The FIA’s widely-debated Formula One superlicence points system is finally about to come into force.
From the 2016 season, new drivers will only be able to come into F1 if they have scored at least 40 points which are awarded based on their finishing positions in different championships recognised by the FIA.
With almost all of this year’s racing action complete, here’s which drivers have passed the crucial 40 – and who needs to score more next year to have a chance to break into Formula One.
Drivers with sufficient points: 34
Driver | Points | Scores counted from | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Andre Lotterer | 140 | P2 in WEC LMP1 2013 P2 in Super Formula 2013 P2 in WEC LMP1 2014 P3 in Super Formula 2014 P2 in WEC LMP1 2015 P3 in Super Formula 2015 |
Did one race for Caterham in 2014 |
Stoffel Vandoorne | 105 | P2 in Formula Renault 3.5 2013 P2 in GP2 2014 P1 in GP2 2015 |
GP2 champion, McLaren junior driver, recently tested a Super Formula car ahead of a potential 2016 switch |
Scott Dixon | 100 | P1 in IndyCar 2013 P3 in IndyCar 2014 P1 in IndyCar 2015 |
|
Benoit Treluyer | 90 | P2 in WEC LMP1 2013 P2 in WEC LMP1 2014 P2 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
|
Marcel Fassler | 90 | P2 in WEC LMP1 2013 P2 in WEC LMP1 2014 P2 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
|
Loic Duval | 79 | P1 in WEC LMP1 2013 P3 in Super Formula 2013 P7 in WEC LMP1 2014 P4 in Super Formula 2014 P4 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
|
Esteban Ocon | 75 | P3 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013 P1 in Euro F3 2014 P1 in GP3 2015 |
Mercedes junior driver, tested for Lotus in 2014, GP3 champion |
Felix Rosenqvist | 73 | P2 in Euro F3 2013 P8 in Euro F3 2014 P1 in Euro F3 2015 |
European Formula Three champion |
Will Power | 70 | P4 in IndyCar 2013 P1 in IndyCar 2014 P3 in IndyCar 2015 |
|
Sebastien Buemi | 68 | P3 in WEC LMP1 2013 P1 in WEC LMP1 2014 P5 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
Raced in F1 with Toro Rosso |
Anthony Davidson | 68 | P3 in WEC LMP1 2013 P1 in WEC LMP1 2014 P5 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
Raced in F1 with Super Aguri |
Helio Castroneves | 68 | P2 in IndyCar 2013 P2 in IndyCar 2014 P5 in IndyCar 2015 |
|
Kazuki Nakajima | 62 | P4 in Super Formula 2013 P8 in WEC LMP1 2014 P1 in Super Formula 2014 P7 in WEC LMP1 2015 P2 in Super Formula 2015 |
Raced in F1 with Williams |
Oliver Rowland | 60 | P2 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013 P4 in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2013 P4 in Formula Renault 3.5 2014 P1 in Formula Renault 3.5 2015 |
Formula Renault 3.5 champion |
Alex Lynn | 58 | P3 in Euro F3 2013 P1 in GP3 2014 P6 in GP2 2015 |
Williams junior driver, former Red Bull junior driver |
Felipe Nasr | 50 | P4 in GP2 2013 P3 in GP2 2014 |
Already in F1 |
Raffaele Marciello | 50 | P1 in Euro F3 2013 P8 in GP2 2014 P7 in GP2 2015 |
Ferrari Driver Academy member, Sauber tester |
Tom Kristensen | 50 | P1 in WEC LMP1 2013 P4 in WEC LMP1 2014 |
Retired in 2014 |
Jolyon Palmer | 46 | P7 in GP2 2013 P1 in GP2 2014 |
Will make F1 debut with Lotus next year |
Alexander Rossi | 43 | P9 in GP2 2013 P2 in GP2 2015 |
Already in F1 |
Antonio Giovinazzi | 43 | P2 in British F3 2013 P6 in Euro F3 2014 P2 in Euro F3 2015 |
|
Sergey Sirotkin | 42 | P9 in Formula Renault 3.5 2013 P5 in Formula Renault 3.5 2014 P3 in GP2 2015 |
|
Brendon Hartley | 42 | P9 in WEC LMP1 2014 P1 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
|
Mark Webber | 42 | P9 in WEC LMP1 2014 P1 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
Raced in F1 with Red Bull |
Timo Bernhard | 42 | P9 in WEC LMP1 2014 P1 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
|
Nyck de Vries | 41 | P5 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013 P1 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2014 P1 in Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2014 P3 in Formula Renault 3.5 2015 |
McLaren junior driver |
Fabio Leimer | 40 | P1 in GP2 2013 | |
Sam Bird | 40 | P2 in GP2 2013 | |
Allan McNish | 40 | P1 in WEC LMP1 2013 | Retired in 2013 |
Marvin Kirchhofer | 40 | P1 in German F3 2013 P3 in GP3 2014 P3 in GP3 2015 |
|
Neel Jani | 40 | P3 in WEC LMP1 2014 P3 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
|
Marc Lieb | 40 | P3 in WEC LMP1 2014 P3 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
|
Romain Dumas | 40 | P3 in WEC LMP1 2014 P3 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
|
Juan Pablo Montoya | 40 | P4 in IndyCar 2014 P2 in IndyCar 2015 |
Raced in F1 with Williams and McLaren |
NB. Nelson Piquet Jnr also qualifies for an F1 superlicence as the reigning Formula E champion. He has no superlicence points.
