As exclusively revealed by Autosport ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, F1 teams are expected to discuss with the FIA and FOM the idea of revising the points system for 2025 to offer rewards up to 12th place.
Amid concerns that the current lockout of the top ten places by the top five teams will have an undue impact on the battle in the middle of the pack, as there are so few scoring opportunities, a proposal will be submitted to a F1 Commission meeting this week to change the points system.
The current points allocation for the top seven positions will remain unchanged if the change is made (see the table at the bottom of the article), but things will change from eighth place and below.
The points overhaul has been designed in such a way that it does not impact the leading teams from a competitive point of view, nor does it mean they score more, which could increase entry fees based on the points they must pay to the FIA each year.
For the proposal to go ahead and be implemented for the 2025 season, it will need to gain the support of a simple majority of teams – so it will need five teams to approve it as well as the support of the FIA and of the FOM.
And while it’s not impossible for teams to say one thing in public and act another way in a vote, evidence suggests that even the biggest teams aren’t willing to act to block change.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said: “I’m not against it. And coming from Alfa Romeo, I completely understand sometimes the frustration of doing a mega weekend, but if there is no retirement in front of you then you finish P11 and the reward is zero.
Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber C44, Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“[At the moment] you can complete P11 or P20 and it’s the same, so I can understand the frustration for that.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added: “It feels like there are two groups in Formula 1 at the moment, and teams six to ten are fighting as hard as one to five .
“I think it’s one of those things where you just crunch the numbers and look at the analytics and say, what would that actually change? So I am impartial.
Teams that are locked in this midfield battle for minor scoring positions are particularly eager to see change.
RB team principal Laurent Mekies told Autosport he saw no downside to the new system, which he believed would bring an improvement to F1 as a whole.
“Of course I will support that,” he said. “There are no more latecomers. There are six OEMs in F1, plus Red Bull Racing, making it seven top teams.
“Even the bottom five teams are now big organizations and it is very difficult to explain to the outside world, to our partners and our fans, that we are fighting for an 11th place which actually gives no points.
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“If you look at the level of competitiveness of the top five teams and the level of reliability of the cars, it means that for most of the race you are theoretically fighting for zero points, and we don’t think that’s fair.
“We also think it’s more meritocratic because, if you score points up to 12th place, you’ll avoid the effect where if something completely astonishing happens and someone gets a P5 or a P4 under rain means the other guys can stay home for 10 races.
“We think it ticks all the boxes with virtually no downside, so I hope it passes.”
Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu added: “What’s the downside? Currently we have three teams with zero points and I don’t think it’s good for the sport.
“If someone got points for P11, P12, there would be fewer people with zero points. So, I think it’s clearer for the fans and for the motivation of everyone who works in a team as well. It’s much better to come out 12th with one point, 11th with two points – that’s a reward.
The new proposed F1 points structure
Final position |
Current points |
Points offered |
1 |
25 |
25 |
2 |
18 |
18 |
3 |
15 |
15 |
4 |
12 |
12 |
5 |
ten |
ten |
6 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
2 |
4 |
ten |
1 |
3 |
11 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
0 |
1 |
Fastest lap |
1 (first 10 only) |
1 (first 12 only) |
Additional quotes from Oleg Karpov and Erwin Jaeggi
As exclusively revealed by Autosport ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, F1 teams are expected to discuss with the FIA and FOM the idea of revising the points system for 2025 to offer rewards up to 12th place.
Amid concerns that the current lockout of the top ten places by the top five teams will have an undue impact on the battle in the middle of the pack, as there are so few scoring opportunities, a proposal will be submitted to a F1 Commission meeting this week to change the points system.
The current points allocation for the top seven positions will remain unchanged if the change is made (see the table at the bottom of the article), but things will change from eighth place and below.
The points overhaul has been designed in such a way that it does not impact the leading teams from a competitive point of view, nor does it mean they score more, which could increase entry fees based on the points they must pay to the FIA each year.
For the proposal to go ahead and be implemented for the 2025 season, it will need to gain the support of a simple majority of teams – so it will need five teams to approve it as well as the support of the FIA and of the FOM.
And while it’s not impossible for teams to say one thing in public and act another way in a vote, evidence suggests that even the biggest teams aren’t willing to act to block change.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said: “I’m not against it. And coming from Alfa Romeo, I completely understand sometimes the frustration of doing a mega weekend, but if there is no retirement in front of you then you finish P11 and the reward is zero.
Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber C44, Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“[At the moment] you can complete P11 or P20 and it’s the same, so I can understand the frustration for that.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added: “It feels like there are two groups in Formula 1 at the moment, and teams six to ten are fighting as hard as one to five .
“I think it’s one of those things where you just crunch the numbers and look at the analytics and say, what would that actually change? So I am impartial.
Teams that are locked in this midfield battle for minor scoring positions are particularly eager to see change.
RB team principal Laurent Mekies told Autosport he saw no downside to the new system, which he believed would bring an improvement to F1 as a whole.
“Of course I will support that,” he said. “There are no more latecomers. There are six OEMs in F1, plus Red Bull Racing, making it seven top teams.
“Even the bottom five teams are now big organizations and it is very difficult to explain to the outside world, to our partners and our fans, that we are fighting for an 11th place which actually gives no points.
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“If you look at the level of competitiveness of the top five teams and the level of reliability of the cars, it means that for most of the race you are theoretically fighting for zero points, and we don’t think that’s fair.
“We also think it’s more meritocratic because, if you score points up to 12th place, you’ll avoid the effect where if something completely astonishing happens and someone gets a P5 or a P4 under rain means the other guys can stay home for 10 races.
“We think it ticks all the boxes with virtually no downside, so I hope it passes.”
Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu added: “What’s the downside? Currently we have three teams with zero points and I don’t think it’s good for the sport.
“If someone got points for P11, P12, there would be fewer people with zero points. So, I think it’s clearer for the fans and for the motivation of everyone who works in a team as well. It’s much better to come out 12th with one point, 11th with two points – that’s a reward.
The new proposed F1 points structure
Final position |
Current points |
Points offered |
1 |
25 |
25 |
2 |
18 |
18 |
3 |
15 |
15 |
4 |
12 |
12 |
5 |
ten |
ten |
6 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
2 |
4 |
ten |
1 |
3 |
11 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
0 |
1 |
Fastest lap |
1 (first 10 only) |
1 (first 12 only) |
Additional quotes from Oleg Karpov and Erwin Jaeggi