At the end of an F1 Grand Prix, the top 10 drivers who have finished the race are awarded points. Currently, the points system used in the sport awards 25 points to the first-place finisher and one point to the driver in P10. The rest of the drivers are awarded points along that scale. This is if 75% of the race distance is completed. If less than 75% is completed, and the race is stopped, then a different points scale is used.
Historically, the points system has evolved with the sport. For example, a race winner in 1960 would score only eight points. In 2003, they would score 10. The current system has been in place since 2010 and works on a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 scale.
In 2022, the points system was updated with certain conditions. If fewer than two laps are completed, then no points are awarded. In the event that it’s more than two laps but less than 25% of the race, then the top five drivers get 6-4-3-2-1. Anywhere between 25-50% of the race distance gives the top nine drivers 13-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points on a scale. The top 10 drivers are given points on a 19-14-12-9-8-6-5-3-2-1 scale if more than 50% but less than 75% of the race is over. Only if more than 75% of the scheduled race distance is completed then regular points are awarded.
Up until the 2025 season, the driver who scored the fastest lap also went home with one additional point. However, this year that rule has been abolished.
The ‘shortest’ race in F1 history and how it affected points regulations
The 2021 Belgian Grand Prix is considered to be the ‘shortest’ race in F1 history. The entirety of the race only lasted three laps, with all of them behind the safety car. This was because of extremely poor weather conditions.
Saturday’s qualifying at Spa was delayed due to the rain, and when it eventually got underway, Max Verstappen grabbed the pole position. George Russell of Williams and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes secured P2 and P3.
Heading into the race on Sunday, drivers had to wait, given that the race start was also delayed due to the weather conditions. 25 minutes after the scheduled start time, drivers lined up behind the safety car and completed two formation laps before heading back into the pit lane. Three hours later, they tried again but finally decided to call it. Verstappen was crowned winner of the event.
At the time, the top 10 drivers received half the points they would normally have received. So the Dutchman scored 12.5, Russell was given 9, Hamilton was awarded 7.5, and so on. Some drivers felt that the points were undeserved, such as Pierre Gasly, who took home three points [via Motor Sport]:
âI donât feel like I deserved any points today for what Iâve done,â Gasly said.
“To be fair, yes [half points are wrong] â I think the whole point of getting the points is based on the race.”
This Grand Prix led to the update in the rulebook that stated that a minimum of two laps, under a green flag, must be completed for drivers to get any points.