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Drivers within 20 points of qualifying: 42
Some of these drivers may qualify on other grounds (see below).
Driver | Points | Scores counted from | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Pierre Gasly | 39 | P1 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013 P2 in Formula Renault 3.5 2014 P8 in GP2 2015 |
Red Bull junior driver, hasn’t won in last two years |
Yvan Muller | 39 | P1 in WTCC 2013 P2 in WTCC 2014 P2 in WTCC 2015 |
|
Joao Paulo de Oliveira | 37 | P5 in Super Formula 2013 P2 in Super Formula 2014 P4 in Super Formula 2015 |
|
Kevin Magnussen | 35 | P1 in Formula Renault 3.5 2013 | Scored podium on McLaren F1 debut last year but dropped after a season as a test driver |
Carlos Sainz Jnr | 35 | P1 in Formula Renault 3.5 2014 | Already in F1 |
Tom Blomqvist | 34 | P7 in Euro F3 2013 P2 in Euro F3 2014 |
|
Stephane Sarrazin | 34 | P3 in WEC LMP1 2013 P5 in WEC LMP1 2014 P6 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
Did one race for Minardi in 1999 |
Naoki Yamamoto | 33 | P1 in Super Formula 2013 P9 in Super Formula 2014 P5 in Super Formula 2015 |
|
Hiroaki Ishiura | 32 | P5 in Super Formula 2014 P1 in Super Formula 2015 |
Beat Lotterer and Nakajima to Super Formula crown |
Jack Harvey | 31 | P5 in GP3 2013 P2 in Indy Lights 2014 P2 in Indy Lights 2015 |
|
James Calado | 30 | P3 in GP2 2013 | Force India test driver in 2013 |
Daniil Kvyat | 30 | P1 in GP3 2013 | Already in F1 |
Jose Maria Lopez | 30 | P1 in WTCC 2014 P1 in WTCC 2015 |
|
Mitch Evans | 30 | P4 in GP2 2014 P5 in GP2 2015 |
His 2012 GP3 title would add another 30 points but they expire after three years |
Simon Pagenaud | 28 | P3 in IndyCar 2013 P5 in IndyCar 2014 |
Surprisingly ended 2015 outside top ten in IndyCar after Penske switch |
Matthieu Vaxiviere | 28 | P8 in Formula Renault 3.5 2014 P2 in Formula Renault 3.5 2015 |
Kept Rowland honest in Formula Renault 3.5 title fight |
Jack Aitken | 27 | P2 in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2013 P1 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2015 P1 in Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2015 |
Double Formula Renault 2.0 champion this year |
Luca Ghiotto | 27 | P2 in Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2013 P2 in GP3 2015 |
Narrowly lost GP3 title to Ocon |
Gabby Chaves | 27 | P2 in Indy Lights 2013 P1 in Indy Lights 2014 |
|
Max Verstappen | 27 | P1 in CIK-FIA KZ 2013 P3 in CIK-FIA KF 2013 P3 in Euro F3 2014 |
Already in F1 |
Dean Stoneman | 27 | P2 in GP3 2014 P6 in Formula Renault 3.5 2015 |
Red Bull junior driver, win-less this year |
Tio Ellinas | 25 | P4 in GP3 2013 P4 in Formula Renault 3.5 2015 |
|
Jake Dennis | 25 | P4 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2013 P9 in Euro F3 2014 P3 in Euro F3 2015 |
|
Mike Rockenfeller | 25 | P1 in DTM 2013 P3 in DTM 2014 |
|
Alexander Wurz | 24 | P4 in WEC LMP1 2013 P5 in WEC LMP1 2014 P6 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
Retired at end of season |
Mattias Ekstrom | 24 | P7 in DTM 2013 P2 in DTM 2014 P3 in DTM 2015 |
|
Louis Deletraz | 24 | P2 in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2014 P2 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2015 P1 in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2015 |
Son of former F1 driver Jean-Denis Deletraz |
Antonio Fuoco | 23 | P1 in Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2013 P5 in Euro F3 2014 P6 in GP3 2015 |
Ferrari Driver Academy member |
Lucas di Grassi | 22 | P9 in WEC LMP1 2013 P4 in WEC LMP1 2014 P4 in WEC LMP1 2015 |
Raced for Virgin |
Will Stevens | 22 | P4 in Formula Renault 3.5 2013 P6 in Formula Renault 3.5 2014 |
Already in F1 |
Emil Bernstorff | 22 | P3 in German F3 2013 P5 in GP3 2014 P4 in GP3 2015 |
