Every position on the grid matters in Formula 1, and understanding exactly how points are awarded is essential to following both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships through a long season.
**The standard grand prix points system:**
– 1st: 25 points
– 2nd: 18 points
– 3rd: 15 points
– 4th: 12 points
– 5th: 10 points
– 6th: 8 points
– 7th: 6 points
– 8th: 4 points
– 9th: 2 points
– 10th: 1 point
Only the top 10 finishers score points at a standard grand prix. Anyone finishing 11th or lower leaves the round empty-handed, no matter how strong their race pace was.
**Sprint weekends add another scoring opportunity**
On sprint weekends, explained fully in our [F1 sprint race rules guide](formula-1-sprint-race-rules), the top eight finishers in Saturday’s sprint earn extra points on a smaller scale, from 8 points for the win down to 1 point for eighth. Those points are added directly to a driver’s championship total alongside whatever they earn in Sunday’s grand prix.
**How this feeds into the two championships**
Every point a driver scores also counts toward their team’s tally in the [constructors’ championship](f1-constructors-championship-guide). That’s why a team with two drivers finishing sixth and eighth can end up scoring more constructors’ points in a weekend than a team with just one driver on the podium — team strategy often revolves around maximizing combined points rather than favoring a single driver.
**Why this system matters in 2026**
With the title fight between Antonelli and Hamilton separated by 50 points heading into the summer break, every point genuinely matters. A handful of finishing positions across the remaining rounds could easily decide the championship, which is why teams fight so hard for positions that might look unremarkable on a Sunday afternoon — P7 instead of P9 can be worth the difference between title contention and falling out of the fight entirely.