Formula 1 has been dominating the sporting world for years now but more recently, there has been a considerable climb in its popularity. Research shows that since the release of Netflix’s fourth season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive 360,000 more people watched the 2022 F1 championship last year because of watching the docu-series. This should come as no surprise!
The technology developed has increased the world’s understanding of thermal efficiency, and performance, reducing emissions, and directly saving lives. They’ve broken many global records but some of the most impressive has happened on the racetrack. Read on to find out about some of the most impressive records in Formula 1 history:
Fastest pit stop
The record for the fastest pit stop is the impressive time of 1.82 seconds. It happened at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix and was the time it took for the Aston Martin Red Bull team to change the four tyres of Max Verstappen’s RB15.
The Red Bull team has a history of impressive record-making since the previous record holder was also Red Bull Racing with 1.88 seconds. Breath-taking pit stops are the result of tyres that break new ground and you can access cutting-edge tyres like the ones used in Formula 1 too online!
Speed
Formula 1 is renowned for the state-of-the-art technology and technique that makes such astounding speeds possible. The record for the highest speed ever driven is officially held by Valtteri Bottas when he reached a top speed of 372.5 km/h at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Unofficially, however, the front-runner is Juan Pablo Montoya, who was clocked at 372.6 during the 2005 season in Monza, Italy.
Youngest winner
There are some young winners of the F1 that have just turned 19 and 18 years old. The youngest still however was Max Verstappen when he won the 2015 Australian Grand Prix at just 17 years, 5 months, and 15 days. Coming in a close second is Lance Stroll, who was just 18 years, 4 months, and 26 days.
The oldest in comparison was the Frenchman, Philippe Étancelin who was victorious at the 1950 Italian Grand Prix aged 53 years and 259 days of age.
Closest finish
Crossing the finish line is the most exciting part of Formula 1 racing and a lot of incredible moments have happened in the last few seconds. The one that takes the cake however is during the 1971 Italian Grand Prix.
Five cars crossed the finish line in a slipstream and the top 3 were separated by just 0.09 seconds. Peter Gethin took the win with only a 0.01-second lead over Ronnie Peterson, making it the closest finish in Formula 1 history.