How ties are broken

If two drivers, or two teams, finish the season on the same number of points, the one with the better results is placed higher. This is often called a countback.

#The order of tie-breaks

1. Whoever has more wins is ahead.
2. If that's equal, whoever has more second places.
3. If that's equal, more third places, and so on down through every finishing position.
4. If they're still level after that, the same process is used on their qualifying results across the season.

The countback uses Grand Prix finishing positions. The regulations refer to places "in a race", so sprint results don't come into it.

For teams, the results of both cars are counted together. A team with one win beats a team with none, however many second places the second team has.

#It goes beyond the points places

The countback doesn't stop at 10th. It carries on through 11th, 12th and lower. That makes a real difference at the bottom of the table.

In a season where two teams both end up on zero points, or level on a handful, their positions are decided by their single best finish. An 11th place can be enough to beat a team whose best was 12th. Because prize money is paid by finishing position in the Constructors' Championship, that one 11th place can be worth millions to a small team.

The same goes for drivers. A driver who scored no points all year will be placed ahead of others on zero according to their best finish.

#How often it decides a title

It has never decided the Drivers' Championship. The closest it came was 2021, when Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton arrived at the final race on exactly the same points. Verstappen had more wins at that stage, so a double retirement in Abu Dhabi would have given him the title on countback. In the end he won the race, and the title, outright.

Countback matters much more often lower down, for places in the standings that bring prize money or bragging rights between teammates.

#Ties within a single race

Ties in a race result are almost impossible, because timing is measured to the thousandth of a second. If one did happen, the points for the two places would be added together and shared equally between the drivers.

In qualifying, if two drivers set exactly the same time, the driver who set it first is placed ahead. See how qualifying works.