The Oracle Red Bull Racing Team at the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on November 20,  2022.
© Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
F1

The most incredible world records in F1 history

From the fastest-ever pit stop to the youngest driver to start a race, we delve into some of F1's most remarkable records.
Written by Tom Bellingham
8 min readUpdated on
Intense speeds, apex engineering, dramatic competition and a surrounding hype that's bigger than ever – F1 is considered the pinnacle of motorsport. The world championship has existed in a realm of its own since 1950 — and there have been some mighty impressive milestones along the way. Buckle up for the most exciting, shocking and surprising Formula One records to date.
01

Fastest pit stop: McLaren Racing

The record: 1.80 seconds
All the McLaren Racing team needed was an astonishing 1.80 seconds to change the four tyres of Lando Norris's car and make pit stop history at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. This lightning-fast feat surpassed the previous record of 1.82 seconds set by Red Bull in 2019 when the pit crew changed the four tires of Max Verstappen's RB15 at the Brazilian GP.
The flawless teamwork and precision needed to execute a pitstop demonstrates the crucial role the pit crew plays in a team’s success. And Oracle Red Bull Racing have pioneered the art of quick changes in F1, winning the award for producing the most fastest pitstops every season since 2018.What's more, out-of-this-world pit stops have always been a speciality at Oracle Red Bull Racing. In addition to speed records, the crew literally performed a pit stop thousands of metres above the earth. Check out the video below:

2 min

Zero-G pit stop

Find out what happened when the mechanics tried to do a pit stop at zero gravity on a cosmonaut training plane.

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02

Most starts: Fernando Alonso

The record: 413 races (and counting!)
Regarded as one of the all-time greats, no one in the history of Formula One has raced more than Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard – and F1 world champion in 2005 and 2006 – passed Kimi Raïkkönen's record of 349 race starts way back in the 2022 season. He even took time out to try his hand at other formats, winning the Le Mans 24Hour twice in 2018 and 2019, racing in the Dakar Rally and the Indy 500 before returning to F1 first with Alpine and currently with Aston Martin.
Race winner Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso attend the press conference after the Bahrain GP at Bahrain International Circuit on March 5, 2023.

Fernando Alonso is still going strong in F1

© Peter Fox/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

03

Biggest margin of victory in a World Championship

The record: Max Verstappen with 290 points
The 2023 F1 season was not just dominated by Max Verstappen – he blew all competition away in a championship-winning performance that's unlikely to ever be eclipsed. In addition to breaking his own record for wins in a single season (19), breaking the 75-year-old record for the highest percentage of wins (86.36 percent) and most consecutive wins (10), Verstappen had the biggest points margin over his closest rival, his team-mate Sergio Pérez, finishing 575 points to 285. He obliterated the record set by Sebastian Vettel in his most dominant season, 2013, where the German finished 155 points clear of Fernando Alonso.
Race winner Max Verstappen takes the chequered flag during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Max Verstappen celebrates his record 19th win of the season in Abu Dhabi

© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

04

Fastest speed during a race: Valtteri Bottas

The record: 372.5kph
F1 simply isn't F1 without breathtaking speed and at the 2016 Mexican GP, Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas set the mark to beat when he reached an official top speed of 372.5kph. The FIA even unofficially claimed 373.3kph, but either way, it made Bottas the first F1 driver to reach the 370kph mark in an official Grand Prix.
05

Quickest to earn a penalty: Sebastian Vettel

The record: 6 seconds
From becoming the youngest world champion to earning the most consecutive wins, – a record since broken by Max Verstappen – Sebastian Vettel raised the bar for F1 drivers. The German even started fast by setting his first record just seconds into his F1 career. He received the record for the fastest penalty ever handed out in his first F1 appearance at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix. What did he do? Vettel drove out of the garage and accelerated in the pit lane, earning him this famous speeding penalty just six seconds into his F1 career.
06

Youngest winner: Max Verstappen

The record: 18 years and 227 days
Max Verstappen has rewritten the record book since his first test for the then Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2014 when, aged 17 years and three days, he was the youngest person in history to participate in an F1 race weekend. Since then, he became the youngest-ever F1 driver to compete in a Grand Prix, setting a record that's unlikely to be broken for some time since drivers now have to be 18. On his debut for Red Bull Racing in 2016, he became the youngest winner in F1 history – at 18 years and 227 days old – triumphing at the Spanish Grand Prix and beating the previous record held by Sebastian Vettel.
Verstappen becomes F1’s youngest winner in Spain

