Points and the championship
Who scores points
In a race, the top ten score points: 25 for the win, then 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and one point for tenth place. In a sprint, it’s the top eight: 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
There’s no longer a bonus point for the fastest lap — it was scrapped from the 2025 season. If a race is stopped and not restarted, full points may not be awarded: how many depends on how much of the distance was completed.
Two titles
There are two titles up for grabs. The individual one is the Drivers’ Championship: each driver’s points from every race and sprint of the season are added up. The team one is the Constructors’ Championship: each team scores the points of both its drivers.
If two are level on points, the one with more wins goes higher; if wins are level too, it comes down to second places, and so on down the order.
Why the Constructors’ Championship matters to teams
Teams earn prize money for their place in the Constructors’ Championship, and that place decides how much money they have for the next season. That’s why the fight for sixth or seventh can be every bit as fierce as the fight for the title.
A team’s place in the championship also decides its wind tunnel time: teams that finish lower get more hours for the next year than the champions.
This chapter’s key term — .