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    The way points are scored in Formula 1 seems complicated but it’s really not. Basically, drivers and race teams get rewarded for a) finishing closer to the front, and b) driving the fastest lap in a race. After that, it’s just a matter of sorting out exactly how those points are allocated. The little guide below will help!

    How Do You Score Points in Formula 1?

    There are three ways to score points in Formula 1 racing: By finishing in the top 10 of a Grand Prix, by recording the fastest lap in a Grand Prix, or by finishing in the top 8 of a Sprint race, which are only scheduled a few times a year on the Formula 1 calendar. 

    Only 20 cars start each F1 race as of the 2023 season, and only 10 may score points in a race, so that’s how many finishing positions we’ll account for. Since the top 10 drivers all get points, winning each race isn’t essential to win a season championship. 

    Simply recording the most wins throughout the season does not guarantee victory over the course of a season as other drivers or teams may score more consistently. Here’s how the points are awarded:

    • First: 25 points
    • Second: 18 points
    • Third: 15 points
    • Fourth: 12 points
    • Fifth: 10 points
    • Sixth: 8 points
    • Seventh: 6 points
    • Eighth: 4 points
    • Ninth: 2 points
    • Tenth: 2 points

    In each race, points are awarded to individual drivers and accrue to the team. For example, let’s say Charles Leclerc from Ferrari were to finish first in a race; he’d get 25 points for that towards the World Drivers Championship. 

    If his teammate, Carlos Sainz, were to finish sixth in the same race, he’d get eight points. Add the driver points together and you get 33 points — that’s how many Ferrari would earn towards the World Constructors Championship. 

    How Do You Score F1 Points For Fastest Lap Time?

    For each Grand Prix, one point is also awarded to the driver with the fastest lap time. Again, these points accrue to the team. So, if Lewis Hamilton were to record the fastest lap in a race, he would get a point in the Drivers Championship, and Mercedes would get a point in the Constructors Championship. Here are the fastest laps recorded at each stop on the 2022 F1 calendar:

    GRAND PRIXDRIVERCARTIME
    BahrainCharles LeclercFERRARI1:34.570
    Saudi ArabiaCharles LeclercFERRARI1:31.634
    AustraliaCharles LeclercFERRARI1:20.260
    Emilia RomagnaMax VerstappenRED BULL RACING RBPT1:18.446
    MiamiMax VerstappenRED BULL RACING RBPT1:31.361
    SpainSergio PerezRED BULL RACING RBPT1:24.108
    MonacoLando NorrisMCLAREN MERCEDES1:14.693
    AzerbaijanSergio PerezRED BULL RACING RBPT1:46.046
    CanadaCarlos SainzFERRARI1:15.749
    Great BritainLewis HamiltonMERCEDES1:30.510
    AustriaMax VerstappenRED BULL RACING RBPT1:07.275
    FranceCarlos SainzFERRARI1:35.781
    HungaryLewis HamiltonMERCEDES1:21.386
    BelgiumMax VerstappenRED BULL RACING RBPT1:49.354
    NetherlandsMax VerstappenRED BULL RACING RBPT1:13.652
    ItalySergio PerezRED BULL RACING RBPT1:24.030
    SingaporeGeorge RussellMERCEDES1:46.458
    JapanZhou GuanyuALFA ROMEO FERRARI1:44.411
    United StatesGeorge RussellMERCEDES1:38.788
    MexicoGeorge RussellMERCEDES1:20.153
    BrazilGeorge RussellMERCEDES1:13.785
    Abu DhabiLando NorrisMCLAREN MERCEDES1:28.391

    What Are F1 Sprint Races And How Do You Score Points?

    F1 Sprint races are mini-races that happen the day before the full Grand Prix. Sprint races were introduced by FIA, the governing body of F1 motorsport, in 2019. The idea of sprint races is to get some variation into typical race weekend schedules, while also allowing both drivers and teams to earn extra points towards the championship. 

