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.
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In total 204 drivers have scored points towards gaining an F1 superlicence over the past three years. Here are all of them:
| Driver | Total | Scores counted from | Points needed in 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andre Lotterer | 132 | WEC, WEC, WEC, Super Formula, Super Formula, Super Formula | 0 |
| Marcel Fassler | 100 | WEC, WEC, WEC | 0 |
| Benoit Treluyer | 100 | WEC, WEC, WEC | 0 |
| Tom Kristensen | 80 | WEC, WEC, WEC | 0 |
| Will Power | 80 | IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar | 0 