The Miami circuit, known for its many fast corners but especially for its two long straights with DRS zones, allows cars to reach very high top speeds, particularly when slipstreams are fully exploited.
Until now, the top speed record for the 2025 Formula 1 season belonged to Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, which reached 351 km/h in China. In Miami, however, it was Fernando Alonso who surpassed that mark, taking full advantage of the track conditions.
It’s worth noting that a high top speed doesn’t necessarily indicate the best car on the grid: many external factors influence this figure, and often a very fast car on the straight hides a weakness in corners due to a lack of aerodynamic downforce.
The new record was set by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin— a car that has had a far from impressive start to the season. Benefiting from DRS and a train of five cars all with open rear wings, Alonso reached 355 km/h, with the engine revving about 1,000 rpm higher than usual.
Aston Martin wasn’t the fastest on average in the straights
However, Aston Martin wasn’t the team with the highest average straight-line speeds. That title went to the two Williams cars and the two Ferrari cars, all hovering around 340 km/h. This was made possible by strong aerodynamic efficiency and a particularly favorable combination of DRS and slipstream.
One of the few strengths of the Ferrari SF-25 is its low aerodynamic drag, which has made it one of the most efficient cars on the straights since Melbourne.
The two McLaren drivers had a largely solitary race, running in clean air without the benefit of DRS or slipstreams, with average speeds of 318 km/h for Oscar Piastri and 321 km/h for Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri, outside of DRS and slipstream situations, recorded the absolute lowest straight-line speeds at 315 km/h.
The driver who suffered the most was Max Verstappen: apart from an early battle, he spent most of the race alone, unable to benefit from DRS or slipstreaming. Even though Red Bull is usually very efficient on the straights, the team ran a higher downforce setup in Miami and adopted a conservative ERS strategy, which contributed to a less impressive top-speed performance.
The season is still long, with circuits ahead featuring even longer straights. We’ll see if any team can beat last year’s record, when Alexander Albon reached 369 km/h in Las Vegas.
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