The 2016 F1 season will be the first in which any new drivers entering the championship must satisfy new criteria set down by the FIA which is designed to assess their performance in junior championships.
In January the FIA revealed its new superlicence points system, under which young drivers must accumulate at least 40 points over a three-year period in order to be allowed to race in F1.
However following complaints that some championships were under-valued and others were omitted entirely, the FIA revealed an overhauled points system on Friday. While some series were added for the first time, such as the DTM and Indy Lights, others benefitted from higher points allocations, such as Formula Renault 3.5 and Japanese Super Formula.
The result is that more drivers are now eligible to score points and potentially gain a place on the grid for 2016. Existing F1 drivers can remain eligible as long as they have driven in five grands prix in the previous year, or 15 over the previous three years.
F1 Fanatic has crunched the numbers and found 276 drivers have scored at least one superlicence point over the previous three years. The table below shows how many each has based on the criteria specified by the FIA.
For 2016, drivers’ points will be calculated based on the 2013-2015 period, so the table also shows how many points each driver will drop from 2012 and how many they need to gain this year in order to be eligible for a superlicence.
The FIA has also indicated that drivers who reach 40 superlicence points “will now keep this possibility for three years (e.g. typical F1 test driver situation)”. If this is applied retroactively, drivers who reached 40 points in 2014 and 2013 could also have the chance to race in F1 in 2016.
Superlicence points 2012-2014
Driver | Scores | Total | Points needed in 2015 | To drop from 2012 | Scores counted from |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Andre Lotterer | 6 | 145 | None | 50 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012, Super Formula 2014, Super Formula 2013, Super Formula 2012 |
Marcel Fassler | 3 | 100 | None | 40 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Benoit Treluyer | 3 | 100 | None | 40 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Tom Kristensen | 3 | 80 | None | 30 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Loic Duval | 6 | 80 | None | 11 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012, Super Formula 2014, Super Formula 2013, Super Formula 2012 |
Will Power | 3 | 80 | None | 30 | IndyCar 2014, IndyCar 2013, IndyCar 2012 |
Scott Dixon | 3 | 80 | None | 20 | IndyCar 2014, IndyCar 2013, IndyCar 2012 |
Stoffel Vandoorne | 3 | 75 | None | 10 | GP2 2014, Formula Renault 3.5 2013, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2012 |
Raffaele Marciello | 3 | 74 | None | 30 | GP2 2014, Euro F3 2013, Euro F3 2012 |
Allan McNish | 2 | 70 | None | 30 | WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Helio Castroneves | 3 | 70 | None | 10 | IndyCar 2014, IndyCar 2013, IndyCar 2012 |
Kazuki Nakajima | 4 | 63 | 2 | 25 | WEC LMP1 2014, Super Formula 2014, Super Formula 2013, Super Formula 2012 |
Sam Bird | 2 | 60 | None | 20 | GP2 2013, Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Anthony Davidson | 2 | 60 | None | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013 |
Sebastien Buemi | 2 | 60 | None | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013 |
Felix Rosenqvist | 3 | 53 | 7 | 20 | Euro F3 2014, Euro F3 2013, Euro F3 2012 |
Alex Lynn | 3 | 53 | None | 3 | Euro F3 2013, GP3 2014, British F3 2012 |
Felipe Nasr* | 3 | 52 | None | 2 | GP2 2014, GP2 2013, GP2 2012 |
Mitchell Evans | 2 | 50 | 20 | 30 | GP2 2014, GP3 2012 |
Ryan Hunter-Reay | 3 | 50 | 30 | 40 | IndyCar 2014, IndyCar 2013, IndyCar 2012 |
Antonio Felix da Costa | 3 | 50 | 20 | 30 | GP3 2012, Formula Renault 3.5 2013, Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Daniil Kvyat* | 3 | 47 | 10 | 17 | GP3 2013, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2012, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2012 |
Jolyon Palmer | 2 | 46 | None | 0 | GP2 2014, GP2 2013 |
Fabio Leimer | 2 | 46 | None | 6 | GP2 2013, GP2 2012 |
Luiz Razia | 2 | 45 | 35 | 40 | GP2 2012, Indy Lights 2014 |
Esteban Ocon | 2 | 45 | None | 0 | Euro F3 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013 |
Carlos Sainz Jnr* | 2 | 43 | 5 | 8 | Euro F3 2012, Formula Renault 3.5 2014 |
James Calado | 2 | 40 | 10 | 10 | GP2 2013, GP2 2012 |
Davide Valsecchi | 1 | 40 | 40 | 40 | GP2 2012 |
Daniel Juncadella | 1 | 40 | 40 | 40 | Euro F3 2012 |
Kevin Magnussen* | 2 | 40 | 5 | 5 | Formula Renault 3.5 2013, Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Tom Blomqvist | 4 | 39 | 6 | 5 | Euro F3 2014, Euro F3 2013, Euro F3 2012, German F3 2012 |
Alexander Wurz | 3 | 38 | 22 | 20 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Yvan Muller | 3 | 37 | 3 | 0 | WTCC 2014, WTCC 2013, WTCC 2012 |
Nicolas Lapierre | 3 | 36 | 24 | 20 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Simon Pagenaud | 3 | 36 | 12 | 8 | IndyCar 2014, IndyCar 2013, IndyCar 2012 |
