How are points awarded for shortened F1 races? A recap of the point system after 2022 Japanese GP

The 2022 F1 Japanese Grand Prix was quite confusing for many as there were heavy thunderstorms during the race that caused a red flag and a shortened race. These kinds of shortened races are essentially time-based and not lap-based. Additionally, there are a lot of confusing rules that apply when points are being awarded to drivers after a shortened race.

Ahead of the 2022 F1 season, the rules for shortened races and their points systems were revised entirely. Three intervals of 25%, 50%, and 75% of the planned race were introduced, according to which the points will be awarded to the drivers.

Below is a detailed table showing the finishing positions and the points awarded in each of the intervals of a shortened race.

Position	Up to 25% of race distance	Up to 50% of race distance	Up to 75% of race distance	100% GP distance (Full Points)
1st	6	13	19	25
2nd	4	10	14	18
3rd	3	8	12	15
4th	2	6	10	12
5th	1	5	8	10
6th	-	4	6	8
7th	-	3	4	6
8th	-	2	3	4
9th	-	1	2	2
10th	-	-	1	1

This points system for shortened races is covered under Article 6.5 of the sporting regulations. However, the confusion during the 2022 F1 Japanese GP was due to a line in the rulebook that said the shortened race point system only applies if the race is suspended and cannot be resumed.

Since the race restarted after the red flag and ran to the time-enforced checkered flag, full points have been given to the drivers and teams. This in turn gave Max Verstappen his second drivers' world championship, which he could not have clinched in Japan if full points were not awarded.

After this confusion, the FIA came out and declared that they will be sitting down with the World Motor Sport Council to revamp the points system to avoid this conundrum.

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FIA could extend F1 race duration to avoid Japan 2022 points confusion

Though we didn't get to see much racing in the 2022 F1 Japanese Grand Prix, it contained a lot of incidents, both haunting and confusing.

One of them was the tricky points system confusion that crept up after the race ended. Even though the race was shortened to 75%, full points were given to the drivers. Since the sporting regulations are difficult to understand, most fans were left in the dark as to what was happening.

Hence, the FIA has decided to sit with the World Motor Sport Council to change certain aspects of the sporting regulations. It is believed that one of the changes could be related to the time window in which a Grand Prix is held.

Though every time-based race is of two hours before the checkered flag, it is held within a time window of three hours that starts at the very beginning. This particular time window could be extended to four hours in order to squeeze more racing in the Grand Prix and reduce the chance of a shortened race.

Of course, nothing has been announced by the FIA as of yet, but there is a strong chance that the wording of the sporting regulation will be revised to clear out the confusion in Articles 6.5 and 57.