How much faster have Formula 1 cars got over time?

[@mro9466]

How much faster have Formula 1 cars gotten over time ? F1: YES

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

But they did get slower after the 2006 season.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

@@AndyFromBeaverton Yup, you can pinpoint when cars lost speed according to different regulations 1995 when they reduced the engine size and slowed the cars down for more safety 1998 narrower track and grooves tires 2006 when they went to V8s 2007 end of the tire war 2014 massive reduction in downforce for the new hybrid era 2021 floor changes 2022 more ground effect and new platform from which cars generate speed As some examples here

[@mrbungle3310]

Not much...at least the size,weight and engines are much worse ...sure hybrids are fast but the raw rpm of the v10s is better

[@InsuredFrames]

You just completely forgot 2017 when they made them Aero Monsters@@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1

[@alimantado373]

They have actually slowed down. Done!

[@ondrejkratochvil4589]

btw in the 1980s they've used specialized qualifying tires, that lasted for just one quali attempt - and for example keke rosberg's lap around Silverstone was that fast thanks to those tires...

[@bumblebity2902]

Those tyres maybe was equal to ultrasoft

[@GURken]

@@bumblebity2902 hypersoft

[@JD3337]

Rosbergs years of training and carefully honed skill may have had something to do with it… but yes I agree for the most part it was the tires.

[@scottnicholls2523]

And qualifying engines had an equal effect

[@bumblebity2902]

@@scottnicholls2523 until 2002

[@federicofuentes6146]

I intended to have this video on the background while I worked and I kept turning to it, pausing and going back because it was so interesting and well researched. Long story short, I'm now 55 minutes behind on my work because this video is brilliant, engaging and well researched. Congratulations.

[@thefuturecontrol]

Peter Brook just makes the data presentations on F1 that I need in my life. Numbers make me happy

[@adriensparow670]

I alway forget just how slow were the 2014 and 2015 cars

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

Yup main reason for why we got the 2017 rules some cars in 2014 were genuinely slower than GP2 cars at Barcelona and Monaco That’s why when people say 2014-21 was one era I’m so confused because the cars in 2020/21 were definitely not the cars of 2014/15 We had 3 era’s within the turbo hybrid engines 2014-16 2017-21 2022-

[@Mr2it3881]

Terrible years of cars.

[@mtnmoo]

@@Mr2it388117-21 were insane tbh. The engineering on those was insane

[@The_ZeroLine]

But the racing was also great aside from Merc dominance, but they were sometimes challenged by Williams and RBR. Had a lot of great wheel-to-wheel racing.

[@adriensparow670]

@@The_ZeroLine yeah i agree, eventough the cars were slower, the racing was much better then it was in the 2017-2021 generation of cars, at least thats what looked like to me

[@mcbeaulieu]

Awesome content once again Peter! But my only gripe is that you didn't include Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, which has basically not changed since 1978. There's probably been as many config changes as Silverstone

[@bumblebity2902]

it has changes: 1. changing start-finish line 2. Also various 3rd sector changes.

[@joelapilainen]

Are your kidding? It's had lots of changes since 1978, the first one coming in 1979 and the last one coming in 2002

[@alexherman77]

What I took from this was the crazy jump from 2015 to 2016 for Mercedes despite the regulations being more or less unchanged. 2-3 seconds in some cases 😮

[@HAWGGY85]

Thanks for the informative video and your hard work to compare all the stats and lap times!