Pierre Gasly | 2 | 35 | 5 | 0 | Formula Renault 3.5 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013 |
Robin Frijns | 1 | 35 | 40 | 35 | Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Joao Paulo de Oliveira | 3 | 34 | 13 | 7 | Super Formula 2014, Super Formula 2013, Super Formula 2012 |
Mike Rockenfeller | 3 | 32 | 8 | 0 | DTM 2014, DTM 2013, DTM 2012 |
Esteban Gutierrez* | 1 | 30 | 40 | 30 | GP2 2012 |
Neel Jani | 2 | 30 | 20 | 10 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Oliver Rowland | 4 | 30 | 15 | 5 | Formula Renault 3.5 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2012, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2013 |
Jack Harvey | 3 | 29 | 21 | 10 | GP3 2013, British F3 2012, Indy Lights 2014 |
Stephane Sarrazin | 2 | 28 | 12 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013 |
Max Verstappen* | 3 | 27 | 13 | 0 | Euro F3 2014, CIK-FIA KZ 2013, CIK-FIA KF 2013 |
Lucas Auer | 3 | 27 | 20 | 7 | Euro F3 2014, Euro F3 2013, German F3 2012 |
Jordan King | 4 | 27 | 20 | 7 | Euro F3 2014, Euro F3 2013, British F3 2013, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2012 |
Gabby Chaves | 2 | 27 | 13 | 0 | Indy Lights 2014, Indy Lights 2013 |
Romain Dumas | 2 | 26 | 20 | 6 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Naoki Yamamoto | 2 | 26 | 14 | 0 | Super Formula 2013, Super Formula 2014 |
Marvin Kirchhofer | 2 | 25 | 15 | 0 | GP3 2014, German F3 2013 |
Jules Bianchi* | 1 | 25 | 40 | 25 | Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Bruno Spengler | 2 | 25 | 15 | 0 | DTM 2013, DTM 2012 |
Will Stevens* | 2 | 22 | 18 | 0 | Formula Renault 3.5 2014, Formula Renault 3.5 2013 |
Nyck De Vries | 4 | 22 | 18 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2012 |
Gabriele Tarquini | 3 | 22 | 18 | 0 | WTCC 2014, WTCC 2013, WTCC 2012 |
Rob Huff | 2 | 22 | 18 | 0 | WTCC 2013, WTCC 2012 |
Max Chilton* | 1 | 20 | 40 | 20 | GP2 2012 |
Marc Lieb | 1 | 20 | 20 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014 |
Dean Stoneman | 1 | 20 | 20 | 0 | GP3 2014 |
Jimmy Eriksson | 2 | 20 | 30 | 10 | GP3 2014, German F3 2012 |
Nick Yelloly | 3 | 20 | 30 | 10 | GP3 2014, GP3 2013, Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Facu Regalia | 1 | 20 | 20 | 0 | GP3 2013 |
Conor Daly | 2 | 20 | 25 | 5 | GP3 2013, GP3 2012 |
Daniel Abt | 1 | 20 | 40 | 20 | GP3 2012 |
Roberto Merhi* | 1 | 20 | 20 | 0 | Formula Renault 3.5 2014 |
Koudai Tsukakoshi | 1 | 20 | 40 | 20 | Super Formula 2012 |
Stefano Coletti | 2 | 18 | 22 | 0 | GP2 2014, GP2 2013 |
Antonio Fuoco | 2 | 18 | 22 | 0 | Euro F3 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2013 |
Carlos Munoz | 3 | 18 | 22 | 0 | IndyCar 2014, Indy Lights 2013, Indy Lights 2012 |
Takuya Izawa | 2 | 18 | 37 | 15 | Super Formula 2013, Super Formula 2012 |
Nicolas Prost | 3 | 17 | 33 | 10 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013, WEC LMP1 2012 |
Yuichi Nakayama | 2 | 17 | 30 | 7 | Japanese F3 2013, Japanese F3 2012 |
Mattias Ekstrom | 3 | 17 | 23 | 0 | DTM 2014, DTM 2013, DTM 2012 |
Marco Wittmann | 2 | 16 | 24 | 0 | DTM 2014, DTM 2013 |
Jake Dennis | 3 | 15 | 35 | 10 | Euro F3 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2012, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013 |
Norman Nato | 3 | 15 | 32 | 7 | Formula Renault 3.5 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2012, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2012 |
Gary Paffett | 2 | 15 | 25 | 0 | DTM 2013, DTM 2012 |
Jose Maria Lopez | 1 | 15 | 25 | 0 | WTCC 2014 |
Sage Karam | 1 | 15 | 25 | 0 | Indy Lights 2013 |
Tristan Vautier | 1 | 15 | 25 | 0 | Indy Lights 2012 |
Christian Vietoris | 2 | 14 | 26 | 0 | DTM 2014, DTM 2013 |
Augusto Farfus | 2 | 14 | 26 | 0 | DTM 2013, DTM 2012 |
Johnny Cecotto Jnr | 2 | 13 | 30 | 3 | GP2 2014, GP2 2012 |
Antonio Giovinazzi | 2 | 13 | 27 | 0 | Euro F3 2014, British F3 2013 |
Emil Bernstorff | 3 | 13 | 28 | 1 | Euro F3 2012, GP3 2014, German F3 2013 |
Norbert Michelisz | 3 | 13 | 27 | 0 | WTCC 2014, WTCC 2013, WTCC 2012 |
Arthur Pic | 3 | 12 | 31 | 3 | GP2 2014, Formula Renault 3.5 2013, Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Marcus Ericsson* | 2 | 12 | 32 | 4 | GP2 2013, GP2 2012 |
Lucas di Grassi | 2 | 12 | 28 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013 |
Tio Ellinas | 2 | 12 | 30 | 2 | GP3 2013, GP3 2012 |
Sergey Sirotkin | 2 | 12 | 28 | 0 | Formula Renault 3.5 2014, Formula Renault 3.5 2013 |
Nico Muller | 2 | 12 | 30 | 2 | Formula Renault 3.5 2013, Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Marco Sorensen | 2 | 12 | 35 | 7 | Formula Renault 3.5 2013, Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Ryo Hirakawa | 2 | 12 | 38 | 10 | Super Formula 2014, Japanese F3 2012 |
Lance Stroll | 1 | 12 | 28 | 0 | Italian F4 2014 |
Bruno Baptista | 1 | 12 | 28 | 0 | Formula 4 Sudamericana 2014 |
Dennis Olsen | 2 | 12 | 28 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2013 |
Alain Menu | 1 | 12 | 28 | 0 | WTCC 2012 |
Zach Veach | 2 | 12 | 28 | 0 | Indy Lights 2014, Indy Lights 2013 |
Esteban Guerrieri | 1 | 12 | 28 | 0 | Indy Lights 2012 |
Pascal Wehrlein | 2 | 11 | 39 | 10 | Euro F3 2012, DTM 2014 |