Verstappen becomes F1’s youngest winner in Spain

© David Ramos/Getty Images

07

Youngest and oldest drivers: Max Verstappen and Louis Chiron

The record: 17 years and 166 days – 58 years and 292 days
It comes as no surprise to learn that the youngest winner of a race was also the youngest driver to start a race. Handed a seat by Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Dutchman made his debut at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix at the age of 17 years and 166 days – breaking Jaime Alguersuari's record by almost two years.
But there's no upper age limit in F1, so if Verstappen were to carry on racing for another 31 years and 293 days, he'll overtake the great Louis Chiron – assuming Fernando Alonso has hung up his gloves by then. Chiron is famed as the only driver from Monaco to win his home Grand Prix until Charles Leclerc matched the feat in 2024. A winner in 1955, the Monegasque returned to take part in in practice for the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix at the age of 58, becoming the oldest GP competitor in F1 history.
08

Closest margin in qualifying: 1997 European GP

The record: 0.000s between first and third
The 1997 title final was destined for greatness, as Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve started the race in Jerez with just a point difference – and needless to say, it didn't disappoint.
During qualifying, Villeneuve registered a 1m 21.072s lap time to secure pole position. Shortly after, Schumacher crossed the finish line in exactly the same time. Then, minutes later, Villeneuve's team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen also matched the same time. Three cars, three identical lap times, measured to within a millisecond.

Most pole positions in a single season

The record: Sebastian Vettel – 15 in 2011
After missing out on the title in 2009, Sebastian Vettel came from third in the title race going into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi to winning his first F1 World Championship. In 2011, he found another gear altogether and dominated the season. Of the 19 Grands Prix that year, he won 11, finishing first or second at the opening nine rounds. He was especially strong in quali, putting his RB7 on P1 a record 15 times. In the process, he beat Nigel Mansell's record for Williams in 1992.
09

Longest F1 Grand Prix: Canada 2011

Lewis Hamilton and team mate Jenson Button drive either side of Mark Webber as he spins during the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada.

Chaos at the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix

© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

The record: 4h 4m 39s
"Everything went wrong, until I won!" said race winner Jenson Button and it's an understatement. The 2009 F1 World Champion won in the wet in Montreal despite pitting six times, collecting two punctures, getting a drive-through penalty and only leading on the final lap of a race. His average speed for the race was 72kph.
“I crashed with my team-mate (Lewis Hamilton) and you never want to do that, and then I crashed with Fernando (Alonso) as well. Puncture, drive through, almost got lapped, was last twice." Somehow, in the chaos of a race disrupted by spells of heavy rain, Button found himself on the right tyres at the right time, coming from the back and finding grip as he worked his way past his rivals, ultimately passing race-leader Sebastian Vettel to take the win.
10

Shortest F1 Grand Prix: Belgium 2021

Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 28, 2021 in Spa, Belgium

Max Verstappen on track in heavy rain at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix

© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

The record: 1m 59.765s – or one lap
Taking place amid the global pandemic, the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix was a miserable race that was washed out by torrential rain. The rain was almost constant across the Grand Prix weekend, causing qualifying to be delayed until the morning of the race. Once the grid was established – Max Verstappen claiming pole – it was raining too heavily to start the race that the cars had to complete two laps behind the Safety Car. When the Safety Car returned to the pits, they managed one racing lap before the event was red flagged. The silver lining to a lot of clouds was that it was a win for Max Verstappen. For the record, the shortest race to go full distance was the 2003 Italian Grand Prix, when Michael Schumacher won at an average speed of 247.585kph as he went from lights to flag in just 1hr 14m 19.838s.
Michael Schumacher wins F1's fastest ever race

Michael Schumacher wins F1's fastest ever race

© Ferrari

11

Smallest winning margin: 1971 Italian GP

The record: The top two separated by just 0.01s
A lot of incredible moments have happened at the finish line in Formula One racing. However, nothing quite compares to the 1971 Italian Grand Prix, where five cars crossed the finish line in a slipstream.
The result: Peter Gethin took the win. Then Ronnie Peterson followed just 0.01s back. Next came François Cevert at 0.09 seconds, Mike Hailwood at 0.18s and Howden Ganley at 0.61s behind the winning time – making it the closest result in F1 history.
The finish to the 1971 Italian Grand Prix

The finish to the 1971 Italian Grand Prix

© Popperfoto

12

Shortest career: Marco Apicella

The record: 800 metres (2,600ft)
Many Formula One drivers have competed in just a single race, but none were shorter than Marco Apicella’s one and only F1 appearance at the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.
The Italian driver impressed Eddie Jordan enough to give him a one-off drive in his home race for the Jordan team, but after being involved in a multi-car collision at the first corner on the very first lap, Apicella’s F1 career was over in just a few seconds.

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