This FPV drone and rocket combination allows reaching super high speed beyond 350 km/h to capture an F1 car with the entire lap. Meet the world’s fastest FPV drone, developed by Dutch Drone Gods together with Red Bull -an ultra-cool project.

World’s fastest FPV drone to shoot F1 car

This kind of project would definitely make Joseph Kosinski and Claudio Miranda interested in their new F1 movie. They should know about it before. It took Red Bull and the Dutch Drone Gods over a year to create a drone that can accelerate two times faster than an F1 car, reaching 300 km/h in just 4 seconds with a top speed of over 350 km/h. This drone was specially developed to capture a full lap of an F1 car. Here’s the story behind it.

Following an F1 car for a full lap with an FPV drone

This is the story told by Dutch Drone Gods: “In early 2023, Red Bull presented us with a seemingly impossible challenge at the time: could we track an F1 car at full speed for an entire lap? Until then, FPV drones could reach speeds of around 180km/h for brief moments. Despite some drones pushing 350km/h for a few seconds, sustaining such speed throughout the average 1 minute and 30 seconds of an F1 lap seemed daunting. Nearly 8 months of dedicated engineering and extensive testing went into the project. We worked tirelessly to solve the puzzle of finding the perfect balance in electronics, canopy designs, weight, speed, flight length, and distance. After numerous successful runs at our testing field, our first major challenge awaited: to trail the RB19 at Silverstone with Liam Lawson behind the wheel. In early September 2023, the moment finally arrived. In the very first lap, we successfully tracked the RB19 along the track, completing the entire lap at full speed, reaching 310 km/h on the Wellington Straight and the Hanger Straight. This groundbreaking achievement marked our first successful lap following an F1 car. And while the run was a success, it provided us with valuable data points for further refinement. Areas such as steering, braking, and camera angle control are among the aspects we’re continuously improving based on this experience. After our first successful run with the RB19 at Silverstone, we collaborated with Red Bull Advanced Technologies (RBAT) to address areas for improvement. Leveraging RBAT’s wealth of information, we successfully tackled all the critical points that required attention before conducting another test. Upon completing the design changes and upgrades, RBAT assisted in manufacturing the structural components. Handling the production of glass fiber canopies, internal structures, and carbon arms. For a polished look, they expertly spray-painted the canopy and airfoils, adding a custom decal as the finishing touch. Mid-February 2024, the awaited day arrived to put our completed prototype to the ultimate test: a race against Max Verstappen in the brand-new RB20. Despite unfavorable weather conditions, including rain and high windspeeds, we successfully navigated a full lap behind the F1 car. The challenging conditions posed a tougher test compared to our previous run in September. We express deep gratitude to Red Bull for entrusting us with this groundbreaking project, making the impossible a reality. Special thanks to Red Bull Advanced Technologies for their invaluable support in every step of our product development journey”.

Despite some drones pushing 350km/h for a few seconds, sustaining such speed throughout the average 1 minute and 30 seconds of an F1 lap seemed daunting. Nearly 8 months of dedicated engineering and extensive testing went into the project. We worked tirelessly to solve the puzzle of finding the perfect balance in electronics, canopy designs, weight, speed, flight length, and distance.

Dutch Drone Gods

This is Formula 1 like you’ve never seen it before. The world’s first uninterrupted FPV one shot was captured by a manually piloted custom-built drone, designed specifically for the challenge of keeping up with the car at speeds of over 300kph. Check it out below:

Just a thought

The Dutch Drone Gods guys needed to partner with Miranda on the making of the anticipated F1 movie, developing a drone/rocket able to carry a better camera that can shoot for the big screen (with some ‘IMAX AI enhancements‘). That would be super epic to watch in a movie theater. Don’t you think?