    The top eight drivers earn eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one point, respectively towards the Drivers Championship, while the team will earn extra points towards the Constructors Championship. Here’s how points were awarded at the Sprint race on the weekend of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku in 2023:

    POSNODRIVERCARLAPSTIMEPTS
    111Sergio PerezRED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT1733:17.6678
    216Charles LeclercFERRARI17+4.463s7
    31Max VerstappenRED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT17+5.065s6
    463George RussellMERCEDES17+8.532s5
    555Carlos SainzFERRARI17+10.388s4
    614Fernando AlonsoASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES17+11.613s3
    744Lewis HamiltonMERCEDES17+16.503s2
    818Lance StrollASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES17+18.417s1

    So in this case, Perez, Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Sainz, Alonso, Hamilton, and Stroll all earned individual points toward the Drivers Championship, while Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin all earned points toward the Constructors Championship.

    F1 Drivers Championship vs. Constructors Championship

    Each F1 season, the Drivers Championship is won by the individual driver who scores the most points over the course of an entire season. Here’s how the season played out in 2022 when Dutchman Max Verstappen won the Drivers Championship for the first time:

    POSDRIVERNATIONALITYCARPTS
    1Max VerstappenNEDRED BULL RACING RBPT454
    2Charles LeclercMONFERRARI308
    3Sergio PerezMEXRED BULL RACING RBPT305
    4George RussellGBRMERCEDES275
    5Carlos SainzESPFERRARI246
    6Lewis HamiltonGBRMERCEDES240
    7Lando NorrisGBRMCLAREN MERCEDES122
    8Esteban OconFRAALPINE RENAULT92
    9Fernando AlonsoESPALPINE RENAULT81
    10Valtteri BottasFINALFA ROMEO FERRARI49
    11Daniel RicciardoAUSMCLAREN MERCEDES37
    12Sebastian VettelGERASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES37
    13Kevin MagnussenDENHAAS FERRARI25
    14Pierre GaslyFRAALPHATAURI RBPT23
    15Lance StrollCANASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES18
    16Mick SchumacherGERHAAS FERRARI12
    17Yuki TsunodaJPNALPHATAURI RBPT12
    18Zhou GuanyuCHNALFA ROMEO FERRARI6
    19Alexander AlbonTHAWILLIAMS MERCEDES4
    20Nicholas LatifiCANWILLIAMS MERCEDES2
    21Nyck De VriesNEDWILLIAMS MERCEDES2
    22Nico HulkenbergGERASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES0

    The Constructors Championship is won by the team whose drivers score the most collective points over the course of a season. Here’s how the points added up in 2021 when Mercedes won the championship for the eighth year in a row (2014-2021):

    POSTEAMPTS
    1MERCEDES613.5
    2RED BULL RACING HONDA585.5
    3FERRARI323.5
    4MCLAREN MERCEDES275
    5ALPINE RENAULT155
    6ALPHATAURI HONDA142
    7ASTON MARTIN MERCEDES77
    8WILLIAMS MERCEDES23
    9ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI13
    10HAAS FERRARI0

    What Was the Closest F1 Championship?

    The 2007 season was the closest finish in F1 Drivers Championship history with three drivers, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, all vying for the title going into the last race of the season in Brazil. Hamilton had car problems and finished seventh. Alonso was third, while Raikkonen took P1 to finish with 110 points – one more than both Alonso and Hamilton – and win the season’s Driver’s championship in great style.

    The most dominant season in Constructors Championship history came in 2016 when the Mercedes driver duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton led the team to a superb 765 points on the year, clinching the championship by the 17th race.  Other dominant seasons in the Constructors Championship include McLaren in 1988 with the first 100+ point margin of victory, and Red Bull’s 200+ point margin of victory in 2022 when the championship was clinched in race 19 of 22.

    Are Points Ever Not Awarded For An F1 Race?

    For every official race, points are awarded. As of 2022 though, a new points system has been introduced for races halted during the Grand Prix due to an incident, bad weather, or a situation where a race can’t go ahead. 

