Formula One’s governing body the FIA have introduced new rules regarding how drivers can obtain a Super Licence.
All drivers must have earned a Super Licence to take part in Formula One, but from 2016 those rules will be a lot stricter.
The new rules introduce an age limit of 18-years of age, drivers must have a valid road drivers licence and must have scored a minimum of 40 Super Licence points over the past three years and spent at least two years in junior single-seater categories.
The points system according to formula1.com is as follows:
FIA F2 championship (60 points for winner)
GP2 (50)
FIA F3 European championship (40)
FIA WEC (LMP1 only) (40)
IndyCar (40)
GP3 (30)
Formula Renault 3.5 (30)
Japanese Super Formula (20)
National FIA-certified F4 championships (10)
National F3 championships (10)
Formula Renault (EuroCup, ALPS or NEC) (5)
These rules have been added to the regulations in addition to the existing requirement of completing 300 kilometres in a recent Formula One car.
The new rules have been brought about as a reaction to the announcement that Toro Rosso signed then 16-year-old Max Verstappen for 2015.
The Dutchman would be ineligible to race in F1 in 2015 under the new rules set for 2016 as he would fail to make the age limit and would have failed to score the required points from feeder series.
In fact he would have only scored 20 points by finishing third in the 2014 FIA F3 European championship.
With the more regular additions of pay-drivers the new rules were seen as a necessary update, but have they gone too far?
Under the new regulations Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen and even Ayrton Senna would not have been able to make their debuts as they would not have earned a Super Licence under the new regulations before they made their introductions into Formula One.
F1 introduce new Super Licence points system