|
Lucas Auer | 20 | P4 in Euro F3 2013 P4 in Euro F3 2014 |
|
Jordan King | 20 | P6 in Euro F3 2013 P1 in British F3 2013 P7 in Euro F3 2014 |
Manor test driver |
Facu Regalia | 20 | P2 in GP3 2013 | |
Antonio Felix da Costa | 20 | P3 in Formula Renault 3.5 2013 | |
Gabriele Tarquini | 20 | P2 in WTCC 2013 P6 in WTCC 2014 P5 in WTCC 2015 |
|
Charles Leclerc | 20 | P2 in CIK-FIA KZ 2013 P2 in Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS 2014 P4 in Euro F3 2015 |
Top rookie in European F3 this year |
Roberto Merhi | 20 | P3 in Formula Renault 3.5 2014 | Already in F1 |
Lance Stroll | 20 | P1 in Italian F4 2014 P5 in Euro F3 2015 |
Williams junior driver, formerly Ferrari Driver Academy member |
Sebastien Loeb | 20 | P3 in WTCC 2014 P3 in WTCC 2015 |
|
Rio Haryanto | 20 | P4 in GP2 2015 | Manor test driver |
Other notable names and their scores
- Pascal Wehrlein, 16 points – Mercedes junior driver won the DTM title this year and tested for Prema’s new GP2 team this week
- Nobuharu Matsushita, 14 points – Last year’s Japanese F3 champion made a promising start to his GP2 career and has Honda behind him. He was quickest on the final day of GP2 testing last year
- Guan Yu Zhou, 10 points – The Chinese member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy finished second in Italian F4 this year
- Jehan Daruvala, 3 points – The winner of Force India’s One from a Billion contest to find a new Indian racing star had his first season in cars this year and had some impressive results as well as a big crash at Silverstone
How drivers can qualify for an F1 superlicence
The FIA’s International Sporting Code sets down the rules for how drivers can earn points to obtain an F1 licence. From this year drivers must be at least 18 years old and hold a valid road driving licence. They must also satisfy one of the following:
- Have accumulated at least 40 points during the three-year period preceding his application (see here for how many points each championship awards)
- Have been granted a superlicence (excluding free practice only superlicence) in any of the previous three seasons.
- Have been granted a superlicence prior to the previous 3 seasons (excluding free practice only superlicence). In this case, the driver must be judged by the FIA to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability in single-seater formula cars.
- Have finished first in the FIA Formula E Championship of the previous year.
Not all championships which award points which count towards an F1 superlicence have concluded so although the top scorers can be calculated a full list of points-scorers is not available at present.
Over to you
At the time of writing, only Manor officially has places available in their 2016 squad. However since taking over the Lotus team Renault’s CEO has indicated their driver line-up may not be fixed.
Which of these drivers do you think deserves a place on the grid next year? And is the points system blocking any potential drivers who are ready for F1?
Have your say in the comments.
2016 F1 season
- Which was F1’s best down-to-the-wire title fight?
- Are tickets too dear? Crowds fell at some tracks in 2016
- F1’s TV audience decline stopped in 2016
- Brawn among key F1 hires announced by Liberty
- Has F1 hit ‘peak penalties’? Fewer sanctions in 2016
SoLiDG (@solidg)
7th December 2015, 12:11
Bring back Montoya! :)
Will obviously never happen, but would be cool, just for 1race (sub).
That would be media hype to the max :)
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
7th December 2015, 22:29
@solidg I’d rather see him attempting (and winning) The Le Mans 24 hours…..
JoshJ81
7th December 2015, 12:23
What is Alex Rossi’s points count?
FlyingLobster27
7th December 2015, 12:29
Ctrl+F works magic, you know.
