Formula 1 is one of the most thrilling and exhilarating motorsports competitions in the world. Its drivers and teams compete relentlessly to score as many points as possible and become champions of the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. It may sound simple, but there are a lot of details that go into the sport’s scoring system and what it means for those at the top of the standings.
F1 has had a variety of systems to reward the best and worst performers over its history but the current formula is the most straightforward of all. Each team enters two cars at every race and their points are tallied together at the end of the season – making it very easy to compare teams across a season.
Drivers earn points for themselves by finishing within the top ten of every grand prix and sprint race, with those in the best positions receiving more points. Teams’ points are added together and the teams with the most at the end of the season are crowned champions in the Constructors’ Championship. It’s also common to see drivers change teams during the course of a year and keep their driver points – making them able to compete for top ten finishes in any car they drive.
F1 is notorious for fiercely contested battles between team mates and the sport’s greatest rivalries have often involved pair of drivers from the same team. The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, for example, went head-to-head in a dramatic battle to win the Drivers’ Championship in 2014 and 2016 – with Hamilton eventually winning the title by just three points over Rosberg.