In Formula 1, points go to the top ten finishers of every Grand Prix (25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1) and to the top eight of every Sprint (8 down to 1). Since 2025 the fastest lap is no longer worth a point. The points of a team’s two drivers add up to the constructors’ standings. The system is the same in 2026.

Updated October 2026.

In 1984 Niki Lauda won the world title by half a point over Alain Prost: it is still the narrowest margin in the history of the championship. At Monaco Prost had won, but the race was stopped before half distance and the points were halved: he collected 4.5 instead of 9, and without that red flag the title would have been his. The points rulebook looks like a matter of tables, yet it has decided titles, changed the way drivers race and, for those who look at F1 from the sponsors’ side, it determines part of a team’s value. Here you will find how it works today, how it has changed and where the difference shows.

How many points are awarded in a Grand Prix

Since 2010 the Sunday race has awarded points to the top ten finishers. Points count twice: for the Drivers’ Championship and, added together for each team’s two drivers, for the Constructors’ Championship.

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

The widest gap is between first and second (seven points): it is the basic choice of the system, to reward winning more than placing.

The fastest lap point no longer exists

From 2019 to 2024 whoever set the fastest lap of the race earned an extra point, but only if they finished in the top ten (and, from 2022, only if the race had covered at least half distance). For 2025 the FIA removed this bonus. The figure is still found in many guides in circulation, but today the driver who sets the fastest lap gets the recognition and no championship points.

Sprints: the extra points of Saturday

On Sprint weekends points are also awarded in a short race on Saturday: 8 to the winner, 7 to the second, 6 to the third, then 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point down to eighth place. This scheme has applied since 2022; in 2021, when the Sprint appeared, points went only to the top three (3, 2 and 1). With the fastest lap point abolished, Sprints are the only chance to score points besides Grand Prix races.

In 2026 there are six Sprints: China (13-15 March), Miami (1-3 May), Canada (22-24 May), Great Britain (3-5 July), the Netherlands (21-23 August) and Singapore (9-11 October). We explain the format and Saturday’s qualifying in F1 Sprint: what it is, how it works and how many points it awards, while for the rest of the weekend there is the guide to F1 qualifying.

Interrupted races: the 25, 50 and 75% rule

After the Spa 2021 case (a race ended after a few laps behind the safety car, with halved points) F1 introduced a points scale tied to the distance covered by the leader. If the race is stopped for good:

• fewer than two laps completed by the leader, without a safety car: no points;
• from two laps up to less than 25% of the distance: 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 to the top five;
• from 25% to less than 50%: 13, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 to the top nine;
• from 50% to less than 75%: 19, 14, 12, 9, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1 to the top ten;
• 75% and above: full points.

Tied on points: how it is decided

If two drivers (or two teams) finish the season on the same points, the one with more wins takes it; if wins are level, second places count, then thirds, and so on until the first difference. It is the rule that in 2007 gave Lewis Hamilton second place ahead of Fernando Alonso: both finished on 109 points, one behind Kimi Räikkönen, and it was the count of finishing positions that separated them.

The Constructors’ Championship: why points are also worth money

The constructors’ standings add up the points of each team’s two drivers, and a good part of the distribution of Formula 1’s revenue among the teams depends on the final position. The exact figures are in the Concorde Agreement, which is not public: according to estimates in the specialist press, about 75% of the prize fund is split according to the year’s standings, with a gap of about 0.9 percentage points from one position to the next, while the rest goes to a bonus tied to results over the last decade and to a historic payment to Ferrari.

For a sponsor this means that the championship position is not just a sporting figure: it moves a team’s resources, and the visibility that follows is part of what you are buying. If you are considering entering F1, the guide to the cost of Formula 1 sponsorship shows the budget thresholds, while the articles on the 2026 teams and their sponsors tell you who is on the grid today.

How points have changed in F1 history

• 1950-1959: 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 to the top five, plus one point for the fastest lap. Only each driver’s best results counted in the championship.
• 1960: 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 to the top six.
• 1961-1990: 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1. In the Eighties the best eleven results out of sixteen counted.
• 1991-2002: 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1, with all results counting.
• 2003-2009: 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 to the top eight.
• From 2010: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 to the top ten.
• 2014: double points in the Abu Dhabi finale; the rule was scrapped after a single season.
• 2019-2024: one point for the fastest lap.
• 2022: the Sprint moves to eight scoring drivers.
• From 2025: the fastest lap point is removed.

Titles decided by a few points

The history of points reads best through the seasons in which they made the difference.

• 1964: John Surtees wins with 40 points, one more than Graham Hill (39), in the final race in Mexico.
• 1984: Lauda beats Prost by half a point; at Monaco, with the race stopped before half distance and the points halved, Prost had collected 4.5 points instead of 9.
• 1988: Ayrton Senna is champion with 90 counting points against Prost’s 87, even though Prost had scored 105 in total and Senna 94: the best eleven results out of sixteen counted.
• 2007: Räikkönen 110, Hamilton 109 and Alonso 109.
• 2008: Hamilton 98, Felipe Massa 97.
• 2010: Sebastian Vettel 256, Alonso 252 and Mark Webber 242.
• 2021: Max Verstappen 395.5 against Hamilton’s 387.5, after reaching the final race level on points.
• 2025: Lando Norris 423, Verstappen 421, Oscar Piastri 410: three drivers within 13 points.

Two records read in points

The most points in a single season remain Verstappen’s in 2023: 575 out of 620 available, 92.7% of the possible maximum. Hamilton, for his part, is the first driver to pass 5,000 career points: he did it at the United States Grand Prix on 19 October 2025, with 5,004.5. It should be remembered that comparing with past eras is misleading: under the 2010 system a win is worth 25 points, whereas up to 2002 it was worth 10, and that is why Schumacher, Prost or Fangio do not appear at the top of this kind of ranking.

Sources: Motor Sport Magazine, the points system; PlanetF1, points through history; Pit Debrief, fastest lap point scrapped; Formula 1, points in shortened races; Motor Sport Magazine, 2026 Sprint calendar; The Race, Sprints from 2022; Motor Sport Magazine, Portugal 1984; The Race, dropped scores; Motor Sport Magazine, 2007 championship; Motor Sport Magazine, 2010 championship; Sports Illustrated, final 2025 standings; Formula 1, the 2023 records; GPblog, Hamilton past 5,000 points; Motor Sport Magazine, prize money; The Race, 2025 prize money.