The Hamilton record underlining F1's eternal struggle

Amid the chaos that ensued on raceday at Monza, it was easy to overlook the new F1 qualifying speed record achieved by Lewis Hamilton. The latest record claimed by the 2017-onwards cars is likely to stand for some time, but unlikely to last forever

Published Sep 9, 2020, 3:40 PM

Lewis Hamilton's 164.3mph lap to take pole position at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix was the latest example of Formula 1's internal battle: the competitors' search for speed and the rulemakers' attempts at keeping them in check.

To be fair to F1, the 2017 regulations were unusual in that they were designed to create faster cars, following criticism of the 2014-16 machines. They are now the fastest F1 cars ever, as shown by the various lap records that have fallen since then.

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Author Kevin Turner

Kevin Turner is Autosport’s Chief Editor. While studying History at the University of York, Kevin began covering UK club events as a freelance reporter for Autosport and Motorsport News. He joined the Autosport staff as Editorial Assistant on the magazine in 2006, winning what is now known as the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award. He became National Editor in 2008 and over the next few seasons covered a range of international events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as the British Touring Car Championship and British GT. Kevin became Features Editor before switching to edit Motorsport News in 2014.

He returned to Autosport in 2016 to become editor of the magazine, a dream job that is still part of his role.

He became Chief Editor in 2020, helping to plan content for autosport.com and Autosport’s podcast as well as seeing the magazine through the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin also led work on the special publication celebrating 70 years of Autosport and has been a judge on the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, formerly known as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, since 2008. He lives in Warboys with his wife and two children.