The 38 drivers with enough superlicence points to enter F1 in 2017

30 comments on “The 38 drivers with enough superlicence points to enter F1 in 2017”

1. 

   Walter van den Houten
   23rd January 2017, 12:45

   Mark Webber will be on the F1 2017 grid? You heard it here first.
   1. 

      hunocsi (@hunocsi)
      23rd January 2017, 13:51

      And probably last.
      1. 

         Tommy Scragend
         23rd January 2017, 14:02

         Doing interviews for Channel 4?
      2. 

         Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
         23rd January 2017, 14:18

         Apologies – a bit of asterisk confusion there!
         1. 

            Walter van den Houten
            24th January 2017, 11:25

            No problem Keith. Keep up the good work regardless. Your site is by far still one of the better and most convenient sources.
   2. 

      BJ (@beejis60)
      23rd January 2017, 14:02

      I know. News to me.
   3. 

      Hugh (@hugh11)
      23rd January 2017, 14:07

      Nelson Piquet Jr too.
2. 

   f1alex (@f1alex)
   23rd January 2017, 13:22

   I had a mini heart attack when I saw Piquet Jr marked as “on the grid for 2017”!
3. 

   GeeMac (@geemac)
   23rd January 2017, 13:31

   I always wondered how Ed Jones managed to get JA Resorts & Hotels (a Dubai based hotel chain) to sponsor him in Indy Lights, never new he was born in the UAE and raced under a UAE licence.
4. 

   Sven (@crammond)
   23rd January 2017, 13:52

   So Giovanazzi and Leclerc are the only two that strike me as potential future front runners, maybe (but slightly less probable) Gasly. Sirotkin could maybe enter F1 for 2018 provided he secures some sponsorship, Rosenquist has a minor chance of making the grid someday. Rossi was/is reasonably good but is more likely to get an US-career that makes paying for a backmarker-drive unattractive while he probably won’t get a paid-drive in upper midfield, so rather unprobable to see him in F1 again. Other than that, not much to see here.
5. 

   Melvin (@)
   23rd January 2017, 14:04

   As a dutch person, i really hope Nyck De Vries will continue in the McLaren young driver program and get in F1 at some point.
   1. 

      GeeMac (@geemac)
      23rd January 2017, 15:36

      Glad someone mentioned Nyck de Vries, he seems to have been part of the McLaren setup for ages and yet he is still at least one step away from making the F1 grid. He is also going to lose his FR 2.0 points at the end of this season, so he needs to have a good year this year to stay on the F1 track.
   2. 

      spafrancorchamps
      23rd January 2017, 17:43

      Nyck is just not good enough. He takes way too much time and makes too many mistakes. He is one of many who do great in go-karts, but can’t prove themselves on a higher level. I hope McLaren will ditch him and go for another talent.
   3. 

      Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
      23rd January 2017, 19:43

      He might have more chance now that Ron has left McLaren and he’ll no longer get called Nick Heidfeld in the press!
      (I’m afraid that I can’t find the clip of the interview)
6. 

   Some Dude
   23rd January 2017, 15:41

   I have a doubt. Pascal Wehrlein has only 16 points but he is on the grid. Someone explain that to me.
   1. 

      Some Dude
      23rd January 2017, 15:41

      And. I SPELLED WEHRLEIN CORRECTLY.
   2. 

      Sven (@crammond)
      23rd January 2017, 16:28

      You don’t get points for driving in F1, and you don’t need points if you already have a superlicence.
   3. 

      Ian Stephens (@ians)
      24th January 2017, 22:28

      Max Verstappen only has 20 points, and his youthful start in F1 was the reason the points system was introduced. If this rule had been in place a season earlier we would not have had him, nor Carlos Sainz Jr. Where will Toro Rosso get exciting new drivers in future?
7. 

   toiago (@toiago)
   23rd January 2017, 17:27

   It’s amazing how almost every LMP1 driver is eligible for a F1 seat, yet either none seem to have any interest in joining the grid or aren’t considered for a seat. I’m just thinking what some of them could actually do with a Mercedes alongside Hamilton if given a chance.
   1. 

      dan
      23rd January 2017, 20:29

      @toiago Hamilton would destroy them, if they were really good trust me a team would know and they would go for it. Lotterer got a job with Caterham no one else considerd him to my knowledge. I love both so not criticising but F1 is the pinnacle. Just like Hamilton would not dominate LMP1 they are both different.
   2. 

      OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
      23rd January 2017, 21:40

      @toiago maybe it’s the other way around? If Hulkenberg (the one without a podium in F1 even when he has driven competitive cars) could win LeMans at the first attempt, and Webber (who couldn’t win a single time in the powerful Red Bull RB9 that smashed everyone in 2013 in the hands of Seb) has already won the WEC championship, well… It doesn’t speak too well about the WEC pack.
      1. 

         Victor_RO
         24th January 2017, 19:18

         I’ll have to take you up on two points there. Hulkenberg wasn’t the fastest man in the Porsche team over the Le Mans weekend, and more importantly, wasn’t the fastest in the #19 car during the race itself, that went to Nick Tandy. As for Webber, it took him a year and a half to get used to racing in the WEC, and he was never really the fastest man in his crew until maybe at times towards mid-2016 (he was the fastest Porsche driver at Le Mans in 2016, but again, that was in his third season with the team), the usual fastest person in that crew was Brendon Hartley.

         All the WEC races have their full timing info published. So if you want to scour through the data and check, http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/ is where you can find it.
   3. 

      anon
      23rd January 2017, 22:00

      @toiago, mind you, a number of those drivers are ex-F1 drivers who left the sport either because they retired or were unable to find a competitive seat – I don’t recall there being many teams who showed any interest in hiring Davidson, di Grassi or Nakajima, just as a few examples.

      As an aside, Keith, I do find it a bit odd that Ocon is on that list when he would qualify for 2017 by virtue of having already been awarded a superlicence in 2016: Vandoorne and Palmer would also fall into the same category.

      Technically, I believe that there are several drivers in your list who would also be eligible irrespective of points scored – I think that Lotterer, for example, would be automatically eligible because he was awarded a superlicence in 2014 (the FIA waives the points requirement if the person has held a superlicence within the previous three years – they can even remain eligible if the superlicence was issued over three years ago if the FIA are satisfied that they have still demonstrated an adequate level of performance).
8. 

   OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
   23rd January 2017, 21:45

   If I were Manor, I would try to collect my money for at least the first race… and ask FIA for an exception to the superlicense points rule, to hire Gabby Chaves. Already a champion (Indy Lights I know, but at least). and I imagine that (and I swear I’m not being sexist) sponsorship would be more than eager to support the first woman to race a whole season in Formula 1.
   Budget ensured for a couple of years.
   1. 

      Tom L. (@tom-l)
      23rd January 2017, 23:33

      Sorry to burst your bubble, @omarr-pepper, but Gabby (Gabriel) Chaves is a man!
      1. 

         OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
         24th January 2017, 1:17

         @tom-l hahahhaa fail of the year already!!! a Colombian who uses Gaby for short, I assumed so much. Just checked the stats and saw that Gabriel got the IndyLights championship. I didn’t bother to double check with a photo!
9. 

   Corey
   24th January 2017, 14:53

   I wouldn’t mind seeing the odds of each driver getting into F1. Just to see who the next drivers maybe.
10. 

    Olivier
    24th January 2017, 17:24

    Bring Will Power to F1. He has an impressive resume and a great name. Ricciardo surely wouldn’t mind.
11. 

    Matt
    24th January 2017, 21:01

    Buemi has proven he is the real deal. WED WDC, Formual E WDC given a shot at a decent F1 car we could be witnessing something something special if he pulled off a third Driver Championship in his 3rd top tier category
12. 

    Hannu Loik
    24th July 2017, 10:16

    I have question – why is not Sebastien Ogier in this table? As I understand then Ogier should have 45 superlicence points over three year period (WRC champion 2014-2016) according to the points system available on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIA_Super_Licence

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