[@hobbyracer2814]

Some lap times you did use a slower one as the fastest and as someone who is interested in this topic as well here are my corrections for the most recent layouts of the tracks. *Also I assume you didn't count in laps done in testing sessions outside of race weekends, so I don't mention them here Silverstone: you forgot to mention that the 2016 lap has also not been the official pole time, but the Q2 lap time as the Pole lap was a 1:29,287 Monza: - 2013 was a 1:23.755, not a .775 - 2003 the best lap time was done in pre Q by Montoya: 1:20.656 - 2005 the best lap time was done in FP1 by de la Rosa: 1:20.201 - 2004 how did you not mention the pre Q lap done by Montoya: 1:19.525 SPA: - 2014 the best lap time was done in FP2 by Hamilton: 1:49.189 (- 2011 pole lap, even tho it was the fastest lap, it was in drying conditions and not that grippy at all) Nürburgring: - 2013 the best lap was done by Lewis Hamilton, not by Vettel - Suzuka: - 2003 the best lap time was done in pre Q by Trulli: 1:30.281 42:40 "... in what can only be described as a hate crime against motorsport, ..." That is my favorite comment about the layout change to hockenheim. I need to remember that one

[@dyn9726]

this questin always been the back of my mind since i watch f1 over the year, thank you for the vids

[@everythingman987]

I remember there was a great music video edit going over Formula 1 regulations from 1950 until the (then, in 2011) present day set to Pendulum's "Set Me On Fire". I believe the channel that made it was Formula1Fan4Eva or AyrtonCZ01 or something like that. Not only did that video finally explain the difference in tire width from 1992 to 1993 and the narrow track regulations for 1998, but it also got me into Pendulums music! Good times. This video just reminded me of that.

[@keskonyha5706]

It's a great video thank you very much . I only miss the hungarian gp circuit . The circuit only changed twice (1989,2003) a little bit . The circuit is in the calender since 1986 . I think it's should in your video

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

Yup and we usually get consistent weather there as well so I would have added that track Interlagos too I don’t know there’s been changes to the layout since 1991 aside from resurfacing would have been a good example too

[@bzilla-d4i]

Even though Barrichello hit a 1:20 in qualifying, Montoya did a 1:19, on grooved tyres that's completely mad, the race. The highest average race speed and highest average speed on a fastest lap is still owned by Schumacher and Barrichello on Monza in 2003 and 2004 which is incredible as this was done on grooved tyres which shows you what animals those Ferrari's were. Not to mention that Williams BMW too.

[@dario250hp]

the parabolica corner was not reprofiled in the 50s. it was simply that they stopped using a longer back and main straight that were cojoined by two 90° corners (can be still seen today in satellite images). if my memory serves me well, those corners had stone bricks rather than tarmac. I can't remember when exactly they built the current parabolica shape but I do know that it is different to that used in the 20s and 30s as the circuit was damaged and reconverted during WW2. so I believe it was in the 50s that they rebuilt the parabolica with the new profile. but, in any case, the 2 square corners were in a different location and are still there. they rejoin the main straight on the outside of the oval rather than the inside.

[@MrKylev35]

Amazingly well done video. This is the kind of long-winded videos that are hard to find because few people can pay attention long enough anymore.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

2:04 is that a sponsor I hear congrats! Looking forward to watching this video and seeing what I can learn I find it fascinating how the cars developed before I watch I feel like in the last 30ish years there’s gonna be a peak in speeds around 1993/94 (before post imola safety measures to slow down), 1997 (end of slicks), 2004-05 (end of v10 era plus 1 race tires slowed cars down) 2013 (end of v8 era although I don’t believe these to be the fastest v8 cars I would say it should be the 2010 cars/maybe 2011 due to unlimited DRS aid) then 2020 (changes to floor regs after that)

[@SouIblind]

Great video! Recently discovered your channel and have been loving it

[@MichaelAMVM]

Pre war Mercedes Benz and Auto Union grand prix cars had coil springs, double A arms and/or longitudinal torsion bar springs all the way in the 30s. Watch Sport B's channel for the 1938/39 Grand Prix cars for more info.

[@bumblebity2902]

Auto Union aka Audi?

[@achimelale9974]

@@bumblebity2902Jop

[@SFTaYZa]

​@@bumblebity2902yeah

[@Sp4mMe]

I think this undersells the various boosts and restrictions on qualifying times a bit. Special qualifying tyres, "party mode", etc functioning as a boost or on the other hand race-fuel qualifying or race-tyre qualifying and other ideas doing the opposite. That can easily be a more meaningful difference than year-to-year car development. Though of course the overall trajectory remains similar. (ps: 1996 Schumacher Monaco pole lap in that crappy Ferrari holding up so well in that era is saying something...)

