Formula 1 is one of the world’s most prestigious motor sports, and a team’s finishing position in the championship can be worth millions in prize money. It is also highly competitive – the teams fight each other like a catfight over sponsorship and internal politics play out in front of the crowds. And it can be dangerous – crashes are common, and there have been multiple deaths in recent years. But technological advances have made the sport safer, including a crash protection system known as the ‘halo’ which is now mandatory in all F1 races.
In the end, it isn’t just the fastest driver who wins, but the team that has accumulated the most points over the season. Winning a Grand Prix earns the driver 25 points, with points awarded on a sliding scale to those who finish behind them – the top 10 drivers receive points in every race. Sometimes a race will be shortened, and in those cases only the results from the completed laps count. An extra point used to be available for the driver who completed the fastest lap, but this was dropped for 2025.
Dead heats do happen – and as of yet they have never been enough to decide the World Drivers’ Championship. But if two or more drivers tie on points, it’s determined by a countback of their race results. If they are still tied, it goes down to second place finishes, then third, and so on.