FIA confirm NEW championship points system

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FIA confirm NEW championship points system

The FIA have responded to fans teams and drivers for new season

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Thursday 23 January 2025 09:13

The FIA have confirmed a new points system will be in place from Monaco this year after consultation with major stakeholders.

Drivers, teams and fans have all put pressure on the FIA to change the World Rally Championship's awarding of points and a new system has been put in place with immediate effect.

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The WRC gets underway with the Monte Carlo Rally this week in a season that will take place over 14 rounds before it comes to a close in Saudi Arabia in late November.

As the season got underway, the FIA posted the new format on social media platform X to confirm how the system will work.

It was back in November that the official plans were released after a year where just three points separated winners Toyota from Hyundai in the manufacturers championship, and where Thierry Neuville defeated Elfyn Evans by 32 points in the drivers' championship.

The main change sees Saturday's points abolished in favour of a system which only award points on a Sunday on a scale of: 25-17-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 for the top 10.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem stands with F1 chief Stefano Domenicali

The F1 points system will see minor tweaks from 2025

Another notable feature will be the awarding of points on Sunday's running alone - offering respite to crews who hit early setbacks on the Saturday. This will see the top five awarded points on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.

The iconic Wolf Power Stage remains unchanged and allows the top five teams to score also on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.

Overall the new system favours winners with now a maximum 35 points on the table at each rally, yet offers a chance for comebacks and opportunistic strategies.

Will the F1 points system change?

As well as the WRC, the FIA have faced calls to change the points system in other series including Formula 1 in recent seasons, although no serious discussions have taken place over conducting a points overhaul.

Minor changes have taken place ahead of the F1 2025 season with the point for the fastest lap at a grand prix being ditched.

However, barring the addition of sprint races in recent times, the Sunday offering of points to the top 10 has remained untouched since its inception ahead of the 2010 campaign.

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