Lap records
The Lusail International Circuit is one of only two circuits in the world hosting Formula 1, MotoGP and the FIA World Endurance Championship (the other being COTA), so there’s a proper spread of machinery setting lap times here – everything from Hypercars and F1 cars to 1000cc bikes.
For a lap record to be “official” it needs to have been set during the race itself. Cars on race day are usually carrying more fuel and running on tyres that have already done a few laps, so they’re a bit slower than they are in qualifying, when the cars are as light as possible and on fresh rubber.
F1 lap record at Lusail
The official F1 lap record — the one set in a race — is a 1:22.384, set by Lando Norris in his McLaren during the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.
The outright qualifying lap record, and the fastest lap ever set around the current layout, belongs to Oscar Piastri. He set a 1:19.387 in his McLaren during qualifying for the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix — making it a McLaren one-two in the Lusail record books.
F1 average speeds
Norris’s race lap record works out to an average speed of 236.8kph / 147.1mph around the 5.419km circuit.
Piastri’s quicker qualifying lap comes out at an average of 245.7kph / 152.7mph for the lap.
MotoGP lap records at Lusail
Lusail has been MotoGP’s home in the Middle East since 2004, way before F1 or WEC raced here, so the bikes have two decades of lap time history here.
The outright fastest two-wheeled lap of Lusail is a 1:50.499, set by Marc Márquez on his Ducati in qualifying for the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix – a lap that took pole moments after his brother Alex had briefly held the record. Almost 30 seconds slower than the F1 cars.
The fastest MotoGP race lap is also Marc Márquez’s: a 1:52.561 on his way to victory in that same 2025 race.
That qualifying lap works out to an average of around 175kph / 109mph on the bikes’ 5.380km measured lap – roughly 70kph slower than an F1 car over the same piece of tarmac, which tells you everything about how much cornering speed four wheels and downforce are worth.
WEC lap record at Qatar
The World Endurance Championship has opened its season at Lusail with the Qatar 1812 km since 2024 (the race is named after Qatar National Day, 18 December).
The Hypercar-era race lap record stands at a 1:39.748, set by Matt Campbell in the Porsche 963 during the 2024 Qatar 1812 km, still 17 seconds slower than the F1 cars.
Other lap records at Lusail
Formula 2 joined the Qatar GP support bill in 2024, and its lap record from that first visit still stands at 1:37.997, set by Oliver Bearman at 2024 Lusail F2 round before he stepped up to F1.
One other notable record is set by none other than Nico Hülkenberg. His pole lap from the 2009 GP2 Asia round – a 1:35.741 – stood as the outright four-wheeled track record for twelve years, until Lewis Hamilton demolished it by around 13 seconds in qualifying for the first Qatar Grand Prix in 2021.
