F1
Max Verstappen was crowned F1 World Champion in 2024 for the fourth consecutive season, with 437 championship points. But how do you score points? Here's an explanation of the sport's points system.
Summary
- 1How does the scoring system work?
- 2Can you score points elsewhere?
- 3What happens if two drivers end the season tied on points?
- 4Has the title ever been decided by a single point?
- 5What is the Constructors' Championship and how does it work?
- 6What happens if a driver changes teams mid-season?
- 7Who is the reigning world champion?
At each F1 Grand Prix, drivers and teams push to score as many points as possible with the goal of pushing themselves as high as possible in the Constructors' and Drivers' Championship tables. It sounds simple, but there are a few specifications unique to the sport.
With a total of 24 Grands Prix on the calendar, the 2025 Formula One season offers drivers and teams even more opportunities to pick up world championship points for the Drivers’ and Constructors' World Championships.
But how many points do you actually get per race? We explain the points system in F1.
01
How does the scoring system work?
Points are awarded based on where the driver finished at the end of a Grand Prix in the following way:
- 1st 25 points
- 2nd: 18
- 3rd: 15
- 4th: 12
- 5th: 10
- 6th: 8
- 7th: 6
- 8th: 4
- 9th: 2
- 10th: 2
Since the top 10 drivers receive points, winning isn't everything. A driver with the most wins throughout the season doesn't have a guaranteed championship win, as another driver may have posted more consistent results throughout the year.
02
Can you score points elsewhere?
With the scrapping of the bonus point for fastest lap in the Grand Prix for 2025, there are 24 fewer points available for the drivers to score. That means the Sprint Race becomes the only other opportunity for drivers to score extra World Championship points outside the main races. Six rounds include a Sprint race this season, starting in China and following in Miami, Spa, Austin, Brazil and Qatar.
With 25 points for a win plus a further eight at the Sprint rounds, a Formula 1 driver can theoretically collect a total of 648 championship points. In 2023, Max Verstappen scored 575 in the most dominant season in F1 history. But can he raise the record in 2025?
03
What happens if two drivers end the season tied on points?
This has never happened in 74 years of F1 racing, but if 2025 were to be the first time two drivers finished the final Grand Prix of the season with the same number of points, the world champion would be decided according to the number of wins. If both drivers have the same number of wins, the ranking is accorded by the number of second-placed finishes and then third places. There will always be only one world champion.
04
Has the title ever been decided by a single point?
Yes. In fact, the F1 World Championship has come down to a single point eight times in F1 history. In 2007, Kimi Raikkonen won the title by just one point over Lewis Hamilton. Then, the following year and at the same venue – Interlagos in Brazil – Hamilton took the title by a point from Felipe Massa.
It's even been closer than that: in 1984, Niki Lauda beat his team-mate Alain Prost to the championship by half a point.
05
What is the Constructors' Championship and how does it work?
There are two championships in Formula 1: one for the drivers and one for the teams. The team battle is called the Constructors' Championship and the scoring system is the same as in the Drivers' Championship, except that points from both drivers on a team are tallied together. For example, in 2025 Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson will pilot the Oracle Red Bull Racing cars while Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar will drive for Racing Bulls. The sum of the points scored by both drivers will equate to their teams' total points.
Did you know the the Constructors' Championship determines where your garage will be in the pit lane? This can be offer an significant advantage on race day.
06
What happens if a driver changes teams mid-season?
F1 points are counted in both the Drivers' and Constructors’ World Championships. If a driver races for two teams, he keeps any points he scores in his Drivers' championship and the teams retain the points as part of their Constructors’ Championship tally. For example, in 2024, F2 driver Ollie Bearman stepped up to F1 to race for Ferrari after Carlos Sainz Jr was stricken with appendicitis. He scored seven points for a P7 finish. Later in the season, the British driver raced for Haas, scoring no further points. He finished the season on seven points, which also contributed to Ferrari’s campaign.
Similarly, when Max Verstappen moved from Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing midway through the 2016 season, the Faenza-based team kept the points he'd scored in their car in the first races of the year. On his debut for Red Bull Racing, the Dutchman also won his first Grand Prix.
07
Who is the reigning world champion?
Max Verstappen is the reigning F1 Drivers' Champion and has won the title four times in back-to-back campaigns since 2021. He goes into the 2025 F1 World Championship in search of a fifth consecutive title, which would make him the youngest to achieve the feat. Six-time winners of the Constructors' World Championship, Oracle Red Bull Racing go into 2025 with a new driver partnership, with the young and versatile Liam Lawson lining up alongside the experienced Verstappen.