William Buller | 2 | 11 | 35 | 6 | Euro F3 2012, British F3 2013 |
Aaro Vainio | 2 | 11 | 39 | 10 | GP3 2013, GP3 2012 |
Nobuharu Matsushita | 2 | 11 | 29 | 0 | Japanese F3 2014, Japanese F3 2013 |
Juan Pablo Montoya | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | IndyCar 2014 |
Marco Andretti | 2 | 10 | 30 | 0 | IndyCar 2014, IndyCar 2013 |
Mattia Drudi | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Italian F4 2014 |
Felipe Ortiz | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Formula 4 Sudamericana 2014 |
Markus Pommer | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | German F3 2014 |
Takamoto Katsuta | 2 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Japanese F3 2014, Japanese F3 2013 |
Simon Hodge | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Australian F3 2014 |
Ben Gersekowski | 2 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Australian F3 2014, Australian F3 2013 |
Tim Macrow | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Australian F3 2013 |
James Winslow | 1 | 10 | 40 | 10 | Australian F3 2012 |
Pedro Piquet | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Brazilian F3 2014 |
Martin Cao | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | British F3 2014 |
Benjamin Barnicoat | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2014 |
Matt Parry | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2013 |
Charles Leclerc | 2 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2014, CIK-FIA KZ 2013 |
Edoardo Mortara | 2 | 10 | 30 | 0 | DTM 2014, DTM 2012 |
Jamie Green | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | DTM 2012 |
Sebastien Loeb | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | WTCC 2014 |
James Nash | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | WTCC 2013 |
Gustavo Yacaman | 1 | 10 | 30 | 0 | Indy Lights 2012 |
Harry Tincknell | 2 | 9 | 32 | 1 | Euro F3 2013, British F3 2012 |
Mathias Beche | 2 | 9 | 31 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013 |
Giedo van der Garde* | 1 | 8 | 40 | 8 | GP2 2012 |
Rinaldo Capello | 1 | 8 | 40 | 8 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Jazeman Jaafar | 2 | 8 | 39 | 7 | British F3 2012, Formula Renault 3.5 2014 |
Flavio Camponeschi | 2 | 8 | 32 | 0 | CIK-FIA KZ 2014, CIK-FIA KF 2012 |
Tom Joyner | 2 | 8 | 32 | 0 | CIK-FIA KF 2013, CIK-FIA KF 2012 |
Stephane Richelmi | 2 | 7 | 33 | 0 | GP2 2014, GP2 2013 |
Matias Laine | 1 | 7 | 40 | 7 | GP3 2012 |
Nigel Melker | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Formula Renault 3.5 2013 |
Hiroaki Ishiura | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Super Formula 2014 |
Tsugio Matsuda | 2 | 7 | 35 | 2 | Super Formula 2013, Super Formula 2012 |
Andrea Russo | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Italian F4 2014 |
Agustin Lima | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Formula 4 Sudamericana 2014 |
Nabil Jeffri | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | German F3 2014 |
Artem Markelov | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | German F3 2013 |
Kenta Yamashita | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Japanese F3 2014 |
John Magro | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Australian F3 2013 |
Chris Gilmour | 1 | 7 | 40 | 7 | Australian F3 2012 |
Bruno Etman | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Brazilian F3 2014 |
Matt Rao | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | British F3 2014 |
Louis Deletraz | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2014 |
Jack Aitken | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2013 |
Luca Ghiotto | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2013 |
Tom Coronel | 2 | 7 | 33 | 0 | WTCC 2014, WTCC 2012 |
Matthew Brabham | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Indy Lights 2014 |
Jack Hawksworth | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Indy Lights 2013 |
Sebastian Saavedra | 1 | 7 | 33 | 0 | Indy Lights 2012 |
Tony Kanaan | 2 | 6 | 36 | 2 | IndyCar 2014, IndyCar 2012 |
Justin Wilson | 1 | 6 | 34 | 0 | IndyCar 2013 |
James Hinchcliffe | 2 | 6 | 37 | 3 | IndyCar 2013, IndyCar 2012 |
Ryan Briscoe | 1 | 6 | 40 | 6 | IndyCar 2012 |
Bruno Bonifacio | 2 | 6 | 34 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2013, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2014 |
Tiago Monteiro | 2 | 6 | 34 | 0 | WTCC 2014, WTCC 2013 |
Tom Chilton | 2 | 6 | 34 | 0 | WTCC 2014, WTCC 2013 |
Sven Muller | 2 | 5 | 38 | 3 | Euro F3 2013, Euro F3 2012 |
Dario Franchitti | 2 | 5 | 39 | 4 | IndyCar 2013, IndyCar 2012 |
James Rossiter | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Super Formula 2014 |
Leonardo Pulcini | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Italian F4 2014 |
Francisco Camarotta | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Formula 4 Sudamericana 2014 |
Indy Dontje | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | German F3 2014 |
Kimiya Sato | 1 | 5 | 40 | 5 | German F3 2012 |
Mitsunori Takaboshi | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Japanese F3 2014 |
Katsumasa Chiyo | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Japanese F3 2013 |
