Lewis Hamilton (left) holds the record for the highest number of
World Drivers' Championship points scored, and
Scuderia Ferrari (right) maintains the record for the highest number of points attained in the
World Constructors' Championship. However, the amount of points awarded for identical results, as well as the number of races per season, have changed over the years, so comparison between drivers or teams cannot be done by points alone.
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of
open-wheeledauto racing series administered by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.[1] The "formula" in the name alludes to a series of rules set by the FIA to which all participants and vehicles are required to conform.[1][2] The
F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as
Grands Prix, usually held on purpose-built
circuits, and in a few cases on
closed city streets.[3] A points scoring system is used for each Grand Prix held over the course of the F1 season to determine the outcome of two annual championships, one for drivers (
World Drivers' Championship) since
1950, and one for constructors (
World Constructors' Championship) since
1958.[1][4] Each driver accumulates championship points individually in the World Drivers' Championship and collectively for the team they compete for in the World Constructors' Championship.[4] Both championships are formally awarded at the end-of-season
FIA Prize Giving Ceremony to the driver and team with the most points.[4][5][6]
As of the
2024 Chinese Grand Prix,[update] 352 drivers have scored Drivers' Championship points,[7][8] and 70 out of 170 teams have scored Constructors' Championship points,[9][10] in 1,106 World Championship races.[11]Lewis Hamilton has the highest Drivers' Championship points total with 4658.5,
Sebastian Vettel is second with 3098 and
Max Verstappen is third with 2696.5.[7][12]Scuderia Ferrari holds the record for the highest Constructors' Championship points total with 9823,
Red Bull Racing is second with 7443, and
Mercedes is third with 7274.5.[9][12] Drivers received an equal points distribution share if they shared a car with another or set the same fastest lap as another between 1950 and
1957. Second drivers of teams who officially entered only one car were ineligible for points on two occasions involving three drivers.[13][14]
Records and achievements
Jim Clark is the most dominant Drivers' Champion in terms of points scored, with a maximum of 54 points (7 and 6 wins, respectively) in both
1963 and
1965. More recently,
Michael Schumacher finished on the podium in every race in the
2002 season, earning 144 of a possible 170 points.[15] The most dominant Constructors' Champion in recent times was
McLaren in
1988, scoring 199 of a maximum 240 points and finishing 134 points ahead of its nearest rival.[16][17] In 2002, Ferrari scored 221 points, as many as all the other teams combined.[18]
The points scoring has been changed several times throughout F1 history.[13][24] Participants in every season until
1990 could only achieve Drivers' Championship points for their best-placed finishes in a specified maximum number of races.[24] Up until
1979, most years saw only the highest-scoring participant in each Grand Prix for each constructor contributing points towards the Drivers' title.[13] From
1950 to
1959, the top five finishers of each race plus the
fastest lap setter tallied points. The format was expanded to include the first six finishers of each event between
1960 and
2002 but with no point for fastest lap.[24] In
2003, the FIA revised the structure to the top eight finishers of each race.[25] The FIA extended the system again to include the first ten Grand Prix finishers in
2010.[26] Each
Grand Prix winner tallied 8 points from
1950 to
1960, 9 from
1961 to
1990, 10 between
1991 and
2009, and 25 since
2010.[24]
Half points were awarded for six Grands Prix that were
red-flagged before a certain threshold in a race progression was reached (at different times being either 60% or 75% of the scheduled race distance);[27][28] starting from around 1977 to 1980 until the end of the 2021 season,[27] no points were able to be accumulated should a race conclude early with the leader having completed two or fewer laps.[29] Following the
2021 Belgian Grand Prix in which half points were awarded to the first ten finishers despite no racing laps being completed, the standards by which a driver can tally championship points should a Grand Prix be suspended before full distance is covered and not be restarted, were changed to a gradual scale system beginning in
2022. No points are awarded unless the race leader completes two or more racing laps without the intervention of a
safety car or
virtual safety car. Only the top five finishers are eligible for championship points if the race leader completes more than two racing laps but covers less than 25% of the race distance. That switches to the top nine places should the race leader complete between 25% and 50% of race distance. If the race leader covers between 50% and 75% of race distance then participants finishing in the top ten positions tally points. Full championship points are tallied should the race leader complete 75% or more of the scheduled race distance.[30][31] Following initial confusion over how points were awarded at the
