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Formula 1 · FIA 2026

F1 points come from the official classification, not simply the order at the chequered flag.

Published

In a full-points Grand Prix, the first ten classified cars score 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1. A car that stops before the finish can still score if it completes the classification distance, while a penalty or disqualification can change the points after the flag.

Quick ruling: under FIA Formula 1 General Regulatory Provisions Issue 03, Article A2.2, and Sporting Regulations Issue 08, Articles B2.3.5 and B2.5.5, the FIA first establishes the final Sprint or Race classification, removes any car below 90% of the winner's lap count, and then applies the relevant points table. Shortened-session points also depend on the leader's completed distance and a minimum two-lap condition.
Race points Classification test
Scope

The ruleset and competition used here

This page applies only to the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship, an international championship governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The championship and points provisions are in Section A: General Regulatory Provisions, Issue 03 dated 25 June 2026. The session distance and classification provisions are in Section B: Sporting Regulations, Issue 08 dated 5 August 2026.

Section A Article A9.1.1 makes the 2026 FIA F1 Regulations applicable from 1 January 2026 for the 2026 calendar year. Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula E and other series have separate regulations; this page does not extend the F1 tables to them.

The two questions

Classification and points are separate tests

  1. Where is the car classified? FIA Section B orders cars by completed laps and crossing order, then applies the 90% minimum.
  2. Which points scale applies? FIA Section A uses the final classification and the distance completed by the leader to select the Race or Sprint table.
  3. Does the result survive review? The classification published after the session is provisional and can be amended under the FIA F1 Regulations and International Sporting Code.
Result label is not the rule: “DNF” describes that a car did not finish running. It does not by itself answer whether the car is classified or scores points.
Grand Prix points

The 2026 Race points table

Article A2.2.1 awards Drivers' and Constructors' Championship points from the final Race classification. The leader's completed laps between the start signal and end-of-session signal determine the column.

Two laps to under 25%

6, 4, 3, 2, 1

The first five classified cars score. This column is available only if the leader has also completed the required two consecutive laps without a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car procedure.

Top fiveA2.2.1 column 1
25% to under 50%

13, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

The first nine classified cars score once the leader has completed at least 25%, but less than 50%, of the Scheduled Race Distance.

Top nineA2.2.1 column 2
50% to under 75%

19, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1

The first ten classified cars score when the leader reaches at least half but less than three-quarters of the Scheduled Race Distance.

Top tenA2.2.1 column 3
75% or more

25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1

The normal full-points scale applies once the leader has completed at least 75% of the Scheduled Race Distance.

Top tenA2.2.1 column 4
Minimum running

Two laps alone do not guarantee points

Article A2.2.1 says no Race points are awarded unless the leader completes at least two complete and consecutive laps without a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car procedure. This condition applies in every distance band.

It is therefore possible to publish a Race classification but award no championship points. Counting total laps behind the Safety Car is not enough if the required pair of consecutive laps outside Safety Car and VSC procedures never occurred.

No fastest-lap point

Do not add a bonus to the 2026 table

The current Article A2.2 tables contain no fastest-lap bonus. A driver can be recorded as setting fastest lap, but it adds no 2026 Drivers' or Constructors' Championship point. Historical standings must be read under the regulations for their own season.

Both cars' results count toward the constructor under Article A2.1.4(b). For example, classified finishes of second and fifth in a full-points Race give the team 18 + 10 = 28 Constructors' Championship points, while each driver receives the points for that driver's own place.

Alternative Format Competition

A Sprint has its own classification and threshold

A Sprint result does not replace the Grand Prix result. Article A2.2.2 makes a separate points award from the final Sprint classification.

Points positions

8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

The first eight classified cars score when the Sprint points conditions are met.

P1 to P8A2.2.2
Distance threshold

At least 50%

No Sprint points are awarded below 50% of the Scheduled Sprint Distance. At 50% or more, the 8-to-1 scale applies.

One points bandNot graduated
Same minimum condition

Two consecutive non-SC/VSC laps

The leader must also complete at least two complete and consecutive laps without a Safety Car or VSC procedure.

RequiredAll Sprint awards
Ordering the field

Complete laps come before physical track position

Under Article B2.5.5(a), the Race winner is the car that covers the scheduled distance in the shortest time or, where the time-limit rule applies, the car leading at the finish. The FIA then orders every car by:

  1. Number of complete laps covered: more laps always ranks ahead of fewer laps.
  2. Order across the Line: cars with the same completed-lap count are ordered by when they crossed the Line.

A lapped car can therefore be classified and can score. Conversely, a car appearing ahead on the road does not rank ahead of a car that has completed more laps.

90% classification threshold

A late retirement can remain in the result

Article B2.5.5(b) excludes cars that covered less than 90% of the winner's lap count, with the 90% figure rounded down to a whole lap. Article B2.3.5(b) applies the same calculation to a Sprint.

