F1 Top Speeds: Top 5 fastest speeds clocked by a Formula 1 car in a Grand Prix

One of the most common concepts associated with F1 is speed. While raw speed is only one of many aspects that makes a Formula 1 car competitive, it is certainly what thrills fans the most. But what is the quickest speed machines have gone during an official race?

F1 remains as the pinnacle of motorsport in 2025, with cars being celebrated as engineering marvels. It is also one of the quickest forms of motorsports, with most cars reaching speeds well in excess of 300 km/h on a regular basis.

But the fastest speeds ever reached during an F1 race exceed even the 350 km/h mark. Let's take a look at the top five speeds reached during a Grand Prix in the sport's history.

Top 5 speeds ever reached by an F1 car during a Grand Prix

#5 Sebastian Vettel - 366 km/h - 2015 Mexican GP

Driving for Ferrari, Vettel clocked a top speed of 366 km/h at the 2015 Mexican GP. The race had returned on the grid after a 23-year hiatus and high top speeds were expected given the characteristics and layout of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. But the German driver was not the quickest driver that day.

#4 Pastor Maldonado - 366.4 km/h - 2015 Mexican GP

Maldonado, driving for Lotus, narrowly pipped Vettel to become the quickest man at the 2015 Mexican GP, clocking a top speed of 366.4 km/h.

Pastor Maldonado driving the Lotus E23 at the 2015 Mexican Grand Prix - Source: Getty

#3 Antonio Pizzonia - 369.9 km/h - 2004 Italian GP

In 2004, Pizzonia stepped in to replace an injured Ralf Schumacher for four races midway through the season at BMW-Williams. One of these events was the Italian GP, during which he set the quickest time in the sport at the time, clocking in at 369.9 km/h.

#2 Kimi Raikkonen - 370.1 km/h - 2005 Italian GP

Just a year after Pizzonia set the record, Raikkonen broke it at the same venue, as he went quicker, setting a top speed of 370.1 km/h in his McLaren MP4-20. The Finnish driver held the record for the quickest time in F1 for over a decade, before a compatriot broke it.

#1 Valtteri Bottas - 372.5 km/h - 2016 Mexican GP

Driving a Mercedes-powered Williams FW38, Bottas broke the record of the fastest speed ever recorded during an F1 Grand Prix, setting a speed of 372.5 km/h at the 2016 Mexican GP.

Valtteri Bottas at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix - Source: Getty

F1 top speed records changed a lot after the Mexican GP came back on the calendar in 2015. The Autodromo Hermano Rodriguez sits at a high altitude and the track's characteristics allow teams to use a low downforce setup. Both these factors combine to mean that cars reach extremely high speeds at the end of the main straight.

Hence, most of these records were set in Mexico. Monza has a reputation that precedes itself, with it being nicknamed "The Temple of Speed". The records that were set there become even more impressive when considering that they were set in the early 2000s, and at a track that sits at a comparatively low altitude.

It must also be noted that Valtteri Bottas also holds the record for the fastest speed reached during any official F1 session ever as well. Williams' telemetry confirmed that the driver reached a top speed of 378 km/h during qualifying for the inaugural race at Baku, the 2016 European GP.