Fastest lap
Quickest lap run during a race.
Last updated
With 77 fastest laps, Michael Schumacher tops the list for most such achievements.[1]
Quick Facts
- Formula one record holder
- Michael Schumacher (77 fastest laps)
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
From 2019, the bonus point counted towards both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship.[2] Only drivers classified in the top 10 at the end of the race were eligible for the point.[2] Grand Prix cars are the fastest circuit racing cars in production, partly due to high downforce generated by aerodynamic surfaces.[3] An extra championship point was awarded for the fastest race lap during two separate periods: from 1950 through 1959, and again from 2019 through 2024.[4]
Starting with the 2025 season, that bonus point is no longer awarded.[4]
What the cited sources add
The Formula One official website states that a point was given for the fastest lap from the first world championship race until the end of the 1959 season.[2] During that period, fastest lap was shared on four occasions, including at the 1954 British Grand Prix when seven drivers shared a seventh of a point each.[2] A 2022 article by Fair explains that if the fastest lap is run by a driver outside the top 10, no additional point is awarded.[5] According to the same source, Valtteri Bottas claimed the DHL Fastest Lap Award in the year he achieved seven fastest laps.[2]
The FIA's World Motor Sport Council decided during a meeting to eliminate the fastest lap bonus point starting in 2025.[6] Changes for 2025 include the removal of the bonus point for the fastest lap and a requirement that teams field a young driver in free practice twice per season instead of once.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Fastest lap" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Payne, "DHL to sponsor Formula 1's fastest laps trophy", Campaign, 14 March 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Bonus point to be awarded for fastest lap in 2019 Formula 1®", Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. facts only, no text reused. formula1.com
- Newbon, "Aerodynamic Effects of the Salient Flow Features in Grand Prix Car Wakes", 2017. facts only, no text reused. etheses.dur.ac.uk
- Wikipedia, "Fastest lap" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bonus point to be awarded for fastest lap in 2019 Formula 1®", Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website; Fair, "Formula 1: How does the point scoring system work?", Beyond the Flag, 27 March 2022; "Fastest lap point to be scrapped in 2025", Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Fair, "Formula 1: How does the point scoring system work?", Beyond the Flag, 27 March 2022. facts only, no text reused. beyondtheflag.com
- "Fastest lap point to be scrapped in 2025", Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. facts only, no text reused. formula1.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Fastest lap (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Motorsport terminology
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Fastest lap (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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