The Formula 1 championship is the biggest prize in motorsport, with teams battling for both the Drivers and Constructors titles. The winner of the latter wins the historic FIA Formula One World Constructors’ Trophy. As the season progresses, teams’ rankings can change dramatically – sometimes by a matter of a few points. That’s especially true in the early part of the season, as drivers adjust to their cars at different circuits.
Formula 1 has had many different scoring systems throughout its history, but the current one is arguably the most straightforward. Each race gives out points to the top 10 finishers, with 25 awarded to the winner. The number of points earned decreases on a sliding scale for those who finish behind the winner, with the bottom of the field not receiving any points at all. Sometimes a race is shortened to just a sprint race, in which case only the top eight finishers earn points.
In addition to determining who’s best at driving, a team’s ranking also determines where its garage is located in the pit lane. This can have a huge impact on strategy, with quicker team mates being more likely to benefit from letting their slower team mate pass them. In fact, it’s been known for a cold war between team mates to lead to a title fight – as was the case in 2007, when Fernando Alonso beat Lewis Hamilton to win at Interlagos and Kimi Raikkonen took the crown at Ferrari.