Hideki Yamauchi | 1 | 5 | 40 | 5 | Japanese F3 2012 |
Chris Anthony | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Australian F3 2014 |
Nick Foster | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Australian F3 2013 |
Steel Guiliana | 1 | 5 | 40 | 5 | Australian F3 2012 |
Lukas Moraes | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Brazilian F3 2014 |
Camren Kaminsky | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | British F3 2014 |
Felix Serralles | 1 | 5 | 40 | 5 | British F3 2012 |
Alexander Albon | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2014 |
Seb Morris | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2014 |
Josh Hill | 1 | 5 | 40 | 5 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2012 |
Matevos Isaakyan | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2014 |
Paul-Loup Chatin | 1 | 5 | 40 | 5 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2012 |
Steijn Schothorst | 3 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2014, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2013, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2012 |
Robert Wickens | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | DTM 2013 |
Peter Dempsey | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | Indy Lights 2013 |
Marco Ardrigo | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | CIK-FIA KZ 2014 |
Lando Norris | 1 | 5 | 35 | 0 | CIK-FIA KF 2014 |
Nick Heidfeld | 2 | 4 | 36 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014, WEC LMP1 2013 |
Jonny Kane | 1 | 4 | 40 | 4 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Nick Leventis | 1 | 4 | 40 | 4 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Danny Watts | 1 | 4 | 40 | 4 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Kevin Korjus | 2 | 4 | 37 | 1 | GP3 2013, Formula Renault 3.5 2012 |
Tomoki Nojiri | 2 | 4 | 37 | 1 | Japanese F3 2013, Japanese F3 2012 |
Martin Tomczyk | 2 | 4 | 36 | 0 | DTM 2014, DTM 2012 |
Juan Pablo Garcia | 2 | 4 | 36 | 0 | Indy Lights 2014, Indy Lights 2013 |
Ben Hanley | 2 | 4 | 36 | 0 | CIK-FIA KZ 2013, CIK-FIA KF 2013 |
Alexander Rossi | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | GP2 2013 |
Luis Derani | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Euro F3 2013 |
Alexander Sims | 2 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Euro F3 2013, GP3 2013 |
Harold Primat | 1 | 3 | 40 | 3 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Andrea Belicchi | 1 | 3 | 40 | 3 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Dino Zamparelli | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | GP3 2014 |
Patric Niederhauser | 1 | 3 | 40 | 3 | GP3 2012 |
Matthieu Vaxiviere | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Formula Renault 3.5 2014 |
Yuji Kunimoto | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Super Formula 2014 |
Takashi Kogure | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Super Formula 2013 |
Kazuya Oshima | 1 | 3 | 40 | 3 | Super Formula 2012 |
Alain Valente | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Italian F4 2014 |
Nicolas Muraglia | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Formula 4 Sudamericana 2014 |
Sam MacLeod | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | German F3 2014 |
Gustavo Menezes | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | German F3 2013 |
Mitchell Gilbert | 1 | 3 | 40 | 3 | German F3 2012 |
Richard Bradley | 1 | 3 | 40 | 3 | Japanese F3 2012 |
Ricky Capo | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Australian F3 2014 |
Jordan Skinner | 1 | 3 | 40 | 3 | Australian F3 2012 |
Arthur Fortunato | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Brazilian F3 2014 |
Felipe Guimaraes | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | British F3 2013 |
Andrea Pizzitola | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2014 |
Jeroen Slaghekke | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2012 |
George Russell | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2014 |
Kevin Jorg | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2013 |
Oscar Tunjo | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2012 |
Jorge Goncalvez | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Indy Lights 2013 |
Victor Carbone | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | Indy Lights 2012 |
Nikita Mazepin | 1 | 3 | 37 | 0 | CIK-FIA KF 2014 |
Julian Leal | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | GP2 2014 |
Tom Dillmann | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | GP2 2013 |
Nicholas Latifi | 2 | 2 | 38 | 0 | Euro F3 2014, British F3 2013 |
Michael Lewis | 1 | 2 | 40 | 2 | Euro F3 2012 |
Brendon Hartley | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014 |
Mark Webber* | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014 |
Timo Bernhard | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2014 |
Marc Gene | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2013 |
Oliver Jarvis | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | WEC LMP1 2013 |
Charlie Kimball | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | IndyCar 2013 |
