How fast can a Formula 1 car go?
294253#13
1985 was to see Keke Rosberg set the all-time Formula 1 qualifying lap record for 17 years after posting fastest qualifying time for the race with an average speed of 258.983 km/h (160.92 mph). Silverstone, which was already a very fast circuit, was becoming faster and faster and the cars were lapping the circuit in the low 1-minute range. The race was an exciting one with Brazilian rising star Ayrton Senna making a great start from 4th and taking the lead by the first corner. He led until late in the race, when his car was running out of fuel while Prost was pushing him hard; Senna eventually ran out of fuel and Prost went on to take victory. 1986 saw a huge crowd thanks to Mansell being a favourite to win; his newly found fame and place in a competitive team would help the British Grand Prix to see huge crowds for several years. This race saw 42-year-old Jacques Laffite get involved in a first corner accident and slam head-on into the barriers, breaking both his legs and ending his Formula One career. Nigel Mansell, whose car broke at the start of the first race, got into his teammate Piquet's spare car and won the race; although this was the last F1 race at Brands Hatch. A number of people had concerns about the speeds of the cars on the small track; particularly the European Grand Prix held at Brands Hatch the previous year. The southern English circuit was getting to be very fast- now with these 1,000+ hp, 1,180 pound cars, pole sitter Piquet's average qualifying speed was 140.483 mph (227.583 km/h) and his lap time was in the 1 minute 6-second range, compared to the 1 minute 20-second range in 1976. But Brands Hatch's demise was for political reasons- the international motorsports governing body at the time, FISA, had instituted a policy of long-term contracts for one circuit per Grand Prix. Brands Hatch was perceived as a poorer facility, and considering most of the track was located in a very old forest it did have very little run-off and room to expand, something Silverstone had in acres. Silverstone and the BRDC had signed a seven-year contract with Formula 1 and FISA at some point in 1986, to run from 1987 to 1993.
British Grand Prix
645083#46
Top speeds are in practice limited by the longest straight at the track and by the need to balance the car's aerodynamic configuration between high straight line speed (low aerodynamic drag) and high cornering speed (high downforce) to achieve the fastest lap time. During the 2006 season, the top speeds of Formula 1 cars were a little over 300 km/h (185 mph) at high-downforce tracks such as Albert Park, Australia and Sepang, Malaysia. These speeds were down by some from the 2005 speeds, and from the 2004 speeds, due to the recent performance restrictions (see below). On low-downforce circuits greater top speeds were registered: at Gilles-Villeneuve (Canada) 325 km/h (203 mph), at Indianapolis (USA) 335 km/h (210 mph), and at Monza (Italy) 360 km/h (225 mph). In testing one month prior to the 2005 Italian Grand Prix, Juan Pablo Montoya of the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team recorded a record top speed of 372.6 km/h (231.5 mph), which got officially recognised by the FIA as the fastest speed ever achieved by an F1 car, even though it was not set during an officially sanctioned session during a race weekend. In the 2005 Italian GP Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren-Mercedes was recorded at 370.1 km/h (229.9 mph). This record was broken at the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix by Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, whose top speed in race conditions was 372.54 km/h (231.48 mph). However, even though this information was shown in FIA's official monitors, the FIA is yet to accept it as an official record. Bottas had previously set an even higher record top speed during qualifying for the 2016 European Grand Prix, recording a speed of 378.035 km/h (234.9 mph), albeit through the use of slipstream drafting. This top speed is yet to be confirmed by any official method as currently the only source of this information is the Williams team's Twitter post, while the FIA's official speed trap data measured Bottas's speed at 366.1 kmh in that instance. At the moment Montoya's speed of 372.6 kmh (231.5 mph) is still regarded as the official record, even though it was not set during a sanctioned session.
Formula One car
22450#4
Open-wheeled racing is among the fastest in the world. Formula 1 cars can reach speeds in excess of . At Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Antônio Pizzonia of BMW Williams F1 team recorded a top speed of in the 2004 Italian Grand Prix. Since the end of the V10 era in 2006 speeds like this have not been reached, with contemporary machinery reaching around . It is difficult to give precise figures for the absolute top speeds of Formula 1 cars, as the cars do not have speedometers as such and the data are not generally released by teams. The 'speed traps' on fast circuits such as Monza give a good indication, but are not necessarily located at the point on the track where the car is travelling at its fastest. BAR Honda team recorded an average top speed of in 2006 at Bonneville Salt Flats with unofficial top speed reaching using modified BAR 007 Formula 1 car. Speeds on ovals can range in constant excess of , and at Indianapolis in excess of . Some sources claim that in 1996, Paul Tracy recorded a trap speed of at Michigan International Speedway. In 2000, Gil de Ferran set the one-lap qualifying record of at California Speedway. Even on tight non-oval street circuits such as the Grand Prix of Toronto, open-wheel Indy Cars attain speeds of .
Open-wheel car
13224919#20
According to research and pre-season stability tests, the current model can go 0 to 60 mph in approximately 3 seconds. The car has a top speed of over depending on the circuit and gearing meaning that it is the fourth fastest single-seater formula car behind Formula 1, Formula 2 and GP3 Series.Following two practice sessions, the first of two qualifying sessions will be held on Friday afternoon. Race 1 starts on Saturday morning, while Qualifying 2 is usually scheduled for the afternoon. On Sunday, the two remaining races will be held, with Race 2 taking of on Sunday morning and Race 3 concluding the weekend in the afternoon. Each race will consist of 33 minutes plus one lap and covers a distance of about 100 kilometres.
