World's fastest drone accompanies F1 champion on a complete circuit in the United Kingdom

Some types of drones can reach speeds of up to 180 km/h, but, until now, none have been able to hold F1 cars — which typically exceed 300 km/h. To achieve this feat, the experts knew they had to build something extremely fast and exceptionally agile, and that's what the Dutch Drone Gods and Red Bull built: The world's fastest camera drone will film an F1 car simultaneously in 4K.

The first prototype was developed in collaboration with another Dutch drone construction company, Quatmover. “We worked tirelessly for eight months to solve the puzzle of finding the right balance between electronics, canopy designs, weight, speed, flight duration and distance,” Dutch drone codes said in a statement.

The mission began in early 2023, when Red Bull gave the Dutch drone gods an impossible task, and it was successfully accomplished: The drone followed reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen around a complete lap of the famous Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom.. “It could change the way people look at Formula 1,” Verstappen said.

In the video, the flying object can be seen accelerating and decelerating as it corners. This means its 4K camera can be positioned right in the middle of the action and follow the car as it bends and moves around the circuit. “I didn't recognize the drone. I didn't know it was following me when I was driving, it was very close to me in some places, so it's good to see,” highlighted Verstappen. Watch a video of the race captured from the sky in high resolution here:

While Red Bull has said it doesn't plan to use the technology in real racing anytime soon, the innovation opens up exciting new possibilities for many high-speed events, such as filming airplanes, boats or motorcycles. On its YouTube channel, the brand asks its 14.3 million subscribers: “What should you film next with the world's fastest camera drone?”