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

Yup the main thing I would say is the qualifying tires that were used till I believe 1991 those would have had a big impact on times Also as you mentioned things like party mode, I think race fuel quality was accounted for as when this was used (2003-09 there was always at least one session when low fuel quali was done but not on the most ideal track condition) with the exception of 2005 post Monaco which was 1 lap quali on race fuel

[@danielross5493]

This is just what hungover me needed to watch during my lunch break today. Superb!

[@carel0069]

You broke my brain with all the stats, I love it!!

[@asian_attack_helicopter102]

"The Red Bull X2010 could not happen in real life" My childhood Gran Turismo 5 dreams, shattered 🥺

[@ashleymerritt9461]

2004/5 cars are just the absolute shit! Total monsters.

[@dubya85]

Yep, give them slicks even

[@RodolfoGeriatra]

the most iconic cars imho

[@alvmusic4402]

And the most boring races aswell No overtakes except for pitstops

[@oddsandwindsocks5905]

Beautifully put together. Thoroughly enjoyed this

[@lucasx303]

This video is such a great effort.

[@wellend89]

11:38 in 1987 Lotus had active suspension for the whole season and won two races. Williams had it towards the end of the season and won three with it.

[@milesmcmullin2053]

You telling me there were no HANS devices in the 50s? I honestly find that hard to believe. Jokes aside you should make some videos about pre-f1 Grand Prix cars. I find that era of motor sport very interesting and love your videos and think it would be a match made in heaven

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

People didn't even use seat belts in the 50s....

[@milesmcmullin2053]

@@BrunodeSouzaLino maybe if alpine did that they’d save weight and be able to pain their car lmao

[@georgethomas7814]

Baffling but I tried to get the most out of all those stats. Love the Monaco Stats and find it very interesting that despite the moaning racing is getting faster on the tightest track in F1. It was also good to hear about track that have featured in Formula 1 over the years.

[@andrewince8824]

All those regulations make me want a racing series with a rulebook one can carry in a pocket and read in under a minute. Max width, max length, max height, max tyre size, minimum ride height, open wheel, open cockpit, wings front and rear only. No electronic aids but any clever mechanical stuff is fair game. Elsewise, go push the boundaries of what can be done. That would be exciting to watch in action, don't you think?

[@MrMezmerized]

Very nice documentary. But I don't understand why you show laptime rankings (mixing the years), rather than laptimes over the years. Now viewers have to puzzle to see the evolution, which is what the video is about.

[@studlydudly]

One huge problem with these comparisons, is they fail to take into account the tracks being resurfaced over the years.

[@luizansounds]

Not having Interlagos on this video is a crime since the layout barely changed since it was reworked, but besides that its a damn good video That shows a lot about about how Crazy f1 engineers are

[@professorwiggins3290]

Different skills for different eras. But to get to the top, you have to be enormously talented and dedicated to your craft. In my opinion, the most difficult time period was in the late-1930s when the tech to go fast suddenly shot way ahead of the tech to manage the power. Racing those Mercedes and Auto Union cars with 600+ horsepower and virtually non-existent brakes, tires not much bigger than what you see on a MotoGP motorcycle, no ground effects, no helmets, no seat belt and on some circuits hitting 230mph (e.g. AVUS), must have taken enormous skills and courage to even take a lap.

[@marcello6810]

22:34 i went to monza with my friends last year, after all track activity was done we went to the first of the two banked corners of the oval. It was quite to actually access that area, and once we got in, we could not believe our eyes and how steep the banking was. We actually tried to run from the lowest point to the high side of the banking, and a few meters before getting to the top it actually gets extremely hard to reach it, and coming back down to the low side can be a bit scary. It’s crazy how they even used to race there

[@james-shd7808]

Really fascinating video with lots of detail. Thanks

[@Bierlogistiker]

Hockenheim 2002 is a hate crime against motorsport by H. Tilke. So true

[@Valvey789]

The V 10 era was the pinnacle. Arreeeee!

