The world of Formula 1 is dominated by a few teams and the battles for both Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships is fierce. This is partly because there are huge amounts of money at stake, with championship finishing position determining the size of each team’s budget for the following year. But also because there are often internal politics at play between the teams which can sway strategy decisions.
F1 standings are calculated after each race based on the number of points earned by a driver (and their team) who finishes in the top ten of a Grand Prix or Sprint race. The team of drivers who earn the most points wins the Constructors’ Championship.
It’s never happened in 74 years of F1 history but if two drivers finished the final Grand Prix of a season with the same number of points, then it would be decided by countback. This involves looking at the number of wins and second-placed finishes won by each driver, then counting the total points from their teammates.
It’s also worth noting that a driver can score points for their previous team if they change teams midway through the season. This has been particularly important in seasons when the fight for the title has come down to a single point – as it did in 2007 when Kimi Raikkonen beat Lewis Hamilton by one point. As a result, strategies are frequently based around scoring points for the team – sometimes, grudgingly, by letting their quicker team mate through to take a better position in the race.