Richie Stanaway | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | GP3 2014 |
Marlon Stockinger | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | Formula Renault 3.5 2014 |
Daiki Sasaki | 2 | 2 | 38 | 0 | Japanese F3 2014, CIK-FIA KF 2012 |
Kohei Hirate | 2 | 2 | 39 | 1 | Super Formula 2013, Super Formula 2012 |
Andrea Fontana | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | Italian F4 2014 |
Diego Muraglia | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | Formula 4 Sudamericana 2014 |
Maxime Martin | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | DTM 2014 |
Michel Nykjaer | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | WTCC 2013 |
Stefano D’Aste | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | WTCC 2012 |
Juan Piedrahita | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | Indy Lights 2014 |
Oliver Webb | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | Indy Lights 2012 |
Rick Dreezen | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | CIK-FIA KZ 2014 |
Jordon Lennox-Lamb | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | CIK-FIA KZ 2013 |
Jehan Daruvala | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | CIK-FIA KF 2014 |
Felice Tiene | 1 | 2 | 38 | 0 | CIK-FIA KF 2012 |
David Brabham | 1 | 1 | 40 | 1 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Peter Dumbreck | 1 | 1 | 40 | 1 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Karun Chandhok | 1 | 1 | 40 | 1 | WEC LMP1 2012 |
Sebastien Bourdais | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | IndyCar 2014 |
Graham Rahal | 1 | 1 | 40 | 1 | IndyCar 2012 |
Jann Mardenborough | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | GP3 2014 |
Kevin Ceccon | 1 | 1 | 40 | 1 | GP3 2012 |
Weiron Tan | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | German F3 2014 |
John Bryant-Meisner | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | German F3 2013 |
Jordan Oon | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Australian F3 2013 |
Hayden Cooper | 1 | 1 | 40 | 1 | Australian F3 2012 |
Raphael Raucci | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Brazilian F3 2014 |
Zhi Cong Li | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | British F3 2014 |
Andre Negrao | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Formula Renault 3.5 2013 |
Joao Vieira | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Italian F4 2014 |
Juan Manuel Casella | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Formula 4 Sudamericana 2014 |
Gustav Malja | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2014 |
Simon Gachet | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2014 |
Egor Orudzhev | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2013 |
William Vermont | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2012 |
Pepe Oriola | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | WTCC 2012 |
Scott Anderson | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Indy Lights 2014 |
David Ostella | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | Indy Lights 2012 |
Mirko Torsellini | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | CIK-FIA KZ 2014 |
Callum Ilott | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | CIK-FIA KF 2014 |
Karol Basz | 1 | 1 | 39 | 0 | CIK-FIA KF 2013 |
*Will be eligible at the end of 2015 due to prior F1 experience
NB. Nelson Piquet Jnr is also eligible for a superlicence as the winner of the Formula E championship
2015 F1 season
- How a secret Mercedes engine mode helped pressure Vettel into a race-ending puncture
- Over 100 driver penalties issued in record-breaking 2015
- Part-time racer? The facts of Hamilton’s ‘jet-set lifestyle’
- A unique atmosphere: Going to the Italian Grand Prix at Monza
- The Complete F1 Fanatic 2015 season review
BasCB (@bascb)
15th July 2015, 12:18
Interesting to see the overview. So its possible more drivers will be added for the next year based on this years results then?
terry
15th July 2015, 12:20
Another list showing which current drivers wouldn’t be eligible for a super license at their debut if this system had been in effect would be interesting to see.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
15th July 2015, 12:25
That hasn’t changed a great deal from when we looked at it before:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2015/01/06/new-superlicence-rules-barred-ten-drivers-last-five-years/
The most significant change, Sainz, is mentioned in this companion piece which has just gone up:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2015/07/15/the-winners-from-f1s-superlicence-points-change/
Of course once you try to extend this kind of analysis back more than a few years you hit the problem of there being many championships which don’t exist any more.
Ciaran (@ciaran)
15th July 2015, 12:35
Overall I still think this is a good idea. It would eliminate the lowest levels of pay drivers (not that it’d stop the complaining about supposed pay drivers but you could write a book on that) and ensure that everyone entering F1 is already at a high standard, as it should be for motorsport’s peak.