[@Alonso21.]

Another banger video 🔥

[@DonLee1980]

People keep drawing on the fact that V10 F1 cars were lighter, therefore faster if given proper slicks. But that simply isn't a fair comparison because they didn't need to carry the all the fuel they needed to finish a race (180+kg), which is why they could remain so small and nimble. The W11 is not only the fastest F1 car of all time, it did so while only sipping 1/2 the rate of fuel that a F2004 would have been drinking. Had it been given freedom to use as much fuel as it liked, it would have easily produced 1600+hp.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

The 2004 cars have advantages with weight/how long a engine has to last/unrestricted fuel flow limit/tire war tires/various other components not having to last as long People always say what if the 2004 cars were given slicks whilst conveniently leaving all the advantages the 04 cars have over the 2020 cars and never taking into consideration how the 2020 cars have disadvantages they have to overcome Because if I give the 2020 cars tire war tires they will go at least 3 seconds faster and where do we go from here lol

[@DonLee1980]

@@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1 imagine how much power a 2004 car could get if it only had 1/2 the fuel flow it normally used.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

@@DonLee1980 Exactly this they would lose a lot of power No one would want to see the 2020 car (including the FIA lol) with an engine that only needs to last one race with no fuel flow limit and that’s just the engine

[@TheTradesmanLU2001]

I’m positive if any of us non race car drivers were to have a 1970’s or 80’s F1 car dropped off in the driveway and got to really go thru it , I think (I’m sure I would) be thoroughly impressed by the exotic nature of all the mechanical parts, even things such as the belts and the gear shifter , the pedals and the suspension system would be shockingly exotic and the materials and function wouldn’t leave me disappointed in the least . I wouldn’t expect the overall finish to be what is visible on a modern super car but that’s the nature of a prototype machine that’s hand made in single digit numbers . I would absolutely be in heaven to ever get a chance to really spend some time investigating all the ins and outs of any era F1 car . I’ve seen them at arms length but never with the bodywork removed . Same with Gp bikes. Seeing them up close and looking at the parts, the fork, the brakes, the triple tree, clip one, levers, the rear sets, the wheels, the beautiful power plant and the electrical parts such as the sensors and the beautiful way they are put together is just amazing. World Superbike rides are also incredible, however I feel like I could build my bike to be fairly similar ( with an investment that looks similar to a years salary . But a GP machine is unobtainable, and it would be more like a decade salary if I could hypothetically build one or buy one .

[@TheNecromancer6666]

Ralf Schumacher had 1. extremely hard demo slicks. 2. A significantly downtuned engine. 3. He was 47 and hadn't raced F1 for a while. Those V10 cars are insanely fast. And he might not be his brother but his natural speed is impressive.

[@MythicalDust]

Sidepod deleting ended last year though when Mercedes changed their concept mid season, nowadays the cars have pretty huge side pods. (Awesome vid btw)

[@ImDavidJames]

You skimmed over the F duct that led to drs Quality work again though. The effort you put in is always impressive

[@eoinj3929]

Very interesting channel. Well done Peter!

[@LukeTansiongco]

25:57 Wait, what happend to Montoya's then record-breaking 1:19 lap in '04, shouldn't that replace Barrichello's slot in favor of that lap? Unless I'm missing something here

[@J9NUARY]

yippeee a new peter brook f1 history video

[@BioFake1]

Hey ! :) French person here, in "piscine" and "tabac" the "c" is silent (it means swimming pool and tobacco [shop]) and so is the "t" in "port" which has a more open "o" (and means harbour) ;)

[@MrReese]

That W11 Mercedes was a beast - by the way, the car is apparently called "EQ Performance" and not "EQ Power+", which was the name of the cars of the previous years.

