1981 Standings

Nelson Piquet leads the 1981 Drivers Championship with 50 points, holding a 1-point advantage over Carlos Reutemann (Williams). A gap of fewer than 25 points — one race win — means the title race remains mathematically open every single weekend.

In the 1981 Constructors Championship, Williams leads with 95 points — a 34-point margin over Brabham. The Constructors title is decided by the combined points haul of a team's two drivers from every race, making car reliability, pit stop execution, and strategic pairing as important as raw pace.

The current FIA points system awards points to the top ten finishers in every Grand Prix: 25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1. An additional point goes to the driver who sets the fastest lap of the race, provided they finish inside the top ten. Sprint events — held on Saturday at select rounds — offer a separate points structure: 8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 for the top eight finishers, counting toward both championships independently of the main race result.

A driver must hold an FIA Super Licence and score at least one championship point to register on the standings. DNFs score zero, but a classified finish — completing at least 90% of the race distance — earns the driver’s finishing position even without a points reward.