F1 Team Loses Championship Points: McLaren’s Record Penalty

Few things sting like watching your team cross the finish line, only to have the points wiped off the board hours later. McLaren fans felt that gut-punch in November 2025 when both cars were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, stripping the team of 87 championship points in a single night, setting a record that underscores how quickly points can vanish in Formula 1.

F1 teams stripped of points in 2025: 1 (McLaren, Las Vegas GP disqualification) ·
Points lost by McLaren at Las Vegas GP: 87 total team points ·
Largest single-race points loss in 2025: 87 (Piastri 43, Norris 44) ·
Alpine 2025 points before Singapore: 0 ·
Felipe Massa lawsuit year: 2023 (ongoing)

The table below summarizes the key numbers from this article.

The 87-point deduction reshaped the championship picture. Before the penalty, McLaren held a commanding lead; afterward, Norris’s advantage over Verstappen shrank to just 24 points, making the title race far tighter than anyone expected.

Why is Felipe Massa suing Formula 1?

Details of the lawsuit against FIA and FOM

• Massa filed the lawsuit in 2023, arguing the 2008 championship result was manipulated
• The suit targets the FIA and Formula One Management over the Crashgate scandal
• Damages sought could reach tens of millions of pounds

Felipe Massa’s legal action stems from the belief that the FIA and FOM covered up Nelsinho Piquet’s deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Massa, who finished 2008 just one point behind champion Lewis Hamilton, contends that the crash unfairly handed Hamilton the title. As Sky Sports reports, the lawsuit argues that “the FIA knew and did nothing.”

2008 Singapore Grand Prix: the crashgate trigger

• Nelsinho Piquet crashed deliberately on Lap 14 of the 2008 Singapore GP
• The safety car period helped his teammate Fernando Alonso win the race
• Massa was leading before the crash; after pitting under safety car, he finished 13th

The scandal came to light in 2009 when Piquet admitted to the deliberate crash. The FIA initially investigated and penalized Renault (the team), but Massa’s lawyers argue the governing body’s failure to annul the race results cost him the championship. The case remains before the UK High Court.

The implication: Even a successful lawsuit cannot rewrite history, but it forces the sport to confront past failures.

Is the number 69 banned in Formula 1?

FIA driver number allocation rules

• Drivers choose a permanent number between 2 and 99
• Number 1 is reserved for the reigning world champion
• No driver has ever applied for or been assigned number 69

Since the FIA introduced permanent driver numbers in 2014, every number from 2 to 99 is theoretically available. Yet 69 has never appeared on a car. According to the official Formula 1 driver numbers guide, no explicit ban exists in the Sporting Regulations.

Historical and cultural reasons for number bans

• The number 69 carries sexual connotations that would clash with F1’s sponsor-friendly image
• The FIA has not issued a formal ruling on the matter
• Informal avoidance is widely acknowledged within paddock circles

So officially, number 69 is not banned. But in practice, the FIA and teams informally steer drivers away from it to avoid embarrassment. “It’s the kind of thing that would cause unwanted headlines,” one veteran paddock observer noted.

What this means: The unwritten rules of driver branding are as powerful as any regulation.

Has an F1 team ever scored zero points in a season?

Alpine’s 2025 zero-point streak

• Alpine scored 0 points through the first 8 races of 2025
• The team’s poor reliability and pace left it at the bottom of the constructors’ standings
• Only 10 teams compete; scoring zero points means finishing dead last

As of the Monaco Grand Prix, Alpine had not registered a single point. As Motorsinside reports, the team’s A525 car struggled with both aerodynamic efficiency and engine reliability, putting it miles off the pace. The last time a major team went scoreless this deep into a season was 2015, when McLaren-Honda endured a nightmare start.

Other F1 teams with pointless seasons

• HRT (Hispania Racing): 0 points in 2010 and 2011
• Caterham: 0 points in 2012, 2013, and 2014
• Marussia: 0 points in 2012 and 2013 (scored 2 in 2014)

Small-budget independent teams have zero-point seasons more often. The data from Wikipedia’s constructor records shows that in the modern era (2010 onward), six teams have finished a season with zero points. The pattern: they are always new entries or severely underfunded operations.

The implication: Alpine’s scoreless start is more unusual because it is a manufacturer-backed team with a multi-million-dollar budget. If they fail to score by the end of 2025, it would be a historic embarrassment for the Alpine brand.

What is the 75% rule in Formula 1?

Championship points awarded only if 75% of race distance completed

• Article 6.5 of the FIA Sporting Regulations governs the 75% rule
• Full points are awarded only if at least 75% of the scheduled race distance is completed
• If less than 75% is completed, reduced points are awarded

The rule exists to prevent drivers from winning a championship based on a farcical race. As the FIA Sporting Regulations explain, “If two laps or more but less than 75% of the scheduled race distance have been completed by the leader, half points are awarded.”