The answer is 43, but it doesn’t matter. He has started five times in F1 this year, which, IIRC, means he automatically qualifies for a 2016 Superlicence.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
7th December 2015, 13:42
That was the requirement before but now they just have to have possessed a superlicence during the previous three seasons, which of course Rossi meets.
ura
7th December 2015, 17:46
So, if one of the current drivers dropped out of the championship and came back 3 years later, they wouldn’t be allowed to race? Even if it was someone like Vettel (already a champion). Would they need superlicence points? How does it work for drivers already in F1?
ura
7th December 2015, 17:46
@keithcollantine
RaceProUK (@)
7th December 2015, 17:57
They don’t need to qualify; they’re already in ;)
pez2k
7th December 2015, 18:24
In the list of conditions it mentions that drivers who have previously held a superlicense more than 3 years ago can return to F1 if they have ‘demonstrated outstanding ability’. World champions and even race winners would easily qualify under that clause I’d assume, and I suspect it’s only there to stop it being used as a loophole by less qualified drivers who held a license in the past, or anyone that the FIA judges to have significantly declined in talent since their F1 stint.
ColdFly F1 (@)
7th December 2015, 20:17
Ura – all pretty clear in the article!
ireni
8th December 2015, 10:42
@coldfly Not really! Wording was a bit ambiguous…
Fudge Ahmed (@)
7th December 2015, 12:29
He’s in the table above, 43 points.
Mike
7th December 2015, 12:26
This is just…. Well…. This is just so FIA.
I hope I’m understood.
MattyPF1 (@mattypf1)
7th December 2015, 12:33
@keithcollantine there’s 2 Mitch Evans?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
7th December 2015, 12:36
@mattypf1 Not any more there aren’t :-)
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
7th December 2015, 12:36
I personally don’t see the logic in Mercedes having to defy the superlicence system to get Wehrlein in a Manor when Ocon is ready and waiting. It is a glowing endorsement for Pascal, he clearly impressed in the testing mileage has logged to date.
If Ghosn is determined to shake up his line-up, Magnussen would be the obvious option, since he still has a valid superlicence, albeit JEV is there if he is absolutely determined to field a Frenchman.
However the debate surrounding the superlicence system is over as far as I am concerned: Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr is all the smoking-gun evidence a case could ever need.
MattDS (@mattds)
7th December 2015, 12:56
@william-brierty I would much rather see Ocon in F1, but a year (or two) in GP2 are not the worst if the only alternative is a Manor seat.
However, Mercedes seems to like putting drivers in DTM these days and I don’t understand that at all. Surely if you want to put drivers in F1, they are better served with taking the normal route and drive a top-end single seater series before graduating to F1.
I really hope they don’t put Ocon in DTM.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
7th December 2015, 14:54
@mattds Ocon is going to DTM. He hasn’t done any GP2 testing this year and recently said, probably under duress, that he would prefer DTM. When Mercedes inevitably win the tussle with the FIA regarding Wehrlein’s superlicense, Ocon will be put in Pascal’s vacated seat. It will be a stop-gap though – have no doubt that Ocon is F1 bound.
Of course GP2 would be better for Ocon, but putting Esteban in DTM and giving him consistent F1 tests simply constitutes a way of avoiding the fees of the ART and DAMS GP2 powerhouses (which have probably already been locked out by Gasly, Lynn, Matsushita and Rowland) whilst keeping him brand affiliated. DTM can teach Ocon consistency and racecraft, and Mercedes-backed tests can develop his F1 preparation.
kanan
7th December 2015, 17:49
I really dislike Mercedes putting brilliant drivers (who should be given a seat in F1) in DTM seats.
MattDS (@mattds)
8th December 2015, 7:03
@william-brierty
But he has, last week at DAMS.
Anyway I don’t see why Mercedes, spending hundreds of millions in “whatever it takes”-fashion, can’t spend 2-3 on Ocon getting a GP2 seat. Sure DTM can teach a driver something, but a driver eyeing F1 can learn more in GP2. We’ve seen in the past that the correlation between being good in F1 and being good in DTM is not a great one.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
9th December 2015, 15:18
@mattds Ocon didn’t test for DAMS last week. Lynn, Rowland and Latifi were DAMS’ testers.
The “correlation” hasn’t been great in GP2 of late: Valsecchi and Leimer were never deemed good enough for F1, and plenty of people, me included, have serious doubts about Palmer. By contrast, Marco Wittmann, in his lone “joker test” for Toro Rosso at Imola was said to be immensely impressive. Furthermore there is Jamie Green, the man who beat Lewis Hamilton in Formula Renault UK, Robert Wickens, a Formula Renault 3.5 champion, Antonio Felix da Costa, a man who could have sat where Daniil Kvyat is now, and Paul di Resta, who did more than enough to justify his place on the grid during his short three-year career.
