Beginner's guide to the F1 World Championships

Learn all you need to know about the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship & the F1 World Constructors' Championship.

F1 World Drivers' Championship

What is the F1 World Drivers' Championship?

The World Drivers' Championship is the competition between the F1 drivers each season.

Points are awarded for finishing positions at each race throughout the year, with the driver scoring the most points each year being declared the world champion.

The 2024 world champion was Max Verstappen, who also triumphed in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

How many F1 world champions have there been?

The 75 World Drivers Championships have been won by a total of 34 different drivers.

Who has won the most F1 World Championships?

The record for most World Drivers Championships is currently shared by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, who have seven wins each.

Schumacher was successful in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, while Hamilton was champion in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

F1 World Drivers’ Championship previous winners

How are points allocated in the F1 World Drivers' Championship?

Points are allocated to the top 10 finishers at each Grand Prix, with the winner taking 25 points, the second-placed driver scoring 18 and the third-placed driver getting 15.

Fourth place earns 12 points, fifth gets 10, sixth gets eight, seventh gets six, eighth gets four, ninth gets two and 10th place earns a single point.

In addition, points are awarded to the top eight finishers at the sprint races that take place at selected rounds. The winner of these gets eight points, with second getting seven and so on down to one point for eighth place.

These are now the only ways drivers can score points. From 2019, the driver setting the fastest lap of the race received one championship point provided they finished in the top 10, but this has been abolished for the 2025 season.

F1 points system explained

What do drivers get for winning the F1 World Championship?

The champion receives the FIA Formula One World Drivers' Championship trophy, a stylish silver trophy containing the signatures of all past champions, at the sport's annual end-of-season prizegiving ceremony.

What is the closest F1 World Drivers' Championship finish?

The title has been decided by a single point on several occasions, but the closest championship battle was in 1984, when Niki Lauda beat Alan Prost by just half a point. The Austrian scored 72 points, while the French driver finished on 71.5.

What happens if the drivers are tied on points at the end of the season?

If two drivers finish the season with the same number of points, the most race wins would be used as a tiebreaker. If they have an equal number of wins, most second places would win and so on until a winner is found.

What is the highest number of wins achieved by an F1 world champion?

The most number of wins in a season was achieved by Max Verstappen, who won 19 of the 22 races during the 2023 season.

What is the lowest number of wins achieved by an F1 world champion?

Mike Hawthorn in 1958 and Keke Rosberg in 1982 both won the world title in years when they won only one race.

What is the highest number of points achieved by an F1 world champion?

Max Verstappen scored 575 points when winning the 2023 championship. He also has the second and third-highest championship totals.

What is the lowest number of points achieved by an F1 world champion?

Two drivers have won the title by scoring just 30 points. Giuseppe Farina became the first world champion in 1950 with that total when there were only seven races in the championship, while Juan Manuel Fangio won an eight-round championship in 1956 with the same tally.

F1 World Constructors' Championship

What is the F1 World Constructors' Championship?

The World Constructors' Championship is the competition between F1 teams. Points are scored by both drivers in a team and added together to get the constructors standings.

How many F1 Constructors' champions have there been?

The 75 World Constructors Championships have been won by 15 different teams.

Who has won the most F1 Constructors' championships?

Ferrari hold the record for most championships by a constructor with 16 wins. Williams and McLaren are joint-second with nine each, followed by Mercedes with eight.

What is the closest F1 Constructors' championship finish?

Ferrari won the 1964 World Constructors' Championship by just three points from BRM.

What happens if teams are level on points at the end of the season?

The same tiebreaker system as the drivers' championship would be used with most wins first, then most second places and so on.

How are points allocated in the F1 Constructors' championship?

The totals from each team's drivers at each race are added together. So, for example, if a team finishes first and fourth, they would receive 25 points for the win and 12 for the fourth place for a race total of 37 points.

What do teams get for winning the F1 Constructors' championship?

A team's share of the F1 prize money is determined by their performance in the constructors championship. In 2024, it is estimated that McLaren earned $161m for winning the title, while Sauber, who finished last, received around $69m.

The winning constructor also receives a trophy at F1's annual end-of-season awards ceremony.

Do teams prioritise the F1 Drivers' championship or the Constructors' championship?

F1 team managers and owners will always say the Constructors' Championship matters most, as that is an assessment of the team's performance as a whole and more importantly, that is what determines their prize money.

There is no denying that the Drivers' Championship is more important in the minds of F1 fans and the media, though.

Does the drivers' world champion always come from the constructors' championship winning team?

No, in fact last year the winning driver was Max Verstappen of Red Bull, while McLaren won the Constructors' Championship thanks to the points earned by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

There were also different winners in 2021 when Verstappen won the Drivers' Championship but Mercedes took the team title thanks to Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

How do F1 teams pick a number one and number two driver for the championships?

Not every team does. Some make a point of saying their drivers are treated as equals. It depends on the difference in talent, experience and success of the drivers in a team.

The best example of a clear team leader and a second driver would be Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari during the German's period of total dominance.