Formula 1 has evolved dramatically since its first race in 1950, with significant changes in safety, governance and technology affecting how the sport is played. But the excitement and drama remain the same, with teams battling for success in both the Drivers’ Championship and the Constructors’ Championship.
In order to determine a champion, drivers receive points for their finishing positions at each Grand Prix and sprint race. This means that the driver with the most points at the end of a season will be awarded the World Drivers’ Championship title. The constructors’ title, meanwhile, is decided by the total points scored by the team’s two drivers in each race. The most recent example saw McLaren clinch the title in 2024 after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri topped the standings.
Drivers and teams are constantly assessing their progress to see how they can improve throughout the season and push themselves up through the standings. However, despite this, it’s incredibly common for teams to find themselves in dead heats at the final race. This is typically the result of one team’s two drivers being so busy fighting with each other that they leave a gap open for another driver to slip through and win the championship.
Fortunately, F1 has a number of rules and specifications that help to resolve such situations. Historically, a dead heat has been resolved by counting back results, with the team that scored more wins placed higher than those who earned more second place finishes and so on until a decision is reached.