If Mercedes don’t know they have a megastar on their hands in Ocon, they need to be shaken, but they do. He will get his F1 chance in 2017, have no doubt.
MattDS (@mattds)
10th December 2015, 8:07
@william-brierty you’re right, he didn’t test for them. I think I mistakenly took an article of last year (when he did test for DAMS) as being one of last week.
As for the correlation, as you call it, in GP2: I agree, and I also agree that other series have done better on that account and maybe even DTM. But the problem is not that GP2 is not a good series to prepare a driver for F1 – the problem is the GP2 career drivers. Before Vandoorne, the 4 or 5 last GP2 champions were in GP2 for 4-5 years before finally becoming champion. Palmer scored exactly 0 points in his first year. But they have the budget, and GP2 is rather expensive, so they get the best seats and remain in the series for years. Drivers that shouldn’t dream of being in F1 suddenly do because they have accomplished something that wasn’t the purpose of feeder series in the first place: winning through experience and not through being fast and adaptable right from the word go.
Vandoorne has shown it is still possible in this day and age to be an immediate frontrunner in GP2. Ocon has the potential to do the same and I still think he should be in GP2.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
10th December 2015, 8:43
@mattds I think the best way of articulating the current issue with GP2 is that it is experience dependent. For the past three years, a rookie has taken the series title in GP3, however when a rookie champion, like Alex Lynn, enters GP2, he is unable to make an immediate impact. It is only in the extraordinary talent that is Stoffel Vandoorne that anyone has been immediately competitive in a Pirelli-shod GP2 car. If you consider the disparity between a Michelin-shod FR3.5 car and a Pirelli-shod GP2 car, you can even start to envisage the frankly miraculous Belgian being a factor in Japanese Super Formula next year.
However Lynn, together with Gasly, Rowland and Ocon, is unquestionably one of finest young drivers in the junior series, and yet had a frankly average campaign in 2015. With Gasly set to move to Prema, Lynn will unquestionably start the 2016 season as favourite, but the current GP2 car (in its final year next season) has such a poor record in crediting those who have proven themselves elsewhere, you can expect a driver like Rio Haryanto or Arthur Pic being a factor.
I don’t think we yet know if Vandoorne is the exception that proves the rule. Rumours currently place proven stars Rowland and Rosenqvist at ART and Prema respectively, so it will be interesting to see how they fair.
MattDS (@mattds)
10th December 2015, 11:39
@william-brierty I completely agree with you – GP2 is indeed hugely dependent on experience at the moment and that makes Vandoorne’s performances even more impressive. Especially when one takes into account that he lost a good haul of points in 2014 due to team and strategy errors (he wasn’t faultless either, but it cost him less) and he could have actually had a shot at the title without that.
It’s a sentiment I’ve had for quite a while now. GP2 should try to turn it around. I’m all for capping the number of years one can remain in the series (maximum 3), but I realise that that would be a rule that is very hard to sell to stakeholders.
I hope next year’s title goes to either one of the names you mentioned – they are in my opinion too the brightest stars at the moment. And I hope it doesn’t go to a driver like Haryanto.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
10th December 2015, 12:38
@mattds I think Palmer had the 2014 title no matter what – after Vandoorne’s debut victory he suffered five consecutive non-scores, through contact, stalling on the grid and poor qualifying. And whilst he was a podium visitor at Austria, Silverstone, Hockenheim and took the sprint race victory in Hungary, he wasn’t the man to beat until Spa, from which time he would never fail to put it on pole. But how many fourth year drivers beat the golden kids in GP3 or FR3.5?
A three year career cap is a perfectly sensible solution for GP2, or FIA F2 as it will become. It clears the series log-jam, and gives the teams access to a list of excellent drivers, and not several guys who will pay them an enormous premium. Are you listening rumoured DAMS man Nicholas Latifi? As for GP2’s stakeholders, they already fund GP2 at a loss. FOM uses F1 TV revenue to support GP2 and GP3, albeit the FIA is now looking interested in taking GP2 off FOM’s hands.
Hopefully, the FIA are targeting a junior category ladder with a similar commercial profile to that enjoyed by Moto2 and Moto3. The overwhelming majority of F1 fans do not watch GP2 and GP3 on a regular basis, whilst Moto2 is simply seen as an extension of MotoGP in the FIM paddock, with many riders enjoying a star status amongst fans even before arriving in the top tier. F1 needs that badly. Hopefully the FIA are looking at a career cap, advertising, ease-of-access (possibly making it freely available online like FIA F3) and a calender expansion to really raise the profile of junior category racing.
