Formula One World Championship scoring system facts for kids
The Formula One World Championship scoring system is how points are given out in Formula One races. Formula One is a super-fast car racing sport. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) uses this system. It helps them figure out who the best driver and car builder (called a constructor) are each year. The driver and constructor with the most points at the end of the season win their championships. This system has been used since the 1950 season.
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How Points Are Given Out
For many years, only the top few drivers in each race earned points. From 1950 to 1959, an extra point was given for the fastest lap in a race. This meant the driver who drove the quickest single lap got an extra point.
Changes Over Time
In some early seasons, not all race results counted towards the championship. Only a driver's best results were added up. This could sometimes lead to strange outcomes.
For example, in 1988, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were teammates at McLaren. They were the top drivers that year. There were 16 races, but only the best 11 results counted. Prost actually earned more total points (105) than Senna (94). However, because of the "best 11 results" rule, Senna ended up with more championship points (90) than Prost (87). So, Senna won the championship even though Prost scored more points overall.
To make things simpler, a new system was started in 1991. From then on, all race results counted towards the championship. Also, the winner of each race started getting an extra point.
The Modern Scoring System
The system we see today started in the 2010 season. It was created to let more teams and drivers earn points. Now, the top ten drivers in a race all get points.
Here is how points are given out in a Formula One race today:
- 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
Top Scorers in History
Some drivers and teams have been incredibly good at scoring points.
Drivers' Championship
Jim Clark was very dominant in the 1960s. He scored the maximum possible points (54 points from 6 wins) in both the 1963 and 1965 seasons. This shows how strong his performance was.
More recently, Michael Schumacher had an amazing year in 2002. He finished in the top three (on the podium) in every single race that season. He scored 144 points out of a possible 170.
Constructors' Championship
The McLaren team was incredibly strong in 1988. They scored 199 points out of a possible 240. They finished a huge 134 points ahead of the second-place team.
Another very dominant team was Ferrari in 2002. They scored 221 points out of 340. Ferrari finished 129 points ahead of the team in second place. This shows how much they dominated the season.
