku — Azerbaijan
Leclerc, 2019 · 1:43.009
A street-circuit record from Ferrari's low-drag 2019 rocket, perfectly suited to Baku's two-kilometre main straight.
COTA — United States
Leclerc, 2019 · 1:36.169
The second of Leclerc's 2019 record double, set on a circuit that has notoriously bumpy asphalt the modern cars dislike.
Silverstone — Great Britain
Verstappen, 2020 · 1:27.097
A high-speed-corner masterpiece from the 2020 Red Bull that the ground-effect era has yet to threaten.
Records of the Lost Circuits
Some of F1's most extraordinary lap records belong to circuits the championship long ago abandoned — terrifying public-road monsters where drivers averaged speeds that still defy belief. Their records can never be broken; the tracks no longer exist.
Old Spa-Francorchamps
The original Spa linked public roads through the Ardennes forest. In the late '60s, F1 cars averaged over 240 km/h (150 mph) for an entire lap — flat-out, between trees, ditches and houses, with no run-off whatsoever.
Reims-Gueux
A triangle of Champagne-country roads built around long, flat-out blasts. Lorenzo Bandini set the final F1 lap record here in 1966 — a Ferrari 312 at over 225 km/h (140 mph) average.
Nürburgring Nordschleife
"The Green Hell." 22.8 km and over 170 corners per lap. The final F1 lap records here sat around the seven-minute mark — a single lap longer than many modern races' opening stint.
How F1 Lap Records Work
The "official" circuit record is the fastest lap ever set during a race on a circuit's current configuration. Qualifying laps — run on lighter fuel and softer tyres — are almost always faster, but by long-standing convention they don't count toward the record books, which is why Verstappen's stunning Monza pole lap isn't the official Monza record.
Records reset whenever a circuit is altered. A new chicane, a resurface or a reprofiled corner can wipe the slate clean — which is why a track's record may date from only a few seasons ago even if the venue is decades old.
The single biggest factor, though, is the car. F1 lap times have fallen almost continuously since 1950, with two notable reversals: the post-2009 aero cuts, and the heavier 2022 ground-effect rules. That's why the 2018–2021 generation — light, low and drowning in downforce — still owns most of the record sheet.
What sets a lap record
Circuit Records — FAQ
What is the fastest lap ever recorded in Formula 1?
Max Verstappen's pole lap for the 2025 Italian Grand Prix at Monza — a 1:18.792 at an average of 264.7 km/h (164.5 mph) — is the fastest lap by average speed in F1 history. As a qualifying lap it isn't the official Monza race record, but it's the quickest a Formula 1 car has ever been driven around a lap.
What is the longest-standing lap record in F1?
Michael Schumacher's 1:32.238 at the Shanghai International Circuit, set for Ferrari in 2004, is the longest-standing official race lap record — it has stood for over two decades, surviving even China's absence from the calendar between 2020 and 2023.
Which driver holds the most F1 circuit lap records?
Lewis Hamilton, with eight individual circuit lap records — more than any other driver. On the current calendar he leads ahead of Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen, who hold three apiece. Mercedes is the most successful constructor for lap records.
Why isn't the qualifying lap the official record?
By long-standing F1 convention, the official lap record is the fastest lap set during the race, not in qualifying. Qualifying laps are run on low fuel and the softest tyres and are almost always quicker — so they're tracked separately as "track records" rather than official lap records.
Why were so many lap records set between 2018 and 2021?
The 2017–2021 cars were the fastest in F1 history: wide bodywork, huge tyres and enormous downforce, while still relatively light. The heavier ground-effect cars introduced in 2022 were initially slower, so many records from that golden era still stand — though the lighter 2026 regulations have begun to break them.
What is F1's fastest circuit?
Monza, the "Temple of Speed", produces the highest average lap speeds of any current circuit thanks to its long straights and minimal corners, which demand the lowest-downforce setup of the season. It's where the fastest lap in F1 history was set.