[@tjitse3916]

F1 lover and history geek, loving this. And fun to notice how one of my racegames (GeneRally) features quite a few outlines of the circuits).

[@alpeters5355]

Well done on a very well researched and presented fim - I watched all the way through and was particularly impressed by your concise summary of F1 development at the start. Not sure about your pronunciation of "Ayrton" though...

[@efko2616]

Will be there another part? With different tracks

[@shortcat]

Very cool but I wish you included pre-F1 Grand Prix. Would be very interesting to see when did F1 finally catch up to pre-war monsters in pace, I think it's around middle to end 50s.

Hockenheim's before and after images hurt my soul 😭

[@tdyerwestfield]

2026 cars will be quite similar to the 2017 lap times just from the fact of being smaller and lighter with similar engine power.

[@The90Nightmare]

First! Interesting topic, looking forward to the content!

[@micodyerski1621]

"The 5 Forever Tracks" Silverstone. Spa. Monza. Suzuka. Inter Logos(Brazil).

[@Harkote10]

No only 4 Spa Monaco Monza Silverstone

[@timo7641]

W11 truly the Darth Vader of F1

[@tobiaspascher9884]

For example Sepang got a new tarmac for 2016 decreasing laptimes by seconds. Similar Barcelona for 2018. These things you didn't mention

[@teejay7256]

Thank tou for covering my countries Grand Prix; Sepang. ❤❤❤

[@mikulitsi1819]

Brilliant video. Thank you

[@bumblebity2902]

Interlagos would've been great reference point

[@mtrps_]

Peter Brooks is my F1 stat KZbin Jesus

[@GuidoHaverkort]

1:28 stake f1 car is a time traveler

[@aarrodri]

Amazing video. Thanks

[@jellybay6756]

babe wake up... Peter Brook uploaded!!

[@tjw4947]

In Less than 14:00 min. You gave a concise litany of every technical advantage BANNED by Formula 1. It does sound like a really exciting racing series with the Governing body dragging everything backwards so that the least skilled of the teams can still compete, although badly.

[@thorzo90]

Pre 2002 Hockenheimring, pure power circuit nostalgia.

[@sebulbathx]

Very interesting! I also want less restrictions like testing and more freedom for engineers to develop.

[@Pr0xymite]

That Grand Tourismo Music :D

[@MechaporcoOFICIAL]

Amazing vídeo

[@mrbungle3310]

What matters most is what gives the best impression and competition i think we can all agree the 2000s regs were much better especially the early 2000s with the V10s Obviously safety has increased but i think post 1994 safety was still amazing ...look at the kubica crash for example... couldn't be worse really except a fire

[@TheTVDL2000]

good video. just 1 thing that kept me from fully enjoying it was the insesant mention of " piskeen" instead of piscine (the French word for swimming pool) during the monaco part

[@derbieber80]

22:18 perfect idea!

[@obsidian....]

Would love to see all the cars on the same tires. . The advancement in rubber, over the years, makes all the difference. Without that controlled variable all this really means nothing.

[@MSAMultimedia]

I wonder how the delta between cars volved over years, now its tighter than ever

[@NetZeroGame]

Driverless cars is the future? No G-restrictions!

[@colinbird9198]

That was fantastic

[@ErraticPT]

More speed for the cars, more boredom for the fans. All the fun has evaporated with the over regulation, turning F1 into boring processions round increasingly boring tracks.

[@jonasschiefer626]

I think ot would be interesting to rank all championship winning cars in terms of speed

[@irmaobarbado]

I understood that GT4 reference in 34:48

[@motelghost477]

26:16 Spa was never a "street" circuit, it was a public road circuit.

