F1 Points System Explained: How Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships Are Won

Formula 1 awards points to the top ten finishers in every Grand Prix, from 25 points for the winner down to a single point for tenth, and the driver and team with the most points at the end of the season are crowned world champions. It sounds simple, but there are extra rules for sprint races, rain-shortened races, ties and penalties that regularly decide who wins what. This guide explains the F1 points system as it stands under the 2026 regulations, with examples from this season.

How Many Points Do You Get for Winning an F1 Race?

The winner of a full-distance Grand Prix scores 25 points. Under Article A2.2 of the FIA’s 2026 Formula 1 regulations, points for the top ten are awarded as follows when the leader completes at least 75% of the scheduled race distance:

• 1st: 25 points
• 2nd: 18
• 3rd: 15
• 4th: 12
• 5th: 10
• 6th: 8
• 7th: 6
• 8th: 4
• 9th: 2
• 10th: 1

Drivers who finish 11th or lower score nothing. That is why midfield teams fight so hard over tenth place: a single point can be worth millions of dollars in prize money at the end of the year, because the Constructors’ Championship order decides how commercial revenue is shared.

The 25-18-15 system has been used since 2010, when Formula 1 expanded scoring from the top eight to the top ten. Before that, a win was worth 10 points.

Is There Still a Point for the Fastest Lap?

No. From 2019 to 2024, a driver who set the fastest lap and finished in the top ten received a bonus point. The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council scrapped that bonus from the 2025 season, Formula1.com reported, and it is not part of the 2026 regulations. Pole position does not earn points either; qualifying only decides the starting order.

How Do Sprint Race Points Work?

At sprint weekends, a shorter Saturday race of about 100 kilometres also awards points, but only to the top eight. The 2026 regulations set them as:

• 1st: 8 points
• 2nd: 7
• 3rd: 6
• 4th: 5
• 5th: 4
• 6th: 3
• 7th: 2
• 8th: 1

Sprint points count towards both championships in exactly the same way as Grand Prix points. If the sprint leader completes less than 50% of the scheduled sprint distance, for example because of heavy rain, no sprint points are awarded at all.

This means a driver can score up to 33 points in a sprint weekend (8 for the sprint and 25 for the Grand Prix), and a team with a one-two finish in both races can collect 58 points.

What Happens If a Race Is Shortened?

Since 2022, Formula 1 has used a sliding scale for races that cannot be completed, a change made after the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, when half points were awarded after only a few laps behind the safety car. Under the current rules, no points are given unless the leader completes at least two full, consecutive laps without the Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car. After that, points depend on how much of the race was run:

• Two laps to under 25% of the distance: top five score 6, 4, 3, 2, 1
• 25% to under 50%: top nine score 13, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
• 50% to under 75%: top ten score 19, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1
• 75% or more: full points, 25 down to 1

The aim is to stop drivers being rewarded too heavily for races that barely took place, while still giving something back to fans and teams when the weather wins.

How Does the Constructors’ Championship Work?

Each team enters two cars, and the Constructors’ Championship adds together the points scored by both of them across every Grand Prix and sprint. The team with the highest total wins the title, the FIA regulations state. Under the 2026 rules, the title goes to the team itself, even if it uses an engine built by another manufacturer.

Mercedes clinched the 2026 Constructors’ title at the Brazilian Grand Prix on 8 November with two rounds to spare, after George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished fourth and fifth. You can read the full race report in our article on Lando Norris’s win at the Brazilian Grand Prix. A week earlier, Antonelli had wrapped up the drivers’ title in Mexico, as we covered in our report on Antonelli becoming the youngest F1 world champion.

How Are Ties Broken in Formula 1?

If two drivers or two teams finish the season level on points, the FIA uses a “countback”. The one with more race wins finishes ahead. If wins are equal, the number of second places decides it, then third places, and so on. If that still does not separate them, the same process is applied to qualifying results across the season.

If two cars are tied for the same position in a race, known as a dead heat, the points for those positions are added together and shared equally. This has almost never happened, because timing is measured to a thousandth of a second.

Do You Need to Finish the Race to Score Points?

A driver must be classified to score. Under the FIA sporting regulations, a car that has covered less than 90% of the laps completed by the winner is not classified. This is why a driver who retires late in a race can still be listed as a finisher and score points, while one who stops early cannot.

Penalties also change points after the chequered flag. Stewards often add time penalties after a race, which can move drivers down the order. At the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix, for example, Charles Leclerc crossed the line seventh but was demoted to eighth after a five-second penalty for causing a collision, costing him two points. Points can also be lost entirely if a car is disqualified for a technical breach.

Is the F1 Points System Fair?

The current scale strongly rewards winning. A win is worth 25 points, while second place is worth 18, so a driver who wins often can build a lead quickly. Critics argue that giving points only to the top ten makes life hard for smaller teams. Others say that sharper rewards for winning make for better racing at the front.

Formula 1 has changed its system many times since the first world championship in 1950, when only the top five scored and the fastest lap was worth a point. Any future change would need approval from the FIA and the teams through the F1 Commission. If you are new to the sport, our guide to how the Premier League works shows how a different league-based system decides champions and relegation.

F1 Points System: Quick Summary

• Grand Prix: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 for the top ten
• Sprint: 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for the top eight
• Fastest lap: no bonus point since 2025
• Pole position: no points
• Shortened races: sliding scale, nothing unless two green-flag laps are completed
• Constructors: both cars’ points combined
• Ties: decided by most wins, then most seconds and so on

Featured image: Vista aérea del Autódromo José Carlos Pace 02, by ProtoplasmaKid / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped, colour-graded and combined with MediaPavilion branding.

Sources

• FIA — 2026 Formula 1 Regulations, Section A: General Regulatory Provisions (Article A2.2) (25 June 2026).
• FIA — 2026 Formula 1 Regulations, Section B: Sporting (31 July 2025).
• Formula1.com — Fastest lap point to be scrapped in 2025 after latest FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting.
• FIA — F1: Norris triumphs in São Paulo as Mercedes secure 2026 Constructors’ Championship (8 November 2026).