Formula One World Championship scoring system facts for kids
(2004 car pictured)
This is a Formula One World Championship scoring system used by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA uses this system to decide the FIA World Drivers' and Constructors' Championships since the 1950 season. The Championships are awarded to the driver and constructor (car builder) who score the most points over the course of the season.
From 1950 through 1959, a championship point was awarded to the driver (and team starting in 1958 that set the fastest lap.
In some seasons, not all race results would be counted towards the World Championship. Only a certain number of a driver's best results would count. In 1988 this cause a very unusual result. Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were the drivers for McLaren. They were the best two drivers of that year. There were 16 races that year, but only the best 11 results counted towards the championship. Prost won seven races and finished seventh races in second place. He scored a total of 105 points, but only 87 of them counted for the championship. Senna won eight races and finished second in three, giving him 90 points for the championship and 94 for the season. This resulted in the strange event where Prost took a record number of points, yet Senna won the champion. A new system counting all races was introduced in 1991. One additional point was also awarded to the race winner.
The current system was introduced for the 2010 season. It was designed to allow more teams and drivers to score points.
The most dominant Drivers' Champion in terms of points scored is Jim Clark. Clark scored the maximum of 54 points (6 wins) in both 1963 and 1965. In recent years, Michael Schumacher finished on the podium (one of the top three finishers) in every race of the 2002 season. Schumacher scored 144 of a maximum 170 points. The most dominant Constructors' Champion in recent times was McLaren in 1988. McLaren scored 199 of a maximum 240 points available. McLaren finished 134 points ahead of the second place team. In 2002, Ferrari scored 221 points of a maximum 340 points available. Ferrari finished 129 points ahead of the second place team.
Pointscoring systems
| Seasons | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Fastest lap | Best results counted towards Drivers' Championship | Best results counted towards Constructors' Championship | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950–1953 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | N/A | ||||||
| 1954 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | N/A | ||||||
| 1955 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | N/A | ||||||
| 1956–1957 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | N/A | ||||||
| 1958 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1959 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1960 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1961–1962 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1963–1965 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1966 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1967 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 (5 from first 6, 4 from last 5) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1968 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 (5 from first 6, 5 from last 6) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1969 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 (5 from first 6, 4 from last 5) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1970 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 (6 from first 7, 5 from last 6) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1971 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 (5 from first 6, 4 from last 5) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1972 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 (5 from first 6, 5 from last 6) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1973–1974 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 (7 from first 8, 6 from last 7) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1975 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 (6 from first 7, 6 from last 7) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1976 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 (7 from first 8, 7 from last 8) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1977 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 (8 from first 9, 7 from last 8) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1978 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 (7 from first 8, 7 from last 8) |
Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1979 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 (4 from first 7, 4 from last 8) |
All | ||||||
| 1980 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 (5 from first 7, 5 from last 7) |
All | ||||||
| 1981–1984 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | All | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 1985–1990 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | All | ||||||
| 1991–2002 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | All | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||||
| 2003–2009 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | All | Same as Drivers' Championship | ||||
| 2010– | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | All | Same as Drivers' Championship |