MattDS (@mattds)
10th December 2015, 14:38
@william-brierty the rest of your post I agree on, but Palmer’s championship really was not a clear-cut case without ART’s mistakes. The point swings from Sochi (win for Vandoorne, 22 points swing) and Monaco (probably fifth and third-fourth instead of 0 points, 19-21 points swing) alone bring him fully in contention and those weren’t the only occasions where thing went wrong out of his control.
Not saying he would definitely have won but it could have been really close and he could have had a shot at it.
Sven (@crammond)
7th December 2015, 19:57
One thing DTM has over all the junior single-seater-series is racing against drivers with years, sometimes more than 2 decades of experience. Furthermore it is a series in which drivers get paid, rather than someone having to pay for the drive. And if someone fails to impress enough to further advance his career towards F1, he may just stay in the Merc touring-car/GT-class staff, so that not all money that went into his education would be lost for Merc. Vietoris, Auer, Juncadella were all aiming at F1 once and would be without a job now without DTM.
MattDS (@mattds)
8th December 2015, 7:19
@crammond Mercedes have enough money to put Ocon in GP2. I also don’t quite agree with the idea that putting them in DTM leaves them with a backup of GT racing – it should be the other way around: develop your single seater drivers throughout the feeder series and if they stagnate, THEN go look at GT racing. Just look at, for example, Laurens Vanthoor. He stagnated in F3 Euro, then went the GT route and he is very successful there now.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
7th December 2015, 12:40
I’d like to see the ages of these drivers too. Clearly the likes of Vandoorne and Ocon should be in F1 given their respective performances over the last two years (especially in the case of the former). I also feel that Rowland deserves a shot and Magnussen deserves another chance, especially after the way McLaren have treated him over the last 12 months.
Obviously Palmer deserves a chance, but I would like to see these four drivers in a F1 race seat over him.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
7th December 2015, 13:44
Curiously if Vandoorne does go to Super Formula next year and wins the title (which is a big ask) he’ll be on the same points as he is now – i.e. second in Formula 3.5 V8 is worth the same as the Super Formula title.
Glenn (@glennb)
7th December 2015, 14:02
I too would like to see their ages. Gabriel Tarquini must be due a shot by now, shurely. He would be guaranteed a 1st or 2nd finish if he managed to get a seat at Mercedes.
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
7th December 2015, 15:43
@glennb Nah, remember Hugo Valente has already told him he is too old: https://youtu.be/cRR4iGhCTHo?t=46s
GeeMac (@geemac)
7th December 2015, 13:10
I would love to live in the parallel universe that sees Kristensen and McNish race for Manor in 2016…
Glenn (@glennb)
7th December 2015, 13:47
So much for the women in F1 hype previously. I’m no proofreader but I dont see too many women listed here. Not a sexist comment, just an observation.
RaceProUK (@)
7th December 2015, 17:58
Sadly it’s representative of motorsport in general; there just aren’t enough women behind the wheel.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
7th December 2015, 21:21
There is a distinct lack of women with points on the Superlicense system, so it will be a while before one is eligible, unfortunately.
Tyler (@tdog)
7th December 2015, 14:39
The number of current and former F1 drivers who don’t actually meet the 40 point threshold demonstrates how useful that particular criterion is.
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
7th December 2015, 15:51
@tdog Would be interesting to detail who on the 2015 grid wouldn’t have qualified based on their previous 3 seasons before F1 debut. Sainz, Kyvat, Verstappen, Mehri, Stevens are all in the table below as missing out. From a quick glance others would include: Perez and Ricciardo.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
7th December 2015, 15:58
@tdog @tonyyeb The data above isn’t relevant for that. Consider Kvyat: he only has 30 points but he hasn’t been able to accrue superlicence points for the last two years because he’s been racing in F1.
ColdFly F1 (@)
7th December 2015, 20:30
Agree it is not relevant for current F1 drivers as you do not accumulate points in F1!
In effect racing in F1 equals 40pts (independent of how many races and/or which position you finished).
Therefore, I would have left all current drivers out (people might draw wrong conclusions).
Also I would have done the list alphabetically. Because, more points does not (automatically) make a driver any more or less qualified for F1! @keithcollantine
kpcart
7th December 2015, 14:43
I fF1 was the F1 of old days, I would love to see Lotterer, Duval, Montoya, Power, Buemi and Dixon race in the “top league” ie F1, but these days F1 is not the top anymore for racing, the other series are equal or better, as there is more competition. so racing stars like those names can have perfectly successful racing careers without worrying about F1.
leyla
7th December 2015, 17:53
Those names in top teams would be like Raikkonen in Ferrari (probably worse). Then F1 wouldn’t be the “top league” anymore…
AndrewT (@andrewt)
7th December 2015, 16:50
Might be the freeze of the driver market a direct cosequence of this licence points system? I don’t remember any season when 8 teams didn’t change their lineup at all (and there’s still a little chance for a 9th if Marussia keeps both drivers), and 1 team changed only 1 driver (Lotus/Renault). If Haas wouldn’t have entered 2016, there might have been almost no driver changes, which I can’t think that was the aim of FIA. Did Lotus maybe just pick a driver from the “whitelist” with the deepest pockets? This system should definetley be polished in order to let talented drivers race in F1 and at the same time keep away those that not worth it.
ger
7th December 2015, 17:54
No.
