Formula 1 Car Speed & Horsepower: How Fast Can These Beasts Really Go?

F1 cars race on over 20 different tracks worldwide, each with unique characteristics. This makes it tricky to pinpoint a single top speed. Some tracks have long straights where cars can really open up, while others have tighter corners and lower speed limits. Plus, teams constantly adjust the car’s setup—suspension, aerodynamics, and engine settings—to suit each track. So, while an F1 car can theoretically reach very high speeds, the actual top speed achieved varies greatly depending on the circuit.

Top speed in F1 is just one piece of the puzzle. Lewis Hamilton might have hit 223 MPH at Monza in 2023, but that wasn’t enough to win. Max Verstappen, who topped out at “only” 217 MPH, finished 43 seconds ahead.

Straight-line speed is great for passing, but if it slows you down in the corners or off the line, you’re going to lose time. F1 cars need to go around the track as fast as possible, so they use short gearing for better acceleration and aggressive aerodynamics for more grip. This also creates more drag, which hurts top speed, but it’s a necessary trade-off.

Valtteri Bottas hit a top speed of 235 mph at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but only because he was drafting another car. For a while, it was the fastest speed ever recorded in F1. Even though it wasn’t enough to make a pass, it’s still a record-breaking achievement.

Back in 2006, Honda tried to hit 400 km/h (248.5 mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats using a modified F1 car based on the RA106. They removed the rear wing and added a tail fin to maximize speed. Things got a bit wild out there. According to Motor Sport Magazine, the driver spun and drifted at around 200 mph on the loose salt and even got some serious air, bouncing 22 feet off the ground at one point.

Despite the challenges, they kept at it. In the end, they got pretty close to their goal, reaching 397 km/h (247 mph). That’s officially the fastest speed ever recorded for an F1 car.

But realistically, that kind of speed probably isn’t going to get any faster—at least not for the next few decades. For a car to go that fast safely, a whole team has to make sure everything else is up to the task: the road, the tires, the suspension… but most importantly, the driver.

Humans just aren’t built to handle driving or riding at over 400 km/h, especially on twisty, winding roads. Our reflexes have limits. Not many people can even come close to managing that kind of speed. At 400 km/h, things happen in the blink of an eye. One second of misjudgment, and you’re crashing.

Sure, on a closed circuit in a controlled environment, maybe it’s not as risky, but even then, it could cost the team a win. In F1, even a few milliseconds make a difference. There’s no room for messing around. That’s probably why F1 cars don’t go over 400 km/h—even though they technically could.

So, most likely, an F1 car can go up to 220 mph, although maybe the maximum number is 250 mph. It’s within F1 teams’ power to explore that territory if they dare, but most likely it will not happen. F1 is a complex race where speed is not the only factor; they have to make a car that can be controlled at high speeds. But at least we know that the most likely F1 car can go up to 250 mph. It might be possible to go faster than that, but there are many limitations they have to overcome, one of which is the driver.