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

2016 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

Update: The FIA has altered the superlicence points structure since this article was written. See here for the updated list of who can race in F1 in 2016:


The FIA has introduced a new points system to decide which drivers are sufficiently experienced to compete in Formula One.

Drivers must earn a minimum of 40 points over the three years before applying to become an F1 driver in order for their application to be approved.

They can score up to 50 points by winning the GP2 championship, 40 points for success in IndyCar, European F3 or the World Endurance Championship, 30 points for GP3 or Formula Renault 3.5 titles, and more for high-ranking places in other series. However touring car championships, such as the DTM, do not contribute towards their tallies.

The new system will come into effect from 2016. By applying it to the drivers who are currently racing in the championships we can build up a picture of who will be eligible to race in Formula One next year.

Drivers will have to make careful decisions about where they race in order to maximise their chances of being able to step up to Formula One. Ten drivers who made F1 debuts in the last five years would not be able to under the new regime.

The table below is based on the points drivers scored in 2012, 2013 and 2014. At the end of this year their 2012 scores will no longer account and their 2015 totals will apply. Taking that into account, the table also shows how many points each driver much score this year in order to be able to race in F1 in 2016.

There are 19 drivers who already have enough points they can be sure of being eligible in 2016. They include Felipe Nasr, who will become an F1 driver this year anyway.

Another driver who will be able to race in F1 next year regardless of how he performs this year is Esteban Ocon, who Lotus praised after his tests for the team late last year.

The driver who has scored the most points is Andre Lotterer, who made a one-off F1 start for Caterham last year, thanks to his simultaneous campaigns in the World Endurance Championship and Japanese Super Formula. He won the LMP1 title in 2012 and finished runner-up in the two following years, and placed in the top four over the last three Super Formula seasons.

Some of the drivers in the list have already raced in F1 or have gained places for this year. 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.

Go ad-free for just £1 per month

>> Find out more and sign up

In total 204 drivers have scored points towards gaining an F1 superlicence over the past three years. Here are all of them:

