Lap records
Monza is the fastest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar, and one of the fastest in the world. Its long straights are broken up by chicanes which have been added to the track layout over the years in a bid to try and slow the cars down and keep the racing safer.
Despite that, Formula 1 cars still set fastest average lap speeds at Monza than they do at anywhere else on the calendar.
The lap record has also been tumbling over the years, as the cars have become more capable. For a lap record to be official it needs to have been set during a race. Under those condition the F1 cars are not at their optimum performance; they may be carrying extra weight in additional fuel and might be on worn tyres.
Lap times are often faster in qualifying when the cars are at minimum fuel loads and have new tyres. So below, I’ll list both so you can see the difference.
F1 lap record at Monza
2025 saw both the official and un-official lap records broken at Monza.
The official lap record, the one set during a race, is now held by Lando Norris. He did a 1:20.901 in his McLaren MCL39 during the 2025 Italian Grand Prix.
That same year Max Verstappen broke the qualifying lap record at Monza, and in doing so set the fastest ever lap in Formula 1 history. His lap time was a 1:18.792 set in the Q3 part of qualifying for the 2025 Grand Prix.
F1 average speeds at Monza
Lando’s race lap record speed equated to an average speed over that lap of 257.8kph / 160.2mph.
Verstappen’s lap, however, has become the fastest lap in the history of Formula 1. His lap worked out at 264.7kph / 164.5mph – an incredible average speed over the 5.793km circuit!
F1 top speeds at Monza
Monza is incredibly fast, and the F1 teams set their cars up to run as little downforce as possible to extract maximum speed from the cars down the long straights.
The official speed trap is at the end of the start / finish straight just before the cars hit the brakes for the Turn 1 chicane. Leading on to the start / finish straight is the fast Parabolica corner (turn 11) giving the drivers a flat-out run on to the straight.
In 2025, the F1 cars hit some serious speeds here:
As that image shows, the Saubers of Hulkneberg and Bortoleto were running the least downforce and had the highest speeds at the end of the straight. Some of the more competitive cars like the McLarens were 10kph slower, thanks to the large amount of downforce and drag their cars produce even in their lower downforce setting.
But the fastest ever speed recorded at Monza was set a number of years ago. At the 2005 Italian Grand Prix Juan Pablo Montoya clocked 372.6kph / 231.5mph in his McLaren-Mercedes. An incredible speed that’s not only the fastest ever recorded in a race at Monza, but also the fastest speed ever clocked during a Grand Prix, and it still stands in the Guiness Book of Records.
F2 lap records at Monza
The fastest ever lap of the Monza circuit by an F2 car is 1:30.982 set by Nobuharu Matsushita driving for ART Grand Prix during qualifying in 2017.
The fastest lap during a race, so the official lap record, is 1:32.717 set by Kush Maini in 2024 driving for Invicta Racing.
F3 lap records at Monza
The fastest ever lap F3 of the Monza circuit is 1:37.559 set by Alexander Smolyar during qualifying in 2022.
The official lap record is held by Leonardi Fornaroli with a 1:38.802 set durng the F2 feature race in 2024.
LMP1, LMH & LMDh lap record at Monza
The LMP1 category, which was retired at the end of 2020, had a lap record at Monza of 1:32.449 set by Nicolas Minassian driving a Peugeot 908 HDi FAP during the 2008 1000km of Monza.
The replacements for LMP1 are the LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) and LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) categories.
The LMH lap record at Monza is 1:36.589 set by Romain Dumas driving the Glickenhaus SCG 007 at the 2023 6 Hours of Monza.
The LMDh lap record at Monza is 1:37.290 set by Earl Bamber in a Cadillac, also at the 2023 Monza 6 hours.
GT3 Lap Record Monza
The GT3 lap record at Monza is 1:44.278 set by Tommaso Mosca at the 2025 International GT Open race at Monza.
