The F1 Drivers’ Championship was last tied heading into the final race of the 2021 season, while the Constructors’ Championship was last tied in 2006. Here’s a full list of F1 championship ties in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships!
F1 CHAMPIONSHIP TIES: THE ONLY TIME BOTH F1 CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE TIED
There has been only one occasion in Formula 1 history that both the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Championship have been tied after a race. It occurred at the 1980 United States Grand Prix West. Four rounds into the 1980 season, Rene Arnoux and Nelson Piquet had each scored eighteen points. Those were also the only points scored by their respective teams – Renault and Brabham – meaning that both championships were tied. Furthermore, after this race, the top four teams in the Constructors’ Championship were separated by only four points.
While that’s the only time that both championships have been tied, it has come close to happening on a number of occasions. The two most recent examples are after the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix, where Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso were tied on points in the Drivers’ Championship, while Renault led the Constructors’ Championship by only a single point, and after the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix, where Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were tied on points, while Mercedes led Ferrari by a single point.
TIMES THAT THE DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP WAS TIED
There have been 39 occasions on which the lead of the Drivers’ Championship has been tied after a Grand Prix. The most recent occasion was after the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, when Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton headed into the last race of the season tied on points. It was the first time this has happened since 1974.
Before the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix – when Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were level on points – was the most recent time the title race had been tied.
There have been just two occasions on which the Drivers’ Championship has been tied after consecutive rounds of the championship. It first happened after the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix and the 1950 Indianapolis 500, and most recently happened after the 1979 Spanish and Belgian Grands Prix. The Drivers’ Championship lead was also tied twice in the space of three rounds in the early part of the 2007 season. 1950, 1979, 1981 and 2007 are the only years in which the title race has been tied after multiple races within the season.
The Drivers’ Championship has been tied between more than two drivers on three occasions. It first happened after the first three rounds of the inaugural season. Guiseppe Farina won the British Grand Prix, Juan Manuel Fangio won the Monaco Grand Prix and Johnnie Parsons won the Indianapolis 500. The three race winners failed to score in either of the other two races, so the title race was tied between the three of them after the Indianapolis 500.
It would be 57 years before this feat would repeat itself, at the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix. After that race, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen were all level at the top of the standings with 22 points each. The third and final time this occurred was after the 2008 British Grand Prix, where Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica were equal on 48 points.
EVERY TIME THAT THE F1 DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP WAS TIED
| Race | Championship Leader | Driver(s) tied with |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 Monaco Grand Prix | Guiseppe Farina | Juan Manuel Fangio |
| 1950 Indianapolis 500 | Giuseppe Farina | Juan Manuel Fangio Johnnie Parsons |
| 1951 Indianapolis 500 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Lee Wallard |
| 1952 Belgian Grand Prix | Piero Taruffi | Alberto Ascari |
| 1953 Indianapolis 500 | Alberto Ascari | Bill Vukovich |
| 1954 Indianapolis 500 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Bill Vukovich |
| 1956 Belgian Grand Prix | Peter Collins | Stirling Moss |
| 1958 French Grand Prix | Stirling Moss | Mike Hawthorn |
| 1960 French Grand Prix | Jack Brabham | Bruce McLaren |
| 1961 Dutch Grand Prix | Stirling Moss | Wolfgang von Trips |
