The FIA has increased the amount of Super License points allocated to the IndyCar Series, opening the door for more of its drivers to be eligible for a Formula 1 race seat.
The Super License was originally designed to ensure drivers could not simply pay for a race seat in F1, needing to earn at least 40 points across a three-year period to earn a Super License that allowed them to race in the category. The allocation of points was clearly weighted towards the FIA’s single-seater ladder to provide a clear pathway to F1, but that often left IndyCar drivers short of points.
Now, the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has approved an increase in the allocation of points for third to ninth places in the IndyCar championship standings – with a number of positions doubling the points received – in order “to reflect the growing significance of the category.”
Only the IndyCar champion earns the full 40 points required for a Super License, with Formula 2 the only other category to offer the same, although in F2 the top three all receive 40 points.
Second place in the IndyCar Series still earns 30 points, but third place will now earn 25 points, up from 20 in the past. The points for fourth place have doubled from 10 to 20, while fifth place now receives 15 points, up from eight.
Sixth will be rewarded with 10 points instead of the previous six, while seventh and eighth places have also seen their points doubled from four and three to eight and six respectively. Ninth place also receives an extra point – up from two to three – while 10th place remains allocated a single point.
The changes bring IndyCar closer to the points allocated to F2, but would still not have been enough to give Colton Herta a Super License based solely on IndyCar results. Herta will move to F2 next season alongside his Cadillac F1 team test role, and is seeking at least six points to secure his Super License. Under the new points allocations, Herta would have been just one point away from the 40 required for a Super License.
