Fastest lap

In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some series, like the discontinued A1 Grand Prix and the current GP2 series, award bonus points to the driver/team with the fastest lap. In Formula One, where until drivers were awarded a point for setting fastest lap, Michael Schumacher holds the current record for the most fastest laps with.

In Grand Prix motorcycle racing no point is awarded for the fastest lap. Giacomo Agostini holds the current record for the most fastest laps with 117.

Formula 1
In Formula One, 126 different drivers have made fastest race laps. German driver Michael Schumacher has achieved the highest number of fastest laps with. He is followed by Frenchman Alain Prost with 41 and Finnish driver Kimi Räikkönen with. Since, an award is given to the driver with the most fastest laps in a season.

Fastest laps are often set during the final laps of a race. Lap times often increase as tracks get "rubbered in" and fuel weights go down as a race progresses.

Setting the fastest lap is often considered an unofficial consolation prize for a driver that has had an incident that precluded a podium finish.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing
In Grand Prix motorcycle racing, which includes the 80cc, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, 500cc, Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP classes, Giacomo Agostini holds the record for the most fastest laps with 117. Valentino Rossi, who still actively races in MotoGP, is second with 88 fastest laps and Ángel Nieto is third with 81.