Formula 1’s blend of tradition and futurism captivates millions, with a rich legacy and promising future. One of the keys to this enduring fascination is F1 standings – the real-time rankings that determine season champions. Understanding how these rankings are calculated provides insight into the competitive essence of the sport and how drivers and teams compete to win.
Since the sport’s inception, a series of adjustments have shaped its ranking systems, ensuring an equitable balance between driving excellence and a system designed to reflect fairness. These changes, which can have dramatic implications on how a championship is decided, help maintain the excitement of the sport and encourage new entrants to participate.
The current F1 scoring system gives each top-10 finisher a fixed number of points, with 25 for the winner and a decreasing scale for those behind. The system also rewards drivers with extra World Championship points for setting the fastest lap in Grand Prix races, though this bonus was scrapped for 2025. If a race is shortened, full points are awarded as long as 75 per cent of the scheduled distance is completed.
Drivers’ and constructors’ championships
The most coveted prize in F1 is the Constructors’ Championship, which celebrates a team’s overall performance during a season. Each team enters two cars, and the points scored by both drivers are added together to tally a team’s total. It has been the case eight times in the history of the championship that the teams’ title has been won by a driver who doesn’t hold the Drivers’ Championship lead – including a dead heat between Ferrari teammates Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
The team with the most points at the end of the season is crowned champion. As well as providing significant prize money, this also confers certain privileges such as a guaranteed place at the starting grid for next year’s event at their home race.