The Fastest Cars in F1 History: Formula 1 Top Speeds in Each Decade
Formula 1’s Quickest Cars by Decade
There have been 73 championship-winning cars in Formula 1’s rich history, but some stand above the rest for design, innovation and raw speed.
But which ones hit top speed in their respective decades?
Here are the fastest F1 cars that have hit graced circuits across the world since 1950, through to the present day.
The 1950s: Cooper T51 - 1959 - Top Speed of 180 mph
F1’s early years were dominated by Italian and German Manufacturers - Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and Mercedes.
Engines mounted in the front of the car were the way to go. That is until the British team Cooper emerged with a rear-mounted engine in 1957.
The rear engine wasn’t a new idea - Auto Union (predecessor of Audi) had built racing cars in the 1930s this way - but this was a brand new concept to F1.
The benefits of this concept were huge. Preferable weight distribution allowed cars to handle far more responsively, and allow for more aerodynamic efficiency.
Cooper reaped the benefits of their work in 1959, taking the World Championship with Australian Jack Brabham in the T51 car which could reach speeds of around 180 mph.
By the early 1960s, all cars had adopted the rear-mounted engine concept, which remains a key element of racing cars today.
The 1960s: Lotus 49 - 1968 - Top Speed 200 mph
Built by design genius Colin Chapman, The Lotus 49 was a groundbreaking car that shaped the future of racing by design and aesthetics in equally significant measure.
The engine was fully integrated as part of the chassis itself - bolted onto the monocoque, the gearbox and the rear suspension.
Whilst not the first to do this, its success established a precedent that remains part of Formula 1 today.
Aerofoil wings were, by contrast, borne out of the Lotus 49 itself.
Wings delicately balanced on ridiculously flimsy, high struts were exceedingly dangerous, but provided sizeable aerodynamic gain in clean air.
Ford V8 engines allowed the car to reach over 200mph.
The Lotus 49 was also the first car to sport a sponsor-based livery - the Gold Leaf Lotus’ iconic red and gold based from the tobacco firm of the same name.
The car was used between 1967 and 1969, with Graham Hill taking his 2nd and final world championship in 1968.
The 1970s: Lotus 78 -1978 - Top Speed 200 mph +
Another iconic Lotus design, thanks to the craft of Colin Chapman.
This time, the Gold Leaf livery was replaced by the Black and Gold of fellow tobacco brand John Player Special and is arguably the most memorable F1 livery of the 20th century.
Chapman and fellow engineer Peter Wright devised the car with the use of the ‘ground effect’ - a concept that transformed the aerodynamic trajectory of F1.
By shaping the floor like an upside-down aeroplane wing, a vacuum is created underneath the floor, generating incredible amounts of down-force and allowing the car to corner at far higher speeds.
The Lotus 78 was dominant, allowing Mario Andretti to take the 1978 title with ease and become the most recent American F1 champion.
Such was the increase in speeds that the sport had become too fast for its own good.
Ground effect was banned in 1982, before returning as an integral concept to the new regulation cars in 2022.
The 1980s: Mclaren Mp4-4 - 1988 - Top Speed 207 mph
Statistically, the most dominant car in F1 history, McLaren’s 1988 contender enjoyed the perfect combination of chassis, car and drivers working together in harmony.
Much of the car’s success is accredited to the V6 Turbo engine, made by Honda.
This was F1’s last season before Turbo engines were banned, and despite initial concerns around fuel consumption, Honda’s engine was unmatched by its rivals.
The brand new car, which reached a top speed of 207 mph, was evidently sleeker than Mclaren cars of previous years, whereas most other teams had chosen to evolve their car from the year before.
The lethal combination of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna saw the MP4-4 take an astonishing 15 wins from 16 races - and it would have been the first-ever clean sweep had Senna not been taken out by a back marker in the Italian Grand Prix.
The 1990s: Williams FW14B - 1992 - Top speed 200 mph +
The 1992 Williams boasted a myriad of gizmos that arguably made it the most sophisticated car in F1 history.
The early 90s saw the boom of electronic ‘driver aids’ including traction control. Semi-automatic gearboxes with paddle shifts became the norm.
The key to the Williams’ success, though, was the active suspension - changing the ride hide as a car went through a corner or straight to maximise the aerodynamic efficiency.
Driver aids were banned were 1994 as it was felt that the technology was driving the car more than the drivers.
The 2000s: Ferrari F2004 - 2004 - Top Speed 200 mph +
Somewhat astoundingly, the F2004 still holds the lap record for 3 of today’s F1 circuits - Monza (Italy), Shanghai (China) and Albert Park (Australia).
The dying embers of the V10 engine era is one of the key reasons for this record remaining intact.
However, everything appeared to work in perfect harmony as Ferrari took a 5th consecutive drivers title for Michael Schumacher and a 6th consecutive constructors title.
Another key reason for the F2004’s success was the tyre war, which reached its peak in the mid-2000 as the rival manufacturers threw investment in to get the upper hand.
Whilst all its key rivals had Michelin tyres, Ferrari were the only front-runners using Bridgestone. This allowed them to dictate tyre philosophy to suit the needs of their car, creating a formidable and unrivalled partnership.
Bulletproof reliability was unprecedented in this era - but under technical maestros Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, Ferrari were no ordinary team.
Such was the dominance of this car that the FIA stepped in for 2005 and rewrote the tyre regulations - ending the Ferrari / Bridgestone dominance and heralding the start of a new era for F1.
The 2010s: Red Bull RB7 - 2013 - Top speed 200mph +
It took just 5 years for Red Bull to go from paddock jokers to unstoppable world championship winners. In the huge prize money era, the energy drink got its wings.
The RB7 flaunts some of Ref Bulls very best design ingenuity that put it head and shoulders above the rest of the field in the early 2010s.
This car’s biggest success was the use of the blown diffuser. Downforce was generated by accelerating the airflow and improving the extraction of air from underneath the car, in turn sucking the car onto the ground.
Sebastian Vettel took the final of four world titles in this car - the last year before a huge regulation overhaul and the replacement of V8 engines with Turbo hybrids.
2020s: Mercedes W11 - 2020 - Top Speed 200 mph +
Mercedes’ covid car swept away the rest of the field in a seamless fashion, taking Lewis Hamilton to a record-equalling seventh world title.
Influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the United States, the Silver Arrows painted the W11 black in order to promote respect, diversity and equality within the sport.
The W11 featured the revolutionary ‘DAS’, or Dual Axis System.
The system allowed drivers to push the steering wheel inwards, which changes the alignment of the front wheels and allowed drivers to warm up the tyres more effectively during an outlap in qualifying, or during a safety car period.
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The car also boasted a low rake concept - meaning that the rear and front of the car are relatively flat compared to one another. Most of its rivals opted for a much higher rake.
The FIA stepped in for 2021, banning DAS and introducing new floor regulations that hampered low-rake cars and ultimately led to Lewis Hamilton missing out on an eighth world title to Max Verstappen.