Tango (@tango)
15th July 2015, 12:35
I have to say, there are no names in this list who currently are elligible or probably will be considering recent form and projected result, who would be a disgrace in F1. I still don’t like the system (there are non elligible people who could be F1 ready) but at least if you look at the list, it most probably won’t yield any bad drivers in F1 at least for next year
N
15th July 2015, 12:54
If Maldonado can have one, they might as well just hand them out with boxes of Kelloggs.
hey (@hey)
15th July 2015, 18:21
teehee/10
Gridlock (@gridlock)
15th July 2015, 13:18
I’d like to see a guaranteed F1 seat (or several..) available to the winner of a feeder series, be that GP2 or the new one. If we can’t change the financial reasons for ‘pay drivers’ getting races then at least it would bypass these and bring in fresh, qualified blood each year.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
15th July 2015, 14:20
@gridlock Interesting: I like the sentiment but I strongly disagree with the principle. And the latter is why I don’t like the superlicence points system.
Who the teams put in their cars is a sporting decision and it should be theirs and theirs alone. I accept that, for safety reasons, the FIA may need to play a role in determining that the driver they choose is competent enough to race in F1. But it’s not the FIA’s job to decide who is competitive enough to race in F1.
If teams are choosing drivers because of their funding instead of their abilities, the FIA should address the root causes of that problem. But, as we’ve seen time and time again, they prefer to try to force teams to do otherwise with vast and complex new rules, of which this is a particularly clear example. I doubt it will bring much benefit for F1 or motor racing in general, besides making FIA-administered series more attractive to junior drivers, which appears to be the real purpose of this exercise.
CountryGent (@countrygent)
15th July 2015, 15:00
@gridlock I agree with @keithcollantine: an aspiration to aid young drivers is always beneficial but in this case the logistics would be challenging, and it may for instance overlook an absence of true competition in a series in a particular year (i.e. Valsecchi’s GP2 championship in 2012 came with a thoroughly underwhelming grid of competitors).
I do however think the links between the junior categories and F1 should be stronger; I particularly like the way FIA F3 and FR3.5 give the champion/championship-leader an F1 test. Perhaps this will be the case to a greater extent when the FIA launches its F2 series.
Guaranteeing a super-license for championship winners may be an alternative to guaranteeing an F1 seat, but that would effectively through a match on the entire points system anyway (not that that’s a bad thing). The only conclusion that is possible to reach is that F1 team want to go as fast as possible, and will therefore make it their business to ensure the very best driving talent is in their car, Q.E.D. no need for FIA intervention.
Dan Brown (@danbrown180)
15th July 2015, 15:14
Perhaps what we need is a way for teams to be able to step up more easily as well as drivers. To use a football analogy, players can be promoted from Championship teams to the Premiership through a transfer, or they can move into the Premiership with their team.
I’m not saying they *have* to do it, but maybe there should be some form of structure in place to help those teams that are ready to make the step up?
Corey
15th July 2015, 13:38
I’ld liked to see the drivers age on here as well. While there are many drivers that have achieved the 40 point thresh hold, alot of them are veteran drivers in their series and are unlikely to even race next year. Is it possible to have a list of say, 25 and under drivers, showing us who can potentially be an F1 driver?
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
15th July 2015, 16:16
Would like to see that too…
Looks like the eligible driver under 23 by Australia 2016 are just two driver: Felix Rosenqvist &
Alex Lynn.
Maybe F1 community should embrace veteran rookie like Tom Kristensen (age 48) ?
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
15th July 2015, 20:05
No surprise that it’s Vandoorne, Marciello, Lynn, Evans, Ocon (all recent junior champions). McLaren junior, Ferrari junior, Williams tester, Webber’s protege, Mercedes development driver. Vandoorne is Button’s protege and might replace him next year at McLaren, after winning GP2.
CountryGent (@countrygent)
15th July 2015, 14:40
So for Pascal Wehrlein, Dean Stoneman and possibly even Marvin Kirchhöfer, the F1 dream does appear to be over (unless the former is parachuted into the Manor to do the requisite five grands prix to qualify for a super-license before the iron curtain comes down in 2016). That is abhorrent. The fact that system does not appear to deny a driver with a realistic chance of seat in 2016 is beside the point: when have teams in the modern era ever overestimated the abilities of a young driver? It amuses me that Verstappen, the unquestionable catalyst for this system, continues to prove that it is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
Very soon an ineligible driver will be deemed as being worthy of a seat – either because they bring a budget that could rejuvenate a crippled team, or because their career has not followed the incredible biases of the points system – what will happen then? Team liquidation and/or court cases appear the likely outcomes. As for Maldonado and Ericsson, I would imagine they feel pretty safe in their seats.
In every other major series in the world, common sense and competitive motivations regulate driver allocations. Why has that safety net suddenly become insufficient for F1?
It hasn’t, the FIA has simply decided it would like to control international single seater racing by driving series like GP3 and FR3.5 in the ground.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
15th July 2015, 15:04
I wouldn’t rule Stoneman out. He had a very strong GP3 last year and a good FR3.5 this year and next could see him secure the 40 points needed.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
15th July 2015, 22:08
@craig-o Indeed: If he finishes where he is already he’ll be on 30, he’s only a few points off third which would leave him on 35, and after that he’d only have to come back again in 2016 after finish in the top six to hit 40.
