Points scoring system for 2010 F1

The 2010 F1 season will see the most radical change in the points scoring system in 60 years. For the first time ever the drivers will be able to score points right down to 10th place, meaning that 38% of the starting grid next season will score at least one point. But what exactly does this mean?

The first thing to establish is how the points as distributed. Under the previous scoring system, the winner received 10pts, second 8 points, third 6 points, fourth place got 5 and so on as far as 8th position. While this rewarded consistency, it had it’s critics right from when it was introduced back in 2003. Many felt that it began to devalue the race win, Whereas previously it was a 4-point gap between 1st and 2nd compared to 2pts, which also meant that drivers had built up a sizable lead at the beginning of the championship, like Fernando Alonso did back in 05 and of course Jensen Button last season, and were able to sustain a championship challenge without needing to challenge for race wins but gain a steady amount of points consistently in the second half of the season. This prompted Bernie Ecclestone to try, but thankfully fail, to implement a ‘medals’ system whereby the driver with the most wins won the title regardless of how many points he had.

But under the current system this could all change. Instead of receiving 10 points for a victory, the winner will now receive 25 points, with 20 points for second, 15 points for third, etc:

Here's how the new scoring structure works:


1st place25pts

2nd place 20pts

3rd place 15pts

4th place 10pts

5th place 8pts

6th place 6pts

7th place 5pts

8th place 3pts

9th place 2pts

10th place 1pt