DHL FASTEST LAP AWARD
FORMULA 1® DELIVERED BY DHL
All about speed
Scoring a Formula 1® victory is all about speed; but is the winner always the fastest? Redefining our standards of speed, the DHL Fastest Lap Award is one for fierce competitors. This is how it works: one driver sets the fastest lap at each race - the award will go to the man who sets the most over the season.
Pure speed
To win will require pure speed – something we at DHL know all about. As the world's leading logistics provider and Official Logistics Partner of Formula 1, we achieve our goals by shortening international routes, facilitating global trade and making the world a smaller place.
Formula 1 stc Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
Jeddah Corniche Circuit
Fastest Lap Video
Jeddah: Charles Leclerc stuck in the middle of nowhere in a solid but boring race
While team-mate Carlos Sainz was recovering from his appendix operation (and was impressively replaced by youngster Ollie Bearman), Charles Leclerc made sure he got the maximum available out of his own SF-24 in Saudi Arabia. The result: the first podium and the first fastest race lap of the still young 2024 Formula 1 season for the Monegasque driver.
The pace was not enough to match that of Max Verstappen, but Ferrari at least have the consolation of knowing that they are the best of the rest, as Charles Leclerc left Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren trailing. The icing on the cake was the bonus point for the fastest lap around the 6.175km Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Leclerc clinched it in a battle on the very last lap with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
"We had a pretty good pace, and in the end, we succeeded in setting the fastest lap, partially thanks to DRS," said Charles Leclerc afterwards. But apart from that, the Saudi Arabian GP was not exactly one of the Monegasque’s most thrilling - he saw the checkered flag 18 seconds after winner Max Verstappen: "The feeling was pretty good, but overall, it was a fairly boring race."
That's because the Ferrari wasn’t even strong enough to challenge the second Red Bull driven by Sergio Perez, despite the Mexican incurring a five-second penalty. Going into the first corner, Charles Leclerc was able to defend the second place he had worked so hard to secure in qualifying, but as soon as DRS was authorized on lap three, the Ferrari man had no chance.
"The Red Bull was a bit too fast, but we also had a decent gap on our pursuers," said the 26-year-old. Oscar Piastri eventually finished 14 seconds behind Leclerc, with Fernando Alonso 17 seconds adrift. Leclerc prefers to look ahead: "We are currently three to four tenths of a second down. That’s a lot in motorsport."
In Bahrain, Carlos Sainz secured a Ferrari podium, while Charles Leclerc was struggling with brake problems. One week later, it was his turn to finish in the Top Three: "We at least scored the maximum points we could in the circumstances. That was always the objective."
Leclerc is not ready to give up on the ultimate goal of getting on a par with Red Bull just yet: "We have been the team that has made the most progress in recent months. That’s because we are working extremely effectively. If we carry on like this, our time will surely come."
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2024 Season
Previous winners
Season | Driver | Team | DHL Fastest Laps |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 9 |
2022 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 5 |
2021 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 6 |
2020 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 6 |
2019 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 6 |
2018 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 7 |
2017 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 7 |
2016 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 6 |
2015 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 8 |
2014 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 7 |
2013 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 7 |
2012 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 6 |
2011 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 7 |
2010 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 5 |
2009 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 3 |
2008 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 10 |
2007 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 6 |
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DHL Formula 1® Awards
2023 Season
All the stats, facts and figures for the 2023 DHL Fastest Lap Award.