Who will be eligible to race in Formula One next year?

83 comments on “Who will be eligible to race in Formula One next year?”

1. 

   pete smith
   6th January 2015, 16:58

   is it a wild assumption that ex F1 racers will be grandfathered?

   Also surprising FE doesnt give points GP3 level
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      7th January 2015, 8:37

      Ex-F1 drivers can return providing they have started a certain number of races in previous seasons – details here.
2. 

   michael
   6th January 2015, 16:58

   Thanks for this Keith what is with Susie Wolf?
   1. 

      Enigma (@enigma)
      6th January 2015, 17:06

      No points at all, even if DTM counted.
   2. 

      park
      6th January 2015, 18:24

      I think Mrs Wolff and Mr Wolff are unhappy about this.
      1. 

         ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
         6th January 2015, 18:33

         howling as we speak? ;)
      2. 

         Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
         6th January 2015, 18:40

         No experience needed for Friday practices, so they are effectively the new ‘pay-driver, have a go’ route.
      3. 

         JCost (@jcost)
         7th January 2015, 6:39

         I think she already has a Super license. She was eligible to one under the old regulations, same with Kevin Magnussen.
3. 

   sato113 (@sato113)
   6th January 2015, 16:58

   strange how lucas di grassi and marcus ericsson aren’t eligible at the moment although they’ve both done many races in F1.
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      6th January 2015, 17:08

      @sato113 Ericsson is because he did at least five races last year, as it says in the article.

      Di Grassi’s drives were too long ago, though.
      1. 

         Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
         6th January 2015, 19:40

         So Vergne has got 3 years to get himself back in F1 or that’s it for him.
         Sutil too, but I can’t (and wouldn’t want to) see him back again.

         Kinda sad looking at that list – as unlikely as it was that Antonio Felix da Costa would ever get a chance in F1, this rule pretty much confirms that fact unless he leaves DTM pronto.
         1. 

            Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
            6th January 2015, 20:33

            @eurobrun To Haas it is for those two, pronto.
   2. 

      Mark (@marlarkey)
      6th January 2015, 23:36

      Juan Pablo Montoya apparently doesn’t have sufficient experience in F1 !!! :)

      This is another barking mad idea…. this is like a trade union closed shop…
      1. 

         Ivan B (@njoydesign)
         7th January 2015, 22:27

         @marlarkey
         To be honest, I don’t think Juan Pablo would look especially gracious in a F1 car of today. That is if he even got to manage to stuff his modern self into one.
         1. 

            Mark (@marlarkey)
            7th January 2015, 22:50

            @njoydesign LOL true… but this is supposed to be about capability and being experienced enough…

            By the way I had to check back at some previous drivers, including WDC, just to check whether they would have been excluded and prevented from making their comeback…
            Schumacher
            Lauda
            Prost
            Mansell
            Raikkonen
            Verstappen

            Cant’t think off the top of my head of other experienced drivers who had a long gap but I’m sure there are plenty.
            1. 

               Ivan B (@njoydesign)
               7th January 2015, 23:02

               funny you mentioned Lauda, because I recall some Super License dispute he was involved at the time. However, I don’t think it is entirely correct to project this rule onto times so far behind. After all, there were less races in a championship, so this rule would need to account for that.
4. 

   OmarR-Pepper (@)
   6th January 2015, 17:07

   why does felipe rosenqvist need 7 points if he already have more than 40 and 3 seasons in F3? I see some other names with the same issue.
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      6th January 2015, 17:10

      @omarr-pepper At the end of this year (when the new system comes into effect) the point he accrued in 2012 won’t count. He scored 20 points in 2012, deduct that from his total of 53 and you get 33, meaning he needs to score seven points this year to be eligible in 2016.
   2. 

      OmarR-Pepper (@)
      6th January 2015, 17:11

      Ooo sorry, for 2016 (I am still living with 2014 in my brain).
      So that means that anybody with 40 or more on that list can get a seat this year? (in case Manor or Catherham survive,,,)
      1. 

         Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
         6th January 2015, 19:43

         Its irrelevant for this year – only 2016 season onward, however if miraculously one of Manor / Caterham were to survive, then an opportunist pay driver could bag themselves a drive, make 5 appearances and they’d still be eligible come 2016!

         I best see what money I’ve got down the back of the sofa…
      2. 