CountryGent (@countrygent)
16th July 2015, 8:24
@craig-o @keithcollantine He is just about to turn 25; I think it is highly unlikely that he will be in a seat in 2016 that will enable him to reach the 40 point mark.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
16th July 2015, 11:22
@countrygent Dillmann’s 26 and he’s in FR3.5 this year. Given the particular setbacks Stoneman suffered earlier in his career if anyone’s going to be cut some slack on this point it should be him.
anon
15th July 2015, 18:29
@countrygent, would you say that, for example, McLaren made a mistake in hiring Perez when, in retrospect, even Perez admits that he probably lacked the experience to compete at McLaren that year? I’d argue that teams do often make mistakes on driver selection more routinely than you think.
As for Maldonado, well, his career stats means that he would comfortably surpass the required minimum points threshold anyway – for all the abuse he gets, he is a GP2 champion and finished in the top 3 in Formula Renault 3.5, which is not exactly a bad finishing record.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
15th July 2015, 19:59
What’s the mistake? McLaren got $5m in the deal and wouldn’t have gained anything in the WCC if there was a better driver in the car, as the car sucked. Perez thought he was moving for something like the 2012 car..
CountryGent (@countrygent)
15th July 2015, 20:30
I actually agree, I think it was a mistake. I think McLaren read too much into his podium finishes and made the mistake of not noticing Hulkenberg’s more consistent but often equally impressive efforts in a comparably weaker car. Yes, they got a handy $5m from Telmex, but they didn’t need cash (they’d just made $30m when Mercedes bought back their stake in McLaren), with Button’s shelf-life pushing on, McLaren needed a new team leader. Sorry, @fastiesty.
Ferrari made the same mistake a year later when they opted for Kimi rather than the Hulk. We are actually seeing F1 teams struggling to perceive the abilities of drivers that are already in F1 more than those racing in the junior categories.
I think Maldonado’s promotion was instigated by his budget but justified by his GP2 championship. I think his junior results require a substantial addition of salt. For instance, his 2010 GP2 title was his fourth season racing in GP2. In 2006 he would have won the FR3.5 title had he not lost a fifth place at Misano following a disqualification for a technical irregularity. But, it was one of the weakest grids of competitors in FR3.5 history. Not remotely shabby, but not especially remarkable either.
anon
15th July 2015, 21:47
@countrygent, although I do think that Hulkenberg is a very good driver, I would actually argue that there was a certain amount of logic for teams to look beyond Hulkenberg in 2012 and 2013.
In both of those years, Hulkenberg actually made relatively poor starts to the year which then hampered his efforts to then secure a better drive. Rather than being consistent, I would argue that Hulkenberg’s performance actually tended to peak towards the end of the season, usually after most of the major teams had already decided on their line ups for the following year.
If we take 2012 as an example, We know from McLaren and Perez that the agreement to sign Perez was made shortly after the Singapore GP, although negotiations between the two sides had been going on for some time.
At the time the deal between McLaren and Perez was signed, Hulkenberg was sitting in 14th place in the WDC with 33 points, whilst di Resta was in 11th and had clocked up 44 points in the same period.
Furthermore, di Resta had actually finished in the points slightly more frequently than Hulkenerg (eight times to six for Hulkenerg) and had a higher average finishing position than Hulkenberg too – when it came to comparing the two at that time, Hulkenberg wasn’t comparing particularly favourably against di Resta.
It was only in the final quarter of the season that Hulkenberg had a persistent run of points finishes, with nearly half of his points (30) coming in five races towards the end of the year. The problem is, by the time that Hulkenberg put in his best results that year, all of the major teams had already finalised their line up for the following year, effectively limiting him to the sideways move to Sauber.
In 2013, Hulkenberg was afflicted by the fact that the Sauber C32 was, to begin with, a difficult car to set up, and Hulkenberg was caught at times losing his temper with the mechanics – there was an incident after the Australian GP where he was heard attacking the car and the team after the race, and occasionally appearing to be a little difficult to work with (whether he was or not was somewhat irrelevant, because the perception alone caused problems).
That, to a certain extent, seems to have made Ferrari a little wary when dealing with him, even though they were known to be interested in him. Again, there was also the problem that, although Hulkenberg may have had a strong finish to the 2012 season, by the Hungarian GP – where Ferrari broke off talks with him – Hulkenberg’s profile had begun to drop again given he’d only scored five points by that point and appeared to be struggling a little.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
15th July 2015, 20:12
@countrygent I can see Stoneman and Kirchhofer getting 40 points this year and a 3 year grace period at least, but Wehrlein will be the test of the FIA’s ‘exemption’ system. He would have finished top 2 in F3 with Marciello, but Mercedes pulled him out early to start DTM instead. Maybe the money they saved (half a million quid?) the FIA will now want to finally collect to ‘help them decide’??
Wehrlein is a talent, I wonder if Mercedes are planning for him and Ocon to eventually replace Hamilton and Rosberg, in which case, there’s no rush to get them into F1 and gaining experience.
PeterG
15th July 2015, 15:09
So under this new system 7 current F1 drivers woudl be ineligible for a super license.
I also notice that Mark Webber who raced in F1 for 12 years & scored 13 poles & won 9 races is also currently not eligible which just shows how utterly absurd this system is.