[@Harkote10]

Which is another word for street

[@andrewince8824]

Since Lauda set his sub 7 round Nordschleife, onlu 14 road vehicles have been round faster. The first road car to beat Lauda was a Radical SR8 in 2005. Of the road cars which have set better times, 8 were Porsche, 3 were Mercedes, 2 were Lambo (owned by Audi so still German at heart) and one was that SR8 from England. Lauda fastest time for a Ferrari (both road and racing) umtil a 599xx managed to beat him by 0.04s in 2010, 36 years after Laudas lap. Never forget the true king of the Ring, Herr Niki Lauda and another mention must go to the queen of the widowmaker, Sabine Schmitz who lapped Nordschleife in a Sierra Cosworth with a time of 8:16 in 1988, sent a Transit round in 10:08 and beat Jezza by 47s, one lap no crap, in an S-type diesel with a 9:12 finish.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

This video just shows how slow the 2014-15 cars were in general which were part of the reasons for the 2017 major rule change Which is why when people say 2014-21 was one era I get confused because there was clearly 2 distinct eras the 2014-16 low grip lower DF cars and the 2017-21 wider lower faster cars

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

And at Albert park the 1997 cars were faster than the 2014 cars!!! I know JV has a worldie of a lap but the 2014 cars were just that slow

[@Sp4mMe]

2014-2015 are also distorted by Mercedes deliberately hiding how much of an engine advantage they had. Those cars were faster than the times implied.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

@@Sp4mMe whilst I do agree with that (more in 2014 than 2015), others cars were significantly slower than Mercedes and they weren’t sandbagging It was a very slow era of car

[@Paul_Marek]

How is a rubber bracelet “sustainable”? Lmao

[@nikkidixon5672]

Did I miss you point out that the 2004 cars qualify with starting race fuel, roughly 11 laps worth depending on the circuit. Great video though, loved it.

[@valrond]

Not just the 2004 cars, a few seasons more. Pole times are not representative of how fast F1 cars were.

[@The_ZeroLine]

Tires ruin almost all the comparisons, but to be more accurate, I would base everything on fastest race laps since qualifying engines could often have double the blower. Suzuka has by far the most interesting time spread.

[@dividead100]

While the tire may be a part of the car so maybe it would not be that realistic, it would really interesting to see all of these, especially 2000-2005 cars, do laps with modern rubber.

[@motelghost477]

It's a shame F1 doesn't race at Macau because it's had the same unchanged layout since 1965.

[@patrickj]

Ordering the tables by lap time is super confusing and tbh quite a baffling decision for a video focused on the evolution over the decades.

[@bumblebity2902]

it's massive time improvement in 2001. Thanks to tyre wars

[@pablouvedoble]

GT4 soundtrack... Thanks!

[@KimiFan2002]

Have your brains recovered from the amount of maths needed to make this video yet?🤯😂😂😅

[@biljancanin]

2004 Rubens drove almost the same time as Max did in 2024 in China. Give him Slicks and put Michael behind the wheel. These where the best looking and sounding cars ever

[@jsnsk101]

If they brought back 1950s racing i would watch it over todays F1

[@GM-kj5xw]

Engineer: Invent steering wheel FIA: So you mean ban?

[@JeppeSeverin]

23:09-11: "Stuart Lewis-Evans' 1955 pole lap..." So, which year is right? The displayed "1957" or 1955...?

[@kurtbush5096]

Love the GT4 mission mode music on the ‘Nurburgring’ section 🫢

[@shoominati23]

But another factor you need to consider is that in the earlier years, the drivers were literally racing for their bread and butter - thus had more incentive to give it their all. But today when a driver is in a contract where they are walking away with millions per year before even laying a finger on a car, how many times how you seen a race being abandoned from a car with repairable damage from a race they could still be in contention to win?

[@BloodDerg]

14:18 LMAO

[@timdavies5219]

The car pictured at 6.15 with the "wooden monocoque" is the Protos Formula 2 designed by Frank Costin and raced in the1967 F2 season. Despite being mostly plywood, it was over the weight limit, did not handle very well and was not successful . I don't know of any F1 car that featured wooden construction...? (Any offers?)

[@ASQUITHZ9]

Hey remeber the dehaviland Mosquito??