         ColdFly F1 (@)
         6th January 2015, 20:05

         NA – the rule comes into effect from 2016 – that is next year ;-)
   3. 

      Mark (@marlarkey)
      6th January 2015, 23:38

      Why announce this after people are already signed up for their contracts for 2015 ? That way those that are already in the ‘wrong’ series cannot change and are effectively barred from F1 for an extra year.
5. 

   Fred Schechter
   6th January 2015, 17:18

   So, how do I put this.
   Does NASCAR get any points?
   V8 Supercars?
   NASCAR Brazil?
   1. 

      drmouse (@drmouse)
      6th January 2015, 17:56

      There is a list in the other article of what counts and how much.
   2. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      6th January 2015, 18:52

      No, no and no I’m afraid.
   3. 

      Random
      9th January 2015, 6:12

      Would you really want any of those crash-and-bash drivers in F1 immediately? Just a quick path to more wheel-to-wheel contact and flipped cars in my mind…
6. 

   Carlitox (@carlitox)
   6th January 2015, 17:18

   Does that mean K-Mag can’t come back if Button or Alonso retire? K-Mag isn’t by any means the best, but he isn’t rubbish either. He’s pretty good actually and it’d feel unfair that he had to go through another championship to get back to F1
   1. 

      Dan Brown (@danbrown180)
      6th January 2015, 17:25

      15 F1 Races in the last 3 years. He’s ok.
   2. 

      maarten.f1 (@)
      6th January 2015, 17:29

      Any ex-F1 driver can return to grand prix racing if they have started at least five races in the previous year, or 15 races in the previous three years.

      @carlitox Unless Alonso and Button stick around for a very long time, he doesn’t have to worry.
      1. 

         Broke84 (@broke84)
         6th January 2015, 18:33

         So Kubica couldn’t come back if one day he magically could?
         1. 

            maarten.f1 (@)
            6th January 2015, 21:49

            @broke84 Not according to these rules, no. But I would assume exceptions will be made in such a case.

            I mean, if these rules were in place when Schumacher made his comeback, I’m sure they would’ve made an exception.

            I do wonder if WRC counts towards points, those guys can really drive a car!
            1. 

               JerseyF1 (@jerseyf1)
               6th January 2015, 23:08

               @maarten-f1 An exception for an ex 7 times WDC and winner of 91 Grand Prix coming out of retirement I would expect.

               An exception for the winner of a single Grand Prix following an absence caused by injuries making it impossible to pilot a single seat racing car seems highly unlikely.

               Perhaps this is one annual rumour that will finally be put to bet. Kubica isn’t coming back to F1 under any superlicence rules! And if that spoils anyone’s fun at least they can always keep talking excitedly about McLaren changing their livery to orange from January to March every year.
            2. 

               Mark (@marlarkey)
               6th January 2015, 23:44

               Juan Pablo Montoya is a pretty experienced driver…. if he wanted to make a return he couldn’t until 2017 at the earliest.
   3. 

      Carlitox (@carlitox)
      6th January 2015, 17:57

      Thanks both for the info! :)
7. 

   Artyom Gavrichenkov (@ximaera)
   6th January 2015, 17:50

   Speaking about Daniil Kvyat, you’ve forgot to add his second place in 2011 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC championship. It gives him 3 points and 41 points overall, just enough to progress to F1.
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      6th January 2015, 18:55

      @ximaera That was more than three years ago so it isn’t counted.

      However at the point he made his F1 debut (12 months ago) it was within the three-year period, which is why he’s included here.
8. 

   Alex Brown (@splittimes)
   6th January 2015, 17:56

   This is seriously going to damage the stock of many series. And it is, again, indicative of the financial situations drivers find themselves in. For example, James Calado currently races GTs at the same level as Giancarlo Fisichella, an ex-F1 driver. They must have similar levels of skill: they match each other on track. But Calado’s WEC experience counts for nothing. If he can hold his own against drivers who’ve already demonstrated their aptitude, why doesn’t he qualify? He clearly has the skill, but not the cash to make it into what is basically now an F1-affiliated feeder series.

   At the same time, hopefully, this will (to a certain extent) separate out those young, ambitious kids who just want F1 and nothing else. The ones whose mind is always on the next step, and the present is never enough. Maybe we’ll get more drivers appearing in other series who are there because they love driving, no matter what it is. And of course, they’re welcome in GP3/2/1/etc as well!
9. 

