Lap records - race laps or qualifying laps?
For a lap record to be official, it needs to have been set during a race. It can’t be set during any practice sessions or qualifying. In Formula 1, that can be a Sprint Race or the Grand Prix itself.
However, race cars will be faster when they’re in their qualifying setup. They’ll have fresh tyres and minimal fuel – enough for just a couple of laps – which will keep the car’s weight, and laptimes, to a minimum.
So below I’m going to list both the official lap record set during the race, and the unofficial fastest lap set during qualifying.
Hungary F1 lap record
The official lap record, set during a race, for a Formula 1 car at the Hungaroring circuit is 1:16.627 set by Lewis Hamilton driving for Mercedes in 2020. This was achieved near the end of the race when his car had a lower fuel level and was lighter.
Unsuprisingly, the fastest qualifying lap was even faster. Lewis Hamilton has set the fastest ever recorded lap time around the Hungaroring, setting a 1:13.447 during qualifying for the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix in his Mercedes W11.
As both those laps times were set by the same driver in the same car during the same year, we can clearly see that qualifying laps are around 3 seconds faster than the fastest race laps.
Hungary F1 top speed
The highest ever speed recorded at the Hungarian Grand Prix is 322.2kph / 200.2mph set by Kimi Raikkonen during the 2019 race.
That speed was recorded at the speed trap which down the main straight, just before the drivers reach the braking point for Turn 1. That straight is also one of the two DRS Zones, so Kimi would have had the benefit of using his DRS and having a slipstream to just nudge past the 200mph mark.
Hungary F1 average speed
The highest average speed recorded over a single lap during a race, based upon Lewis Hamilton’s 2020 race lap record, is 127.9mph / 205.8kph.
The highest overall average speed, based upon Lewis’ 2020 qualifying record, is 133.4mph / 214.7kph.
Formula 2
The Formula 2 lap record at the Hungaroring is 1:26.268 set by Oliver Rowland for an average lap speed of 182.8kph / 113.6mph. In the feature race that year, Rowland won and beat some familiar names to the top step of the podium including Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, Nyck de Vries and Nicholas Latifi.
That lap time is around 13 seconds slower than the best F1 lap time. The difference comes from having dramatically less power (1000bhp F1 car vs around 600bhp F2 car) and a lack of downforce compared to the F1 cars.
Formula 3
The Formula 3 lap record at the Hungaroring is 1:31.091 set by Zak O’Sullivan in 2023, giving him an average lap speed of 173.1kph / 107.6mph.
Zak won the feature race that year, beating future F1 drivers such as Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Porsche Supercup
The Porsche Supercup race lap record at the Hungaroring is 1:45.933 set by Harry King during qualifying in 2023.