DriverTotalScores counted fromPoints needed in 2015
Andre Lotterer132WEC, WEC, WEC, Super Formula, Super Formula, Super Formula0
Marcel Fassler100WEC, WEC, WEC0
Benoit Treluyer100WEC, WEC, WEC0
Tom Kristensen80WEC, WEC, WEC0
Will Power80IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar0
Scott Dixon80IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar0
Raffaele Marciello74GP2, Euro F3, Euro F30
Loic Duval70WEC, WEC, WEC, Super Formula, Super Formula, Super Formula0
Allan McNish70WEC, WEC0
Helio Castroneves70IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar0
Stoffel Vandoorne65GP2, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup0
Anthony Davidson60WEC, WEC0
Sebastien Buemi60WEC, WEC0
Jolyon Palmer56GP2, GP20
Fabio Leimer56GP2, GP20
Sam Bird55GP2, Formula Renault 3.50
Felix Rosenqvist53Euro F3, Euro F3, Euro F37
Felipe Nasr52GP2, GP2, GP20
Alex Lynn52Euro F3, GP3, British F30
Mitchell Evans50GP2, GP320
Davide Valsecchi50GP240
Kazuki Nakajima50WEC, Super Formula, Super Formula, Super Formula10
Ryan Hunter-Reay50IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar30
Esteban Ocon41Euro F3, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup0
James Calado40GP2, GP210
Luiz Razia40GP240
Daniel Juncadella40Euro F340
Antonio Felix da Costa40GP3, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.525
Tom Blomqvist39Euro F3, Euro F3, Euro F3, German F36
Carlos Sainz Jnr38Euro F3, Formula Renault 3.510
Alexander Wurz38WEC, WEC, WEC22
Daniil Kvyat38GP3, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS10
Nicolas Lapierre36WEC, WEC, WEC24
Simon Pagenaud36IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar12
Kevin Magnussen33Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.510
Esteban Gutierrez30GP240
Neel Jani30WEC, WEC20
Robin Frijns30Formula Renault 3.540
Stephane Sarrazin28WEC, WEC12
Lucas Auer27Euro F3, Euro F3, German F320
Romain Dumas26WEC, WEC20
Marvin Kirchhofer25GP3, German F315
Pierre Gasly25Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup15
Joao Paulo de Oliveira25Super Formula, Super Formula, Super Formula20
Jordan King23Euro F3, Euro F3, British F3, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC20
Max Chilton20GP240
Max Verstappen20Euro F320
Marc Lieb20WEC20
Dean Stoneman20GP320
Jimmy Eriksson20GP3, German F330
Facu Regalia20GP320
Conor Daly20GP3, GP325
Daniel Abt20GP340
Jules Bianchi20Formula Renault 3.540
Naoki Yamamoto20Super Formula20
Stefano Coletti18GP2, GP222
Nicolas Prost17WEC, WEC, WEC33
Nick Yelloly17GP3, GP3, Formula Renault 3.530
Jack Harvey17GP3, British F333
Yuichi Nakayama17Japanese F3, Japanese F330
Roberto Merhi15Formula Renault 3.525
Will Stevens15Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.525
Koudai Tsukakoshi15Super Formula40
Oliver Rowland14Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup27
Johnny Cecotto Jnr13GP2, GP230
Antonio Fuoco13Euro F3, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS27
Antonio Giovinazzi13Euro F3, British F327
Emil Bernstorff13Euro F3, GP3, German F328
Marcus Ericsson12GP2, GP232
Lucas di Grassi12WEC, WEC28
Tio Ellinas12GP3, GP330
Takuya Izawa12Super Formula, Super Formula38
William Buller11Euro F3, British F335
Aaro Vainio11GP3, GP339
Ryo Hirakawa11Super Formula, Japanese F339
Nobuharu Matsushita11Japanese F3, Japanese F329
Arthur Pic10GP2, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.532
Pascal Wehrlein10Euro F340
Juan Pablo Montoya10IndyCar30
Marco Andretti10IndyCar, IndyCar30
Lance Stroll10Italian F430
Bruno Baptista10Formula 4 Sudamericana30
Markus Pommer10German F330
Simon Hodge10Australian F330
Tim Macrow10Australian F330
James Winslow10Australian F340
Pedro Piquet10Brazilian F330
Martin Cao10British F330
Nyck De Vries10Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS30
Harry Tincknell9Euro F3, British F332
Mathias Beche9WEC, WEC31
Takamoto Katsuta9Japanese F3, Japanese F331
Ben Gersekowski9Australian F3, Australian F331
Giedo van der Garde8GP240
Rinaldo Capello8WEC40
Sergey Sirotkin8Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.532
Nico Muller8Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.533
Marco Sorensen8Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.537
Stephane Richelmi7GP2, GP233
Jake Dennis7Euro F3, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC38
Matias Laine7GP340
Mattia Drudi7Italian F433
Felipe Ortiz7Formula 4 Sudamericana33
Nabil Jeffri7German F333
Artem Markelov7German F333
Kenta Yamashita7Japanese F333
John Magro7Australian F333
Chris Gilmour7Australian F340
Bruno Etman7Brazilian F333
Matt Rao7British F333
Jazeman Jaafar7British F340
Tony Kanaan6IndyCar, IndyCar36
Justin Wilson6IndyCar34
James Hinchcliffe6IndyCar, IndyCar37
Ryan Briscoe6IndyCar40
Norman Nato6Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS37
Sven Muller5Euro F3, Euro F338
Dario Franchitti5IndyCar, IndyCar39
Nigel Melker5Formula Renault 3.535
Hiroaki Ishiura5Super Formula35
Andrea Russo5Italian F435
Agustin Lima5Formula 4 Sudamericana35
Indy Dontje5German F335
Kimiya Sato5German F340
Mitsunori Takaboshi5Japanese F335
Katsumasa Chiyo5Japanese F335
Hideki Yamauchi5Japanese F340
Chris Anthony5Australian F335
Nick Foster5Australian F335
Steel Guiliana5Australian F340
Lukas Moraes5Brazilian F335
Camren Kaminsky5British F335
Felix Serralles5British F340
Benjamin Barnicoat5Formula Renault 2.0 NEC35
Matt Parry5Formula Renault 2.0 NEC35
Nick Heidfeld4WEC, WEC36
Jonny Kane4WEC40
Nick Leventis4WEC40
Danny Watts4WEC40
Tsugio Matsuda4Super Formula, Super Formula37
Dennis Olsen4Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC36
Alexander Rossi3GP237
Luis Derani3Euro F337
Alexander Sims3Euro F3, GP337
Harold Primat3WEC40
Andrea Belicchi3WEC40
Carlos Munoz3IndyCar37
Dino Zamparelli3GP337
Kevin Korjus3GP337
Patric Niederhauser3GP340
James Rossiter3Super Formula37
Tomoki Nojiri3Japanese F3, Japanese F338
Louis Deletraz3Formula Renault 2.0 NEC37
Jack Aitken3Formula Renault 2.0 NEC37
Charles Leclerc3Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS37
Luca Ghiotto3Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS37
Julian Leal2GP238
Tom Dillmann2GP238
Nicholas Latifi2Euro F3, British F338
Michael Lewis2Euro F340
Brendon Hartley2WEC38
Mark Webber2WEC38
Timo Bernhard2WEC38
Marc Gene2WEC38
Oliver Jarvis2WEC38
Charlie Kimball2IndyCar38
Richie Stanaway2GP338
Matthieu Vaxiviere2Formula Renault 3.538
Yuji Kunimoto2Super Formula38
Takashi Kogure2Super Formula38
Kazuya Oshima2Super Formula40
Leonardo Pulcini2Italian F438
Francisco Camarotta2Formula 4 Sudamericana38
Sam MacLeod2German F338
Gustavo Menezes2German F338
Mitchell Gilbert2German F340
Richard Bradley2Japanese F340
Ricky Capo2Australian F338
Jordan Skinner2Australian F340
Arthur Fortunato2Brazilian F338
Felipe Guimaraes2British F338
David Brabham1WEC40
Peter Dumbreck1WEC40
Karun Chandhok1WEC40
Sebastien Bourdais1IndyCar39
Graham Rahal1IndyCar40
Jann Mardenborough1GP339
Kevin Ceccon1GP340
Marlon Stockinger1Formula Renault 3.539
Alain Valente1Italian F439
Nicolas Muraglia1Formula 4 Sudamericana39
Weiron Tan1German F339
John Bryant-Meisner1German F339
Daiki Sasaki1Japanese F339
Jordan Oon1Australian F339
Hayden Cooper1Australian F340
Raphael Raucci1Brazilian F339
Zhi Cong Li1British F339
Alexander Albon1Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup39
Seb Morris1Formula Renault 2.0 NEC39
Josh Hill1Formula Renault 2.0 NEC40
Matevos Isaakyan1Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS39
Bruno Bonifacio1Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS39
Paul-Loup Chatin1Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS40

2016 F1 season

Browse all 2016 F1 season articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

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

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

    Also surprising FE doesnt give points GP3 level

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

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

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

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

      1. howling as we speak? ;)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    3. Thanks both for the info! :)

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

    1. @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. 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. @fastiesty I agree. 30.

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

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

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

    1. @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. Dear Stable Door,

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

    1. Were the FIA ever proactive?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  29. 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. @keithcollantine Bianchi participated in GP2…..

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

  31. 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. @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)!

Comments are closed.