   Broke84 (@broke84)
   6th January 2015, 18:35

   @Keithcollantine What about ex F1 drivers who have been out for a while such as Kubica should he ever be able to return
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      6th January 2015, 18:56

      @broke84 As it says in the article, drivers with prior F1 experience need to have done 15 races in the last three years. So he’s not eligible at present as he’s now gone four years without starting an F1 race.
      1. 

         ColdFly F1 (@)
         6th January 2015, 20:13

         @broke84, he could buy Manor and drive 5 races this season.
         (and sell the other seat & races to make some further money).
10. 

    Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
    6th January 2015, 18:38

    Interesting; looking at it like that, I would suggest that 30 is an appropriate cut-off for the current FIA scoring system. For instance, Sainz Jr, Kvyat, Magnussen, Gutierrez and Frijns are all ready to drive in F1 (as shown by the middle three). Auer, Gasly, Kirchhoefer etc. just need a few more points from another year in powerful single seaters (same for King, if he wants to be the next ‘Max Chilton’), and arguably Max Verstappen under these rules (but if they had existed, I’m sure he would have actively kept 2nd in Euro F3, thus making him eligible instead of Tom Blomqvist).
    1. 

       Strontium (@strontium)
       6th January 2015, 21:01

       @fastiesty I agree. 30.

       I also think they should include DTM, Formula E, and have no restrictions on former F1 drivers.
       1. 

          Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
          7th January 2015, 3:38

          @strontium Agreed, and the winners of GP3 (Lynn), FR3.5 (Sainz Jr) have shown they can graduate to F1, just as well as the FIA F3 winner (Ocon) and runner-up (Verstappen, for all intents and purposes).

          Those series would fit well alongside Super Formula, 20 for the winner (to combine with other series to make 30). I also just noticed that the FIA “we can’t count” issue has arisen again: “10, 7, 5, 2, 1” – Uhoh. I think that 5 should be a 4….
11. 

    Broke84 (@broke84)
    6th January 2015, 18:41

    Now having looked at the rules properly the whole thing is ridiculous, it means that talent or promise are even less valued than before and it means that many proven ex F1 drivers could never come back such as Kubica.
    Not that I want susie wolff to race particularly but does it mean that FP experience counts for nothing?
    1. 

       Breno (@austus)
       6th January 2015, 19:48

       If only her DTM points counter for something. Oh wait…
12. 

    hey (@hey)
    6th January 2015, 19:06

    I was expecting the points-system to be a very simple bar just to block the Verstappens, but the way they’ve formalised it makes me think it’s going to end up being a very restrictive qualifying system for experienced racing drivers to get into F1. Especially when you have to commit to 80% of a championship to get the points. And then you think of these series being flooded with drivers trying to get points to get into F1.

    I mean look the list of who’s got points at the moment. Still plenty of turnover from the young drivers from the number-series (F2/GP2/F3/GP3/3.5), but look at the how few prospective names there are from outside those series. Points from WEC/IndyCar/SuperFormula are going to be at a tremendous premium!

    Basically, they’ve cleaved the driver market in half. You either get your points young and go straight into F1, then either be a “paid F1 driver” for the rest of your life (very exclusive club) or scrape around the back for a pittance to still be eligible for a licence (until a 20-year-old replaces you).
    Or you don’t make it into F1 and do your driving elsewhere. Where you may or may not be fortunate enough to get a decent enough car to either win or become a consistent force in WEC/IndyCar/SuperFormula. And not everyone will get the points! (So you may wish to join one of the number-series and take points off a shedload of those young inexperienced drivers who now won’t get enough points to make it into F1).

    They’ve made a very narrow opening to get into F1. It’s going to skew the F1 driver market heavily, and leave a lot of talented people “stuck” outside F1 (oh, the horror). And I don’t think that narrow opening is going to make a fountain of talent; I think it’s going to make a very effective choke. (Roll-on the inevitable changes.)

    All we wanted was for Max Verstappen to wait another year…
    1. 

       Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
       6th January 2015, 20:19

       “a very exclusive club” – I’m sure the FIA know a lot about that, so it’s only natural that it came about in their attempt to declare who can get in to F1….
13. 

    Jack (@lotus123)
    6th January 2015, 19:08

    Alexander Rossi probably won’t be driving for Haas then
    1. 

       Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
       7th January 2015, 3:41

       @lotus123 That’s why he’s now looking at Indycar; really, if he was to make his debut, it would have been last year for Marussia.
14. 

    Robert McKay
    6th January 2015, 19:20

    Dear Stable Door,

    There’s no point closing, the horse has already bolted. Now you just look reactionary.
    1. 

       Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
       7th January 2015, 3:41

       Were the FIA ever proactive?
15. 

    Himmat
    6th January 2015, 19:24

    It’s crazy that if for some reason JPM wants to come back into F1, he can’t. Put any of the Big Five F1 drivers into IndyCar and they won’t be the Big Five anymore.

    What barbarity is this!???
    1. 

       Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
       6th January 2015, 19:45

       JPM for the Indy title this year? Then he’d qualify! Doubt he’d come back mind.
    2. 

       Mark (@marlarkey)
       6th January 2015, 23:34

       ROFL… Juan Pablo Montoya doesn’t have enough points to race in F1 :) :)
       1. 

          Mark (@marlarkey)
          6th January 2015, 23:46

          actually because of the timing if he did want to return, the earliest he could do so would be 2017.
16. 

    Breno (@austus)
    6th January 2015, 19:49

    Interesting enough, Pedro Piquet is going to dominate Brazilian F3 again next year and he will qualify for F1. Well, hopefully that pushes him towards Gp2 sooner rather than later.
    1. 

       Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
       6th January 2015, 20:30

       @austus Pedro Piquet looks like another chip off the old block – probably the third Piquet in F1 in a few years’ time. He’s a similar age to Pietro Fittipaldi too..
17. 

    Fixy (@)
    6th January 2015, 19:56

    As always, FIA’s intentions are praiseworthy, be it to exclude teenagers without experience or pay-drivers. However, it is essentially impossible to reduce every driver to a number. The fact the points are from a three-year period make unreliability, misfortune or other problems less of a factor, but it may still halt promising drivers from débuting earlier, enabling luckier but weaker drivers to take their place. Common sense should be enough of a factor for teams to decide who they want as a driver. Of course someone like Ide would be a risk for others, but why would someone, apart from Super Aguri, want to put a spanner in their works? The only real problem is when the money they come with is essential to the team. But a quick look at Formula 1’s history shows how impressive talents came up to nothing (Pantano, di Grassi) and uninspiring drivers became fast (Raikkonen, Kobayashi). It can still be that someone with enough points to enter F1 will turn out to be all hat and no trousers, but the team will lose the option to pick someone with a low profile and hope he or she turns out to be competitive.
    1. 

       Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
       6th January 2015, 20:29

       @fixy Raikkonen uninspiring? He won 13 of 23 single seater races pre-F1! Before that, he just stayed at the top of karting, like a lot of juniors back then did. It’s only since Vettel that youngsters jump in at 15 and try to make F1 in the next five years.

       Verstappen is just a hybrid of both styles, starting young, yet progressing at the rate of a Kimi in that he can move from the top of karts to the top of single seaters after just one season.

       The FIA would be better served to make F1 a ‘champion of champions’ series – i.e. to get in you must have won a junior title. The only driver recently to drive without a title win is Max Chilton, Charles Pic too, but he could have won one if he didn’t keep moving up before his title year.
       1. 

          Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
          6th January 2015, 20:32

          Which arguably Verstappen would also have had next year, unless he moved up to FR3.5 and didn’t win the title.
18. 

    park
    6th January 2015, 19:59

    I agree with most here.
    FIA has gone too far this time. The window for SL has been too narrow so far. I think basically they should not go into too much details on this case.
    Arguably, FIA is eager to promote F2 before F2 comes to life.
    1. 

       Meander (@meander)
       6th January 2015, 21:13

       Also, I’m wondering what the use is of getting 60 points for being F2 champion if 40 is the the requirement.
       1. 

          OmarR-Pepper (@)
          6th January 2015, 22:27

          @meander maybe in some years they create a “megalicense” or stuff like that, to give some sense to the 60 points.
       2. 

          Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
          8th January 2015, 10:08

          If 60 points is for a win, it’s likely that the runner up gets 50 and third-place gets 40, meaning they can progress.
19. 

    Meander (@meander)
    6th January 2015, 21:12

    The final nail in the coffin of Robin Frijns. In case he needed another one.
20. 

    SteveR
    6th January 2015, 21:14

    So no more drive 300k in a current car for a license?
    1. 

       Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
       6th January 2015, 23:09

       They still need to do that.
21. 

    OmarR-Pepper (@)
    6th January 2015, 22:35

    Manor should take the chance and auction 2 seats for 5 races, in a 21-race season (20 without Korea), they could make room for 8 drivers. Enough money to pay all.debts and become a decent midfield team!
    1. 

       GongTong (@gongtong)
       6th January 2015, 23:46

       As crazy as this looks at first glance. I don’t think I’d be surprised if it was already part of the packages they’re offering to try to fund their return.
22. 

    GongTong (@gongtong)
    6th January 2015, 23:40

    Am I correct in thinking that Paul di Resta raced in DTM for three years before he made his F1 debut? So he would not have been eligible for a drive? I never rated him particularly highly, but I didn’t think him unworthy of his place.

    I think it’s a shame that touring series are not included at all, even with a significantly lower rate of points awarded. DTM is a proper, top tier championship.

    I guess drivers would be forced to hang around in lower (Even if slightly more relevant) series rather than taking a more interesting and varied route into the sport.
23. 

    MattB
    7th January 2015, 0:15

    I applaud the idea of having to earn your way into F1. Yes, it doesn’t stop pay drivers, but those drivers need to have at least demonstrated some talent.

    The negative reaction surprises me, isn’t this idea exactly what we should want from F1? To be eligible you have to demonstrate success in other series. Yes, we can quibble about the details (I would certainly add in Formula E), but I love the idea.
24. 

    Swordsman_uk (@swordsman_uk)
    7th January 2015, 0:53

    Am I missing something? Does this now mean that drivers can’t afford to ONLY be an F1 team’s third/reserve/development/test driver?
    I know many try to race in other series already but with these rules they’d pretty much have to race elsewhere as well if they want to be promoted to a race seat the following year. (The exception being if they’ve already earned enough points that lets them take a year out from earning points.)
25. 

    Swordsman_uk (@swordsman_uk)
    7th January 2015, 0:56

    Another thought… isn’t this a little harsh on GP2 champions like Jolyon Palmer who aren’t able to get an F1 seat straight away? After three years those points won’t count any more but as a former champion, he isn’t allowed to re-enter GP2.
    Then again, if they can’t get an F1 seat then they’re probably already looking at WEC, Indycar, etc.
    1. 

       ken (@whatevz)
       7th January 2015, 3:16

       Hear hear. This feels like another deeply flawed knee jerk reaction regulation like double points, a rule they will need to seriously revise by the end of the year.
26. 

    ykiki5
    7th January 2015, 1:29

    So this puts an end to what used to be standard practice in F1 – your reserve driver would be a full-time tester for the team with the hopes of one day moving up to a full-time ride.

    If you’re going to be a team’s 3rd driver, then you need to be actively driving in another series full-time? Sure, it’s been done before, but now it’d look to be a requirement.
27. 

    JohnBt (@johnbt)
    7th January 2015, 1:51

    Thanks Keith, great stats and very interesting to see the compilation.
28. 

    Evans
    7th January 2015, 6:14

    Is Sebastian Loeb eligible? What does he need to do?
29. 

    JedPB67
    7th January 2015, 9:40

    The only way you can describe this new point system is a categorical mess and it’s all to do with the fact that Red Bull has employed a driver who, despite his obvious talent, has been targeted simply because he’s young.
30. 

    wsrgo (@wsrgo)
    8th January 2015, 5:09

    @keithcollantine Bianchi participated in GP2…..
    1. 

       wsrgo (@wsrgo)
       8th January 2015, 5:13

       Scratch that, I didn’t see the ‘since 2012’ part :P
31. 

    Keir
    8th January 2015, 9:26

    Drivers can return to F1 if they’ve had 15 races in the past 3 years? So Schumacher wouldn’t have been eligible for his comeback?
32. 

    Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
    8th January 2015, 10:09

    @keithcollantine

    Any ex-F1 driver can return to grand prix racing if they have started at least five races in the previous year, or 15 races in the previous three years.

    Surely that means Mark Webber doesn’t need those 38 points..?
33. 

    Racing in Japan
    27th January 2015, 13:36

    Wonderful examined this much data!　But this point system is defects. SuperFormula has been wronged.
    SuperFormula has Great driver(WEC champ, Ex F1 driver etc) and fastest machine without F1(equivalent cornering speed to F1)!

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