Urban Adventure Racing

The formula 1(F1) car racing is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The word ‘Formula’ denotes the rules drivers and participants must adhere to. The Formula 1 season consists of Grand Prix held on specially built circuits.

The constructors or the car manufacturers, also score points during each race. The results for the year are World Championship for the driver and the constructors.

The history of the sport is traced back to the 1920’s in Europe. New set of rules after the Second World War sanitized the sport. F1 is very popular in Europe.

During a race weekend, there are two free practice sessions on Friday except in Monaco where it takes place on Thursday, a practice session and a qualifying session on Saturday and the actual race on Sunday.

To qualify for the actual race, drivers are supposed to do the pre-qualification session. Only 26 cars qualify for the actual race. Where the number of cars entered into the race does not reach 26, the 107% rule is used to determine who drives in the race. This rule has been scrapped from the sport.

Formula one has a global audience of about 600 million viewers for each race. The Formula One Group takes the legal hold of the Commercial Rights. It is the world’s most expensive sports and generated around $4 billion in 2005.

The driver point system of the F1 is simple. We are going to explore the F1 point system in this article.

F1 Drivers’ Series Point System

In the 1950’s, the F1’s driver point system awarded only the top 5 drivers points. From 1960, the driver’s point system was expanded to include the sixth driver to the finish line. The system was again expanded in 2003 to include the seventh and eighth drivers. The new system also reduced the point gap between the first placed driver and the second placed driver.
The point system in the 1950 was scored as below:

The first driver gets 8 points
The second placed driver gets 6 points
The third placed driver gets 4 points
The fourth placed driver gets 3 points
The fifth placed driver gets 2 points.

This point system was later revised to include the sixth placed driver in 1960 and implemented in the 1961 season.

The first placed driver was given 9 points
The second placed driver still got 6 points
The third placed driver gets 4 points
The fourth placed driver gets 3 points
The fifth placed driver was given 1 point
The point system was revised again in 1991. The winning driver’s point was increased to 10. The new point system thus was:
The first placed driver 10 points
The second placed driver 6 points
The third placed driver 4 points
The fourth placed driver 3 points
The fifth placed driver 2 points
And the sixth placed driver gets 1 point

In 2003, the F1A again revised the point system. Some believe this change was meant to stop the domination of Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari. The 2003 point system was like this:
The first placed driver 10 points
The second placed driver 8 points
The third placed driver 6 points
The fourth placed driver 5 points
The fifth placed driver 4 points
The sixth placed driver 3 points
The seventh placed driver 2 points
The eighth placed driver 1 point.
The current driver point system in use today was introduced in the 2010 season. For the first time in its history, the point system has been expanded to include the top 10 finishers. The complete system is as follows:
The first placed driver gets 25 points
The second placed driver gets 18 points
The third placed driver gets 15 points
The fourth placed driver gets 12 points
The fifth placed driver gets 10 points
The sixth placed driver gets 8 points
The seventh placed driver gets 6 points
The eighth placed driver gets 4 points
The ninth placed driver gets 2 points
And the 10th placed driver gets 1 point.
This is the point system the Formula 1 has used over the years.