AndrewT (@andrewt)
7th December 2015, 17:55
“no” for which of my statements? all of them? : )
mickey18 (@mickey18)
7th December 2015, 23:49
I like your points @andrewt
Ciaran (@ciaran)
7th December 2015, 17:08
I don’t understand the opposition to this to be honest. This eliminates the pay drivers everyone hates, and drivers with enough talent to get into F1 can surely win more feeder series if that’s whats required?
RaceProUK (@)
7th December 2015, 18:00
I think the issue is the points system is biased against series like Formula Renault (or whatever it’s called now), and is too favourable to GP2 and GP3.
FlyingLobster27
7th December 2015, 19:00
-It won’t stop drivers with massive backers who happen to have flashes of brilliance, dominate a year in GP2, but who turn out to be chronic menaces once and/or before they reach F1 (e.g… you know who I’m talking about).
-For the FIA’s political gain, it privileges its own ladder to F1, as was indicated by the ludicrously low scores first given to non-FIA competitions such as FR3.5, IndyCar and SuperFormula (rectified since).
-It makes things unnecessarily bureaucratic when a more basic and loosely-stated curriculum requirement could suffice (IMO, something like needing a title at GP3, F3 or FR2.0 level, and/or at least one (two, n, whatever) feature race win at GP2 or FR3.5 level would do a decent job, plus drivers with decent results in other relevant series – none of this WTCC stuff, seriously!).
-It contains such a loosely-stated go-around anyway, and that undermines the points system (e.g F.E, the possibly upcoming Wehrlein jurisprudence).
-I’m assuming that this is a list put together by Keith, but if the FIA puts up such a list that says “these are the people who can apply” (a bit like the Platinum/Gold/Silver/Bronze rating in Endurance), there are so many people on the list that have no intention of asking for a Superlicence, because either retired or in a comfy works drive elsewhere, that I think it undermines the points system too. WEC is not a feeder series for F1, it’s the other way round, and the IndyCar drivers mentioned are happy where they are, so I count only 14 of the 34 qualified drivers as potentially really interested in getting a Superlicence! Granted, there aren’t even that many seats available in F1 at the moment…
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
7th December 2015, 19:30
@ciaran one has to admit that this list mostly contains the finest pedigree out there. It is probably a good system, but still a bit unfair towards some championships and it may need some tweaks.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
7th December 2015, 21:24
It doesn’t eliminate pay drivers, and in fact by biasing accumalation of points over time over quick success, rewards people who can pay their way into long junior careers, as distinct from sensations who have somewhat less wealthy backers. I don’t think the Superlicense system adds anything, given that there seems to be a preference (at least in the paddock) for people who come in with fewer points, rather than those with more!
Paulo Ruiz (@omegadetra)
7th December 2015, 19:02
Funny seeing the name Sergey Sirotkin again. Just another name on Sauber’s list of screwed driver contracts now.
BasCB (@bascb)
8th December 2015, 6:04
well to be realistic @omegadetra Sauber were in as bad a position as they were last year because the money promised by Sirotkin’s backers failed to arrive
Rigi (@rigi)
7th December 2015, 19:40
i don’t like the fact that they’ve changed the rules about this point system, i thought the idea behind it was great, if you’re good at racing you can be an f1 driver, but if you’re a pay driver and not good at racing, you can’t get to f1.
take adderly fong for example. he bought himself an f1 test so that he could get a superlicense. however he’s only slightly better than carmen jorda (2 points in three seasons of gp3). let’s say he gets a budget of 30 millions, with that money he can buy himself a seat at manor easily. same goes with rio haryanto, who’s got lucky with reverse grid pole positions he converted into wins this year so his name actually pops up here and there, plus he’s got a big sponsor behind him. he also bought a test with manor (and caterham last year if i remember correctly.)
i believe mercedes had a word with the fia, so they could get wehrlein a seat at manor next year.
all these names, fong, haryanto and wehrlein would not be eligible for a superlicense but they still got one. if either of them gets one of the remaining seats this will just make the fia look even more ridiculous than it already is.