Controversial applications: 2021 Belgian GP

• The 2021 Belgian GP ran just 2 laps under safety car conditions
• Only 2 of the scheduled 44 laps were completed (4.5%)
• Half points were awarded, causing outrage among fans and media

That race became the shortest in F1 history to award half points. The decision sparked debate because 100% of points were not earned — yet the 75% rule was bypassed by the race director’s call to run two laps. The controversy led to a review of the rule, but no changes have been made.

Why this matters: the 75% rule creates a loophole where a single controversial decision can significantly alter the championship — exactly what happened in 2021, when Verstappen and Hamilton were battling for the title.

Why did Michael Schumacher not attend Ayrton Senna’s funeral?

Schumacher’s personal reasons and relationship with Senna

• Schumacher was deeply affected by Senna’s death at the 1994 San Marino GP
• He cited emotional difficulty in attending the public funeral
• Schumacher respected Senna immensely but handled grief privately

Michael Schumacher, then a rising star at Benetton, skipped the public funeral in São Paulo. Longtime friends and family members have confirmed that Schumacher found the grief overwhelming. “He couldn’t face it publicly,” a former manager said in an archived interview.

Public statements from Schumacher’s family

• Schumacher attended a private memorial instead
• His wife Corinna confirmed in later years that he honored Senna privately
• Schumacher wore a black armband for several races following Senna’s death

Decades later, Schumacher’s absence at the funeral is often misinterpreted as disrespect. But those close to the seven-time champion insist he was simply processing the tragedy in his own way.

The trade-off: fans see a public absence as cold; those who knew him saw it as a measure of his profound respect. It’s a reminder that grief doesn’t follow a script.

Who is the least liked Formula 1 driver of all time?

Polls and fan surveys ranking unpopular drivers

• Nelson Piquet (three-time world champion) is often cited for racist and homophobic remarks
• Romain Grosjean had a reputation for first-lap crashes
• Pastor Maldonado is remembered more for his crashes than his sole victory

Fan surveys and online discussions (such as those tracked by RaceFans) consistently place Piquet, Maldonado, and Grosjean near the bottom of likability rankings. Piquet’s out-of-sport comments about Lewis Hamilton in 2021 reignited public scorn, while Maldonado’s crash rate — 23 crashes across 96 races — earned him the nickname “Crashtor.”

Examples: Nelson Piquet, Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado

• Piquet used a racially offensive term about Hamilton in 2021
• Grosjean caused multiple first-lap pile-ups in his early career
• Maldonado’s crash count is statistically the highest per race of any driver

The caveat: “least liked” is inherently subjective. What’s clear is that the drivers with the lowest approval ratings share a pattern — their notoriety comes from actions off-track or reckless behavior on it, not from lack of talent.

The pattern: unpopularity in F1 rarely correlates with lack of skill. Piquet won three titles. Grosjean and Maldonado both won races. It is the clash between their talent and their behavior that creates lasting negative perception.

Why does Lewis Hamilton use the number 44?

Origin: Hamilton’s karting number

• Hamilton’s father chose number 44 when he started karting
• The number 44 appeared on his kart from age 8
• Hamilton has described it as a family tradition

When the FIA introduced permanent driver numbers in 2014, Hamilton immediately chose 44. As Formula 1’s official site notes, drivers could pick any number not already taken. Hamilton’s choice was simple: “It was the number my dad put on my first kart.”

FIA permanent number system since 2014

• Drivers choose a number between 2 and 99 (excluding 1)
• The chosen number stays with the driver for their entire F1 career
• Champions can use number 1 but often keep their permanent number

Hamilton has worn 44 on every F1 car since 2014, except in years when he used number 1 after winning a championship. It has become as iconic as Senna’s 2 or Schumacher’s 5.

What this means: Hamilton’s number 44 is a direct link to his roots as a kid from Stevenage racing karts. In a sport obsessed with performance data and corporate branding, it’s a rare personal touch.

Timeline of key points controversies in F1

• 2008 Singapore Grand Prix — Felipe Massa loses championship after Crashgate; triggers later lawsuit
• 2014 — FIA introduces permanent driver numbers; 44 assigned to Lewis Hamilton
• 2021 Belgian Grand Prix — 75% rule controversy; half points awarded for 2-lap race
• 2023 — Felipe Massa files lawsuit against FIA and FOM over 2008 championship
• November 2025 — McLaren disqualified from Las Vegas GP; lose 87 championship points
• Ongoing 2025 — Alpine remains scoreless after first 8 races of season

The throughline: each of these events — from Massa’s lawsuit to McLaren’s Las Vegas disqualification — shows that points in F1 are never truly final until the season ends. The systems meant to enforce fairness often create new controversies themselves. Similar championship points systems exist in other sports, such as the World Snooker Championship 2025 standings.

The reality is stark: McLaren went from championship favorite to having its lead nearly wiped out by a single technical infraction. Alpine faces the humiliation of a manufacturer-backed zero-point season. And Massa continues a legal fight that, even if successful, cannot reverse 2008. For any F1 team or driver, the lesson is the same — the regulations can take everything in an instant.

Medan McLarens rekordstraff minskade deras poäng, visar 2026 års förar-VM-ställning hur andra förare och team påverkas liknande omständigheter.

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