FIA Formula 3 European Championship
645083#40
The carbon brakes in combination with tyre technology and the car's aerodynamics produce truly remarkable braking forces. The deceleration force under braking is usually 4 "G's" (39 m/s), and can be as high as 5–6 G's when braking from extreme speeds, for instance at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit or at Indianapolis. In 2007, Martin Brundle, a former Grand Prix driver, tested the Williams Toyota FW29 Formula 1 car, and stated that under heavy braking he felt like his lungs were hitting the inside of his ribcage, forcing him to exhale involuntarily. Here the aerodynamic drag actually helps, and can contribute as much as 1.0 "G's" of braking force, which is the equivalent of the brakes on most road sports cars. In other words, if the throttle is let go, the F1 car will slow down under drag at the same rate as most sports cars do with braking, at least at speeds above .
Formula One car
645083#35
As well as being fast in a straight line, F1 cars have outstanding cornering ability. Grand Prix cars can negotiate corners at significantly higher speeds than other racing cars because of the intense levels of grip and downforce. Cornering speed is so high that Formula One drivers have strength training routines just for the neck muscles. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya claimed to be able to perform 300 repetitions of with his neck.
Formula One car
645083#44
The aerodynamic forces of a Formula 1 car can produce as much as three times the car's weight in downforce. In fact, at a speed of just , the downforce is equal in magnitude to the weight of the car. At low speeds, the car can turn at 2.0 "G's". At already the lateral force is 3.0 "G's", as evidenced by the famous esses (turns 3 and 4) at the Suzuka circuit. Higher-speed corners such as Blanchimont (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps) and Copse (Silverstone Circuit) are taken at above 5.0 "G's", and 6.0 "G's" has been recorded at Suzuka's 130-R corner. This contrasts with a maximum for high performance road cars such as Enzo Ferrari of 1.5 "G's" or of above 1.7 "G's" for the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Formula One car
5758449#7
The cars use 'American Racer' control tyres on the outside rear. The cars are also restricted in what dampers can be used, to control costs. Cars can reach speeds of 80–90 mph around a quarter-mile oval, so most cars use large roof mounted aerofoils, similar to those found on American sprint cars, to create downforce on the corners and provide some extra cornering grip. Wings are not compulsory, and the benefit is not proven.
BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars
645083#45
The large downforce allows an F1 car to corner at very high speeds. As an example of the extreme cornering speeds; the Blanchimont and Eau Rouge corners at Spa-Francorchamps are taken flat-out at above , whereas the race-spec touring cars can only do so at 150–160 km/h (note that lateral force increases with the square of the speed). A newer and perhaps even more extreme example is the Turn 8 at the Istanbul Park circuit, a 190° relatively tight 4-apex corner, in which the cars maintain speeds between (in 2006) and experience between 4.5 "G's" and 5.5 "G's" for 7 seconds—the longest sustained hard cornering in Formula 1.
Formula One car
1403866#2
The 20 Formula One Argentine Grand Prix races were held in the "Autódromo" between and . Formula One used a number of different configurations—the No.2 circuit was used from 1954–1960, the No.9 circuit was used from 1971–1973, and the very fast No.15 layout was used from 1974–1981 which added 2 long straights and a long third corner between the two straights often taken in top gear totally flat out, which provided an exciting view for spectators, especially when the cars exited the third corner often on the brink of spinning off or crashing at 305 km/h. Going through that section, the cars were flat out for 40 seconds. The Argentine Grand Prix was dropped from the 1982 calendar because of Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands and Carlos Reutemann's sudden retirement after the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix. The twisty No.6 configuration was used from 1995–1998, but that version of the circuit was not popular with Formula One, and after the 1998 race there was no money for the race to be held and it was dropped.
Autódromo Juan y Oscar Gálvez
1140070#29
The European Grand Prix was a filler race – Grands Prix in New York City and Rome did not materialize and were cancelled; this race came 3 weeks after the Belgian event. This race was held at the fast southern English Brands Hatch circuit, normally used for the British Grand Prix on even numbered years. This race was a very exciting one: Senna took his 6th pole position at an average speed of more than 140 mph (228 km/h). There had been some concerns about racing these very powerful cars at the small, very fast Brands Hatch circuit: Niki Lauda and a few other drivers felt the cars were too fast for a short circuit like Brands, and if the power of the engines increased over time, the circuit would have to be modified in order to accommodate the cars.
Senna led from pole position and was harried by Rosberg. Going into Surtees Rosberg tried to get past Senna, but Senna took his line forcefully and Rosberg spun to avoid contact. Piquet hit Rosberg and retired, but Rosberg was able to get to the pits and returned to the track right in front of Senna who was then being harried by Mansell. Rosberg then held Senna up whilst going into Surtees, which enabled Mansell to overtake into the lead.
Mansell led the rest of the race distance, while Marc Surer in a Brabham-BMW got up to 2nd, but retired at Stirling's corner after a fire broke out on the back of his car. Meanwhile, Alboreto's car failed and caught fire; he drove it back to the Ferrari pit while up in flames, in an effort to get the message across to his team about his car's most recent unreliability that cost him the championship. Prost, however, made a very bad start, dropped to 15th and finished in 4th, which was enough for him to become world Drivers' Champion for the first time. He finished behind Mansell, Senna, and Rosberg, who drove a storming race to finish 3rd.
1985 Formula One World Championship