F1’s governing body, the FIA, has just released the new points system that regulates drivers obtaining the super-licence necessary to race – and it looks pretty tough.
From 2016 onwards, drivers must have scored a minimum of 40 points during a three-year period to be eligible to apply for a superlicence to race in F1.
Applicants must have earned these points in one of 13 FIA-approved championships, such as GP2, Indycars, Endurance or a “Future F2 Championship”. Said points will be awarded for the 10 top finishers in a FIA-approved race, with a third-place finish in the Future F2 being enough to secure the 40 points.
Drivers who apply for the superlicence will also have to be over 18 years old, have a road car driving license, complete more than 300 km of testing in a recent F1 car and take an exam on sporting regulations.
This, we guess, is the FIA’s way of making it more difficult for F1 teams to employ young and inexperienced drivers that go straight from junior categories to motorsport’s most demanding class. For example, if those rules came in effect for this season, Scuderia Toro Rosso wouldn’t have been able to put Max Verstappen in one of its cars simply because he’s 17-years old…