| 1962 Monaco Grand Prix | Graham Hill | Phil Hill |
| 1964 Dutch Grand Prix | Graham Hill | Jim Clark |
| 1968 Canadian Grand Prix | Graham Hill | Denny Hulme |
| 1972 Spanish Grand Prix | Denny Hulme | Emerson Fittipaldi |
| 1974 Canadian Grand Prix | Emerson Fittipaldi | Clay Regazzoni |
| 1977 United States Grand Prix West | Jody Scheckter | Niki Lauda |
| 1978 United States Grand Prix West | Carlos Reutemann | Mario Andretti |
| 1979 Spanish Grand Prix | Gilles Villeneuve | Patrick Depailler |
| 1979 Belgian Grand Prix* | Jacques Laffite* | Jody Scheckter* |
| 1980 United States Grand Prix West | Rene Arnoux | Nelson Piquet |
| 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix | Alan Jones | Carlos Reutemann |
| 1981 Dutch Grand Prix | Nelson Piquet | Carlos Reutemann |
| 1983 San Marino Grand Prix | Alain Prost | Nelson Piquet |
| 1985 Austrian Grand Prix | Alain Prost | Michele Alboreto |
| 1986 San Marino Grand Prix | Ayrton Senna | Nelson Piquet |
| 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix | Ayrton Senna | Alain Prost |
| 1989 Monaco Grand Prix | Ayrton Senna | Alain Prost |
| 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix | David Coulthard | Jacques Villeneuve |
| 1998 Italian Grand Prix | Mika Hakkinen | Michael Schumacher |
| 1999 Italian Grand Prix | Mika Hakkinen | Eddie Irvine |
| 2001 San Marino Grand Prix | Michael Schumacher | David Coulthard |
| 2006 Chinese Grand Prix | Michael Schumacher | Fernando Alonso |
| 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix | Fernando Alonso | Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton |
| 2007 Monaco Grand Prix | Fernando Alonso | Lewis Hamilton |
| 2008 British Grand Prix | Lewis Hamilton | Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica |
| 2010 Monaco Grand Prix | Mark Webber | Sebastian Vettel |
| 2012 Spanish Grand Prix | Sebastian Vettel | Fernando Alonso |
| 2017 Chinese Grand Prix | Sebastian Vettel | Lewis Hamilton |
| 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | Max Verstappen | Lewis Hamilton |
*Jody Scheckter had actually scored one point more than Jacuqes Laffite after the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix, but only the best four results from the first seven races counted towards the Drivers’ Championship.
TIMES THAT THE CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP WAS TIED
There have been only thirteen occasions in Formula 1 history that the Constructors’ Championship has been tied after a Grand Prix. It has not happened since the opening round of the 2006 season, when Renault and McLaren were tied on ten points apiece. After that race, the top five teams in the standings were separated by only five points.
The 1993 Brazilian and European Grands Prix mark the only time that the Constructors’ Championship has been tied at consecutive races. After the Brazilian Grand Prix, McLaren and Williams were tied on sixteen points. At the European Grand Prix – held at Donington Park – both teams scored ten points, meaning they were now tied on 26 points apiece.
The 1972 Monaco Grand Prix is the only race after which more than two teams were tied at the top of the standings. After that race, Lotus, McLaren, and Ferrari all had sixteen points to their name after the first four rounds of the season. Two years earlier at the Monaco Grand Prix, the championship had been tied between Brabham and McLaren, with the top four teams separated by only two points!
EVERY TIME THAT THE F1 CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP WAS TIED
| Race | Championship Leader | Team(s) tied with |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 British Grand Prix | Brabham | Ferrari |
| 1970 Monaco Grand Prix | Brabham | McLaren |
| 1971 Spanish Grand Prix | Ferrari | Tyrrell |
| 1972 Monaco Grand Prix | Lotus | McLaren, Ferrari |
| 1980 United States Grand Prix West | Renault | Brabham |
| 1983 Canadian Grand Prix | Renault | Ferrari |
| 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix | McLaren | Ferrari |
| 1986 Spanish Grand Prix | Williams | Lotus |
| 1987 San Marino Grand Prix | Williams | McLaren |
| 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix | Williams | McLaren |
| 1993 European Grand Prix | McLaren | Williams |
| 1995 San Marino Grand Prix | Williams | Ferrari |
| 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix | Renault | McLaren |
Header Image: Curt Smith Flickr / CC BY 2.0
This post on F1 championship ties was originally published in January 2021 and has since been updated.