Billys (@bilarxos)
7th December 2015, 20:11
So Kevin Magnussen can’t racing this year either want it or not!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
7th December 2015, 21:27
He can, because he’s had a full Superlicense for at least 2 of the last 3 years. It is not indicated whether he bought and did not use a full Superlicence for 2015 in case of McLaren needing a substitute, or whether he downgraded to International A on the grounds that there was no point having a document he was unlikely to use. However, it is likely he did hold a full Superlicence for all of the last 3 years – and the rules only require the Superlicence be held and valid for complete weekends of racing, not that the Superlicence be used.
BasCB (@bascb)
8th December 2015, 6:06
Given that Magnussen took part in Melbourne as a stand-in for Alonso in 2015 I think he would certainly have had a superlicence @alianora-la-canta!
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
8th December 2015, 20:40
Good point!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
8th December 2015, 9:52
@bilarxos Yes he can as he’s held a superlicence during the last three years.
Billys (@bilarxos)
10th December 2015, 17:19
Thank you Keith and for the clarification!
Michael
7th December 2015, 21:47
Sutil, van der Garde and Kubica couldn’t make it to F1 according this ridiculous system of points…
Leggacy (@leggacy)
7th December 2015, 23:17
No Jann Mardenborough this year? I think he’s done some Japanese super formula and some GP3 this year. he was involved in a terrible accident at Nurb’s early this year, I really hope I hasn’t affect him too much, it wasn’t his fault.
MattDS (@mattds)
8th December 2015, 7:39
@leggacy I think the single seater ship is slowly sailing away for Mardenborough. For all of his lack of experience in racing he has done admirably well, but this year he hasn’t shown the progression I had expected of him after a rather OK debut year in GP3.
I think his future lies in GT and sports car racing.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
8th December 2015, 9:51
@leggacy @mattds Mardenborough has two points having been ninth in GP3 for two years running.
SauberS1 (@saubers1)
7th December 2015, 23:39
Vandoornre got a lot of points! :)
lippalappa (@alipappa)
8th December 2015, 11:44
No Finns on that list and that makes me sad.
My only hope for Finns is Niko Kari but he is way to young to be driving a F1 car for several years.
sonia luff (@sonia54)
8th December 2015, 17:01
I know he’s only got 31 pts but i still think Jack Harvey would be a better prospect than both Will Stevens(22pts) and Robert Merhi (22pts)
joe6pac (@joe6pac)
8th December 2015, 17:30
Not going got happen but I would love to see Mattias Ekstrom race in F1. A natural talent as he has proven in ROC several times.
Samuele
9th December 2015, 9:21
So, let me say some things.
I think you should indicate clearly who already has the superlicence between the drivers under 40 points (like Magnussen).
Then, I don’t understand the situation of some drivers like Haryanto or King. Can they drive a F1 car in 2016? Did they have a superlicence before? Some people wrote that Haryanto will be a Manor driver next year…
Thanks!
A-P
18th February 2016, 22:30
Nice work, sir, but one point in the Super Licence regulations I think you’ve missed (as so many often have and still do), one that can alter the issue for a few drivers:
“5.1.1. The driver must be the holder of a current FIA International Grade A licence.”
[note: this rule has been there since mid-2008, is still there in 2016, and was there in similar form as 5.1.ii since at least as long ago as 1996]
This stands alone, not an option to be ticked instead of other criteria but is rather is required “also”.
…and how do drivers earn a Grade A?
“4.3 To qualify for Grade A, the requirements of point 4.2) must have been satisfied and in addition the driver’s ASN must ascertain that, within the 24 months prior to the application, he/she has finished in the first 5 places in the general classification of 5 races for which the Grade B licence is required, or, in the current or previous year, has finished in the first 5 of the final classification of a championship for which the Grade B licence is required. The FIA may require the ASN to submit the driver’s record for examination.”
[note: this rule completely unchanged since at least as long ago as 1996]
FIA F3 has only required Grade C since 2013 (whereas GP3 has to remain at least Grade B due to it’s weight-to-power ratio), so Antonio Giovinazzi’s 43 points count for nought until he’s got at least three more Grade B top 5 finishes (having earned two while racing LMP2s in Asian Le Mans Series this year), or else finished top 5 in a Grade B final championship standing.
Formula Renault 2.0 also only requires Grade C, which affects other drivers currently below the 40 point line for whom moving on to and being successful in FIA F3 this year would not afterall be enough in itself.
Poor old Felix Rosenqvist would also not qualify had he not started in FIA F3 so long ago he was successful enough when it was still Grade B!
Of course, Max Verstappen never raced in Grade B, but somehow the FIA overlooked that…