2022 Japanese Grand Prix, the FIA clarified the drivers are also eligible for full points if the race finishes under green flag conditions regardless of the percentage of the scheduled race distance that has been covered.[32] In
2023, the FIA clarified that shortened races would be subject to the gradual scale system "if the race distance from the start signal to the end-of-session signal is less than the scheduled race distance."[33]
Sprint qualifying was introduced in
2021 to set the starting order at three Grands Prix that season and the top three finishers of each of these mini-races received points.[34] The first eight drivers were awarded points in three sprint races in 2022,[35] and in six sprint races in 2023.[36]
The fastest lap bonus point was re-introduced in
2019, however only drivers and constructors who finished in the top ten are eligible to score the point.[37] From 2022, the fastest lap point is only awarded if 50% or more of the scheduled race distance is completed.[31] Unlike various other motor racing series (e.g., the
IndyCar Series), F1 has never awarded bonus points to drivers for leading the most laps or qualifying on
pole position.[24]
Points scoring systems
List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems used throughout history[24]
Between two racing laps and less than 25% (if race ends under red flag conditions)
6
4
3
2
1
–
–
–
–
–
Between 25% and less than 50% (if race ends under red flag conditions)
13
10
8
6
5
4
3
2
1
–
Between 50% and less than 75% (if race ends under red flag conditions)
19
14
12
10
8
6
4
3
2
1
1
75% – 100% (if race ends under red flag conditions), or two or more racing laps (if race ends under green flag conditions before the scheduled race distance is completed, due to having been curtailed by the two-hour time limit)
^
abcdThe World Constructors' Championship was not awarded from
1950 to
1957.[38]
^
abPoints for shared drives were shared equally between the drivers, regardless of how many laps each driver completed.[13]
^
abcdePoints were shared equally between drivers who set the same fastest lap time (an extreme example of which happened in the
1954 British Grand Prix where seven drivers set the same fastest lap time, and each received 1⁄7 of a point).[39]
^
abPoints for shared drives were shared equally between the drivers, even if they drove more than one points-scoring car (e.g.
1955 Argentine Grand Prix), unless one driver was deemed to have completed "insufficient distance" (e.g.
1957 British Grand Prix).[14]
^Drivers who shared more than one car in a race only received points for their highest finish (e.g.
1956 Monaco Grand Prix).[14]
^
abcdFormula 2 cars raced with
Formula One cars in the following Grands Prix, but were ineligible for World Championship points:
^
abcdefghiOnly the points of the highest-scoring driver for each constructor at each race (including privateer entries) were counted towards the Constructors' Championship.[13]
^
abThe point for fastest lap was only awarded to drivers, not constructors.[13]
^
abcThe points in the
Indianapolis 500 were only awarded only to drivers and not constructors.[13]
^Points were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the 1961 Drivers' title, and on an 8–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the 1961 Constructors' title.[40]
^Drivers who were not classified (i.e. did not complete a specified amount of race distance) did not score points, even if they finished in the top six places.[14]
^
abThe requirement to complete two laps is believed to have been implemented between 1977 and 1980.[27]
^The regulation regarding half-points in the case of exactly two laps being completed was slightly amended in 2016; no race was affected by this amendment.[44]
^In 2022, if a Grand Prix was restarted but was subsequently shortened due to reaching the regulations-imposed time limit – as had happened at the
2022 Japanese Grand Prix – then full points were awarded.[45][46]
^Starting in 2023, the amount of points awarded is based on percentage of distance covered regardless of whether a race is ended under a red flag, or is restarted and then subsequently shortened due to reaching the regulations-imposed time limit.[47] This change to the regulations was made in order to correct a drafting error in the 2022 regulations, which saw full points unexpectedly awarded at the
2022 Japanese Grand Prix, which only saw 28 laps completed before the time limit expired.[33]
Jones, Bruce (2015). World Formula 1 Records 2016 (Fifth ed.). London, England: SevenOaks.
ISBN978-1-78177-268-3.
Arron, Simon; Dodgins, Tony (2022). Formula One: The Pinnacle: The Pivotal Events That Made Formula 1 Motorsport's Greatest Series. Brighton, England: Ivy Press.
ISBN978-0-7112-7420-4.