Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing series administered by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. 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. 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. 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, and one for constructors (World Constructors' Championship) since. Each driver accumulates championship points individually in the World Drivers' Championship and collectively for the team they compete for in the World Constructors' Championship. Both championships are formally awarded at the end-of-season FIA Prize Giving Ceremony to the driver and team with the most points. 353 drivers have scored Drivers' Championship points, and 70 out of 170 teams have scored Constructors' Championship points, in 1,124 World Championship races. Lewis Hamilton has the highest Drivers' Championship points total with, Sebastian Vettel is second with 3098 and Max Verstappen is third with. Scuderia Ferrari holds the record for the highest Constructors' Championship points total with, Red Bull Racing is second with , and Mercedes is third with. 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. Second drivers of teams who officially entered only one car were ineligible for points on two occasions involving three drivers.

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 and. More recently, Michael Schumacher finished on the podium in every race in the season, earning 144 of a possible 170 points. The most dominant Constructors' Champion in recent times was McLaren in, scoring 199 of a maximum 240 points and finishing 134 points ahead of its nearest rival. In 2002, Ferrari scored 221 points, as many as all the other teams combined. Robert Kubica has the longest time between two successive points-scoring results: 8 years and 256 days (between the and the ). Fernando Alonso has the longest time between his first and last points-scoring results: he scored his first points in the 2003 Australian Grand Prix and his most recent at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, a span of 21 years, 8 months, and 22 days. Hamilton holds the record for most consecutive points-scoring results at 48 Grands Prix: from the to the. Max Verstappen is the youngest driver to score a championship point; he finished seventh at the when he was 17 years and 180 days old. Philippe Étancelin is the oldest driver to score a championship point; he was 53 years and 249 days old when he finished fifth at the.

History

The points scoring has been changed several times throughout F1 history. Participants in every season until could only achieve Drivers' Championship points for their best-placed finishes in a specified maximum number of races. Up until, most years saw only the highest-scoring participant in each Grand Prix for each constructor contributing points towards the Drivers' title. From to, 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 and but with no point for fastest lap. In, the FIA revised the structure to the top eight finishers of each race. The FIA extended the system again to include the first ten Grand Prix finishers in. Each Grand Prix winner tallied 8 points from to, 9 from to , 10 between and , and 25 since. 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); starting from around 1977 to 1980 until the end of the 2021 season, no points were able to be accumulated should a race conclude early with the leader having completed two or fewer laps. Following the 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. 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. 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. In, 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." Sprint qualifying was introduced in to set the starting order at three Grands Prix that season and the top three finishers of each of these mini-races received points. The first eight drivers were awarded points in three sprint races in 2022, and in six sprint races in 2023. The fastest lap bonus point was re-introduced in, however only drivers and constructors who finished in the top ten are eligible to score the point. From 2022, the fastest lap point is only awarded if 50% or more of the scheduled race distance is completed. The FIA is set to abolish the fastest lap point rule for the season onwards. Unlike various other motor racing series, F1 has never awarded bonus points to drivers for leading the most laps (e.g., the IndyCar Series) or qualifying on pole position (e.g., the F1 feeder series, such as Formula 2 and Formula 3).

Points scoring systems

Special cases