  • Winner completes 57 laps: 90% is 51.3, rounded down to 51. A car on 51 laps meets the threshold; a car on 50 does not.
  • Stopping is not decisive: a car can stop before the end and still be classified if its lap count is high enough.
  • Crossing the flag is not enough: a running car below the threshold remains unclassified.
  • Points require classification: an unclassified car cannot occupy a scoring place in the final classification.
Scheduled distance

The percentage uses the scheduled session distance

Under Section B Article B2.5.2, a Race is normally the least number of complete laps exceeding 305 km; Monaco uses the least number exceeding 260 km. If formation laps begin behind the Safety Car, the scheduled lap count is reduced by the number of Safety Car formation laps minus one.

A Race normally has a two-hour running limit. If it is suspended, Article B2.5.3 adds the suspension time up to a maximum total duration of three hours. A Sprint is normally the least number of laps exceeding 100 km, with a one-hour running limit and a maximum total duration of 1.5 hours if suspended.

Chequered-signal edge case

An early or late signal does not create extra result laps

Article B5.16.2 supplies a correction rule. If the end-of-session signal is given early, the session is deemed to have finished when the leader last crossed the Line before that signal. If the signal is delayed, the session is deemed to have finished when it should have finished.

This affects the classification and the leader's completed distance used for points. The accidental display itself does not let later laps silently replace the regulatory finish point.

Worked rulings

How the 2026 FIA tests work in practice

These are hypothetical applications of the cited rules, not descriptions of real Grands Prix or FIA casebook decisions.

Case 1 · Late DNF

A stopped car on 51 of 57 laps

Situation: the winner completes 57 laps. Another car stops on lap 51 and remains tenth after all penalties.

FIA 2026 ruling: it is classified because the rounded-down 90% threshold is 51 laps. In a full-points Race it scores one point despite not running at the flag.

Case 2 · Just below 25%

Fourteen laps of a scheduled 57

Situation: the leader completes 14 of 57 scheduled laps, including the required consecutive pair outside SC/VSC procedures.

FIA 2026 ruling: 14/57 is below 25%, so only the first five classified cars score 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1. At 15 laps the leader would be above 25%, moving the award to column 2.

Case 3 · No green-lap pair

Distance reached, minimum not met

Situation: the leader covers enough total distance for a reduced-points band, but never completes two consecutive laps without an SC or VSC procedure.

FIA 2026 ruling: no points are awarded. The two-consecutive-lap condition is an additional gate, not another distance band.

Case 4 · Post-race penalty

On-road P10 becomes official P12

Situation: a driver crosses the Line tenth but a time penalty moves the car to twelfth in the amended classification.

FIA 2026 ruling: the driver scores no Race point. Article A2.2.1 awards points from the final classification, not the unadjusted on-road order.

Decision path

How to check an F1 points dispute

  1. Name the session: Race or Sprint.
  2. Find the regulatory finish: account for time limits and any early or delayed end-of-session signal.
  3. Build the order: complete laps first, then crossing order among cars on the same lap.
  4. Apply 90%: round down 90% of the winner's laps and remove cars below that count.
  5. Use the amended classification: include time penalties, disqualifications and other valid changes.
  6. Test the points minimum: check the two complete consecutive laps without SC/VSC.
  7. Select the distance band: compare the leader's completed laps with the scheduled session distance.
  8. Award both championships: give each driver the place points and add both cars' results to the constructor.
Common misconceptions

Four shortcuts that give the wrong answer

  • “DNF means no points.” A late retirement can remain classified and score.
  • “Ten laps means the same points everywhere.” The percentage depends on that event's Scheduled Race or Sprint Distance.
  • “Two laps means points.” The two laps must be complete, consecutive and without SC or VSC procedures; the distance band must also be identified.
  • “The TV order at the flag is final.” Penalties, technical disqualification and other permitted amendments can change the classification.
Equal points and dead heats

Do not confuse a session tie with a season tie

Dead heat in one session: Article A2.2.3 adds the prizes and points for the tied positions and shares them equally among the tied cars.

Championship tie: Article A2.1.4(c) compares race wins, then second places, third places and further Race finishes until the drivers or teams are separated. If that still produces no result, the provision says the same criteria apply to the qualifying results of the F1 drivers during the season.

Careful wording: Sprint wins add championship points, but the published 2026 tie-break clause expressly begins with places in a Race. It does not say to begin countback with Sprint results.
Official references

Governing-body sources and effective version

Checked on 26 August 2026 against the FIA's then-current published Section A Issue 03 and Section B Issue 08. Event classifications, stewards' decisions and technical reports control an incident-specific result, and the FIA may publish a later issue. This page covers the FIA Formula One World Championship only.