The 3 shortest races in F1 history

The average F1 race lasts for approximately 90 to 120 minutes. Quite often, accidents bring out the red flag and the safety car, delaying the race and subsequently increasing the duration of the Grand Prix. There have been several instances in the history of the sport, however, where a circuit was simply deemed too dangerous on the day of the race and the Grand Prix was completely halted. In such situations, the top 10 (top 6 until 2002) finishers are usually awarded half the points according to the position they held at the time of the termination of the race.

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The 3 shortest races in F1 history

#3 Spanish Grand Prix - 1975

Montjuïc street circuit, 42:53.700 minutes

Known to be one of the most tragic races in F1 history, the Spanish Grand Prix of 1975, lasted for under 43 minutes. It came to an abrupt end when four spectators standing behind the barriers were killed as Rolf Stommelen's Embassy Hill flew right over the wall. The car's rear wing broke, sending him into the barriers. While the German survived the awful crash, he suffered several injuries.

The race was terminated four laps later as a result of a painfully slow response from the stewards. Since the Grand Prix was cut short with only 29 laps completed, half points were awarded to the top 6 with Jochen Mass taking his first and last F1 race victory. Although under devastating circumstances, Lella Lombardi finished sixth in the race and scored half a point. This made her the only female F1 driver to ever score a championship point to date.

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#2 Australian Grand Prix - 1991

Adelaide Street Circuit, 24:34.899 minutes

The Australian Grand Prix was the final race of the 1991 season. It was the shortest F1 race in history for nearly three decades, until the record was broken in 2021. The race marked three-time world champion Nelson Piquet's final F1 appearance before retirement. With heavy rainfall as the culprit, the race start was postponed by one lap so that the track conditions could improve and become safer for the drivers. Although the race started when the rain slowed down, it picked up immediately and the constant yellow flags altered the course of the race and the outcomes. Five cars, including the Benetton of Michael Schumacher, retired from the race because of damage caused by collisions.

Most drivers protested the abandonment of the race given the tricky conditions of the track and the race finally came to an end on lap 16. The race was won by Ayrton Senna and became the title decider for McLaren, who took home the constructors' championship. The drivers were awarded half points as only 53 kilometers i.e. less than 75% of the race was completed.

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#1 Belgian Grand Prix - 2021

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, 3:27.000 minutes

The Belgian Grand Prix that took place in August 2021, is officially the shortest race in F1 history. The race lasted less than four minutes with 2021 world champion Max Verstappen taking the top step on the podium.

Torrential rain gave rise to on-track drama even before the race started when Sergio Perez crashed his Red Bull on his way to the grid itself. With a 25-minute delay, the Grand Prix was set to begin with a formation lap behind the safety car. The red flag, however, was immediately brought out. With several delays along the way, the race began once again, over three hours after the scheduled start time. The delay gave the mechanics at Red Bull just enough time to repair the Mexican's car, however, the race went on only for another two laps behind the safety car until it was completely terminated and the results were declared. The top 10 drivers were awarded half points as it was officially announced that the race would not resume.

George Russell, who set a stellar qualifying time on Saturday, started the race from the front row. He managed to achieve his maiden podium and also his first for Williams with P2, followed by Lewis Hamilton in third.