Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.^[1] The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform.^[2] The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets.^[3] Drivers are awarded points based on their position at the end of each race, and the driver who accumulates the most points over each calendar year is crowned that year's World Champion.^[4] At each Grand Prix, the driver who completes the quickest lap of the circuit is said to have completed the fastest lap. The driver who set the fastest lap in a Grand Prix was awarded a point from the 1950 season to 1959. This was reintroduced in the 2019 season.^[5][a] As of the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, 138 different drivers have set a fastest lap in a Formula One Grand Prix.^[6]

Michael Schumacher holds the record for the highest total of fastest laps with 77. Lewis Hamilton is second with 65, while Kimi Räikkönen is third with 46.^[6] Gerhard Berger has the most fastest laps among non-world champions, with 21.^[7][8] Alberto Ascari holds the record for the most consecutive fastest laps, with seven from the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix to the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix.^[9] Schumacher and Räikkönen hold the record for the most fastest laps in one season with 10. Schumacher achieved this during the 2004 season, Räikkönen matched this in the 2005 and 2008 seasons.^[10] Schumacher and Hamilton hold the record for the most seasons with at least one fastest lap (16).^[11] Schumacher also has the record for most consecutive seasons with a fastest lap (15).^[12] Hamilton has the record for fastest laps at most different circuits and Grands Prix (27).^[13][14]

The first fastest lap, at the 1950 British Grand Prix, was set by Giuseppe Farina.^[15][16] The most recent driver to set their first fastest lap is Yuki Tsunoda, who achieved this at the 2023 United States Grand Prix.^[17] Max Verstappen is the youngest driver to set a fastest lap; he was 19 years and 44 days old when he set the fastest lap at the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio was the oldest driver to set a fastest lap; he was 46 years old when he set the fastest lap at the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix.^[18] No fastest lap was officially classified for the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.^[19] Since 2007, the driver with the most fastest laps in a season is awarded the DHL Fastest Lap Award. The inaugural award was won by Räikkönen.^[20]