Lap records - race laps or qualifying laps?
For a lap record to count as official, it needs to have been set during a race. But cars or bikes are usually slower during a race than in qualifying, because they’ll be on worn tyres and will be carrying more weight in fuel.
So qualifying laps will almost always be faster than race laps. So below I’ll list both the official lap record (set during a race) and the unofficial fastest race lap set during qualifying.
Austria F1 lap record
The official lap record set during a race at the current Red Bull Ring circuit layout is 1:05.609 set by Carlos Sainz Jr at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix driving for McLaren.
The unofficial fastest F1 lap, and the fastest ever lap of the Spielberg circuit, is 1:02.939 set by Valtteri Bottas during the third part of qualifying driving for Mercedes.
Austrian F1 top speed
The fastest ever speed recorded by an F1 car at the Red Bull Ring is 337.8 kph / 209.9 mph set by Sergio Perez driving for Force India during the 2016 Austrian GP.
That speed was recorded at the speed trap located just before the braking zone for Turn 3, which is at the end of the longest flat-out straight on the circuit. He would have been using DRS and had a slipstream from the car in front.
Austrian F1 highest average speed
The highest average speed recorded over one lap during a race, based upon Carlos Sainz’ 2020 lap record is 238kph / 148mph.
The highest overall average speed, based upon Bottas’ 2020 qualifying record, is 248 kph / 154 mph.
MotoGP lap record Austria
Since 2022 the MotoGP race in Austria, known as the Styrian Grand Prix, uses a slightly different circuit configuration. The overall track distance is very similar but the change puts a chicane in the fastest part of the track, so it has slowed laptimes down.
The current MotoGP lap record set on the revised layout of the Red Bull Ring circuit is 1:29.519 set by Franceso Bagnaia in 2024.
The overall fastest ever MotoGP lap in Austria, set during Q2 in 2024, is 1:27.748 set by Jorge Martin on his way to pole position.
Formula 2
The lap record for an F2 car around the Red Bull Ring is 1:13.396 set by Charles Leclerc driving for Prema Racing in 2017. The future F1 star set a lap time which is around 8 seconds slower than an F1 car.
Formula 3
The Formula 3 lap record at the Red Bull Ring is 1:19.429 set by Sebastian Fernandez racing for ART Grand Prix in 2020.
Porsche Supercup
The Porsche Supercup race lap record at the Red Bull Ring is 1:31.893 set by Bastian Buus driving for BWT Lechner Racing in 2023.
The overall fastest lap for Porsche Supercup, set during qualifying at the 2019 event, is 1:30.457 set by Julien Andlauer also driving for BWT Lechner Racing.