    This was a reaction to the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, where the race was canceled after two laps because of torrential rain. In that case, half of the normal points were awarded. The new scoring system for races that are shortened is as follows:

    • No points will be awarded unless two fulls laps have been completed under the green flag 
    • Points will be awarded on a 6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top five if less than 25% of the race is completed
    • Points will be awarded on a 13–10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis to the top nine if between 25% and 50% of the race is completed
    • Points will be awarded on a 19–14–12–9–8–6–5–3–2–1 basis to the top 10 if 50% to 75% percent of the race is completed.
    • If more than 75% of the scheduled race distance is completed, then full points will be awarded to the top 10.

    Which F1 Drivers and Teams Score the Most Points?

    Here is a list of the most successful F1 drivers of all time, by the number of Drivers Championships they have won, and when:

    DriverTitlesSeason(s)
    Germany Michael Schumacher71994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
    United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
    Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio51951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957
    France Alain Prost41985, 1986, 1989, 1993
    Germany Sebastian Vettel2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
    Australia Jack Brabham31959, 1960, 1966
    United Kingdom Jackie Stewart1969, 1971, 1973
    Austria Niki Lauda1975, 1977, 1984
    Brazil Nelson Piquet1981, 1983, 1987
    Brazil Ayrton Senna1988, 1990, 1991
    Italy Alberto Ascari21952, 1953
    United Kingdom Graham Hill1962, 1968
    United Kingdom Jim Clark1963, 1965
    Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi1972, 1974
    Finland Mika Häkkinen1998, 1999
    Spain Fernando Alonso2005, 2006
    Netherlands Max Verstappen2021, 2022
    Italy Giuseppe Farina11950
    United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn1958
    United States Phil Hill1961
    United Kingdom John Surtees1964
    New Zealand Denny Hulme1967
    Austria Jochen Rindt1970
    United Kingdom James Hunt1976
    United States Mario Andretti1978
    South Africa Jody Scheckter1979
    Australia Alan Jones1980
    Finland Keke Rosberg1982
    United Kingdom Nigel Mansell1992
    United Kingdom Damon Hill1996
    Canada Jacques Villeneuve1997
    Finland Kimi Räikkönen2007
    United Kingdom Jenson Button2009
    Germany Nico Rosberg2016

    As you can see, a total of 34 individual drivers have won the World Drivers Championship since the F1’s inception in 1950. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have each won seven championships, to tie for the most ever. Three Drivers champions are still racing as of 2023: Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and 2022 champion, Max Verstappen.

    Here is a list of the most successful F1 teams of all time, by the number of Constructors Championships they have won, and when:

    ConstructorTitlesSeasons
    Italy Ferrari161961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
    United Kingdom Williams91980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997
    United Kingdom McLaren81974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998
    Germany Mercedes2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
    United Kingdom Lotus71963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1978
    Austria Red Bull52010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022
    United Kingdom Cooper21959, 1960
    United Kingdom Brabham1966, 1967
    France Renault2005, 2006
    United Kingdom Vanwall11958
    United Kingdom BRM1962
    France Matra1969
    United Kingdom Tyrrell1971
    United Kingdom Benetton1995
    United Kingdom Brawn2009

    As you can see, a total of 15 teams have won the World Constructors Championship since F1’s inception.  Ferrari has the most titles with 16, but much of the last decade has been dominated by Mercedes and Red Bull. Several previous Constructors Champions, including Lotus and 2009 winner, Brawn, no longer participate in F1.

    Who Are the Formula 1 Teams and Drivers In 2023?

    There are 10 teams and 20 drivers contesting points in the 2023 Formula 1 season.

    TeamDrivers
    Red BullMax Verstappen / Sergio Perez
    FerrariCharles Leclerc / Carlos Sainz
    MercedesLewis Hamilton / George Russell
    AlpineEsteban Ocon / Pierre Gasly
    McLarenLando Norris / Oscar Piastri
    Aston MartinFernando Alonso / Lance Stroll
    Alfa RomeoValtteri Bottas / Guanyu Zhou
    Alpha TauriYuki Tsunoda / Nyck de Vries
    HaasKevin Magnussen / Nico Hülkenberg
    WilliamsAlex Albon / Logan Sargeant

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