This system is simply not needed, Its a stupid system that in the long term is going to hurt far more than it helps. There are a couple exceptionally talented drivers in the list who currently won’t qualify for a license, Dean Stoneman for example, He’s one of the best drivers in any of the lower categories right now & is down on points because he missed a year or 2 of racing due to suffering from cancer but has been stunning in GP2 since coming back to racing… He deserve’s a shot at F1 more than a dozen of the drivers who are eligible for a super license (Jolyon Palmer who he beat to the F2 title just prior to his diagnosis).
When you have real talent’s in the junior categories as well as very good current & race winning former F1 drivers not qualifying for a super license under this system then its clearly a bad system!
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
15th July 2015, 15:39
Mark Webber would be eligible, as he has competed in at least 15 Grand Prix within the last three years.
David (@wushumr2)
15th July 2015, 17:45
I had a long post because I’m procrastinating on a big paper, but I’m cutting it down to size. The TL;DR (too long, DON’T read :P) version will come first.
As a solution to what is clearly an absolute outrage (Jolyon Palmer and Davide Valsecchi not having drives in F1), I therefore suggest a rule that no driver can stay in F1 for more than 12 seasons. Immediately Massa, Button, Alonso and Raikkonen are gone immediately and there’s room for four new drivers. The next driver to have to leave would be Rosberg after the 2017 season, but at least you’ve now go some room to try new drivers. The next two to leave would be Hamilton and Vettel (if you count partial seasons), and after that it’s pretty much anyone’s game as no one else has been in F1 even close to long enough to hit that ceiling.
Coupled with that, no driver can bring more than…hmmm…$7.5 million in personal sponsorship money? $5 seems lower than what even reasonable drivers have brought in the recent past, but feel free to adjust it based on your own conceptualization.
Longer Version:
I’d say that everyone should go take a look at the list of GP2 drivers who have made it to F1. From the 2011 GP2 season onward, only six drivers–Bianchi, Chilton, Gutierrez, Ericsson, Nasr, and Pic–graduated to F1 in four years of that series (leaving Grosjean aside). The previous six seasons saw 20 drivers graduate to F1, or 3:1 ratio, which is slightly more than double the rate seen since 2011. Of those six, only three–Bianchi, Gutierrez, and Nasr–were in the top 3 for the season (and interestingly enough, all three were placed 3rd). Nasr is doing very well and was DoW for Australia, but it’s clearly not your ultimate results which count. Considering careers can last quite a while, one could argue that GP2 at least is doing its job: seven GP2 alums are still racing as of 2015, and it would have been eight had Bianchi not had his crash in Japan. That’s nearly a third of all GP2 graduates still racing ten years later.
I honestly think making a big deal out of the situation in F1 is ridiculous: how many stand-out rookies have people been talking about in NASCAR or Indycar lately? (I honestly don’t know). People like Jeff Gordon have been racing there for twenty years, and hell drivers used to compete for points in the Nationwide series as well! Talk about a crowded field! Indy doesn’t seem any different to that, with some of those guys having been there for as long as I can remember.
Why this appears to be a serious problem with F1 is that there are only 20 cars on the grid, a field of which a third has been on the grid for eight years or longer, and 2 or 3 feeder series (GP2, FR3.5, maybe F3) whereas series like NASCAR and Indycar only have one.
Sonics (@sonicslv)
15th July 2015, 19:29
@wushumr2 Funny that your tl;dr version is only like 5 lines shorter than the long version :P
Anyway, I disagree with you because F1 is a sport and one that people still agree as the best motor racing series in the world. It’s obvious that the competition is high and not everyone will make it, but every competition is like that. We not gonna start limiting, say tennis players, to only have like 12 appearance in Wimbledon just to make room for new bloods.
Yes, F1 has more situation called pay drivers that makes it looks like there are a lot more worthy people that deserves a seat except they don’t have big sponsors, but I think actually it’s too exaggerated. On every season we probably only have 2 bad pay drivers and they are usually in bottom teams, so in the big picture, their impact on the F1 “true” competition is minimal. Also not all pay driver is bad, for every Chilton there’s also Alonso. You even say Nasr is doing well and its obvious Sauber pick him mainly for the money he bring first. Lastly, if you’re that good, the teams will find a way to get you into F1. Raikkonen, Hamilton, and Verstappen is the proof of that.
You talked about F1 grid is stale (I’m paraphrasing your last paragraph here), but I don’t think it’s bad. Should Hamilton quit F1 because he reached age 30 instead of beaten by younger drivers? I think it’s the job of Perez, Hulkenberg, Grosjean, Ricciardo, Verstappen and the rest of “young” drivers to prove they are faster than Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso, Button, Massa and the rest of “old” drivers. And frankly, I think the “old” drivers is still better than the “new” ones.
JMLabareda (@jmlabareda)
15th July 2015, 21:47
Given that Alexander Rossi has consistently been linked with Haas – he still needs to finish well placed in this years GP2 champs to get his license?
Tiago Sá
16th July 2015, 2:33
Anthony Davidson back to F1 please!
JC
16th July 2015, 11:28
If they do have a Saturday sprint race, it would be nice for it to be at least 1 car per team, and a bunch of GP2/3 etc winners in the seats. Lottery, paid for, fan-chosen … whatever. It’s the only way a sprint race would fit into the F1 weekend. Leave the main drivers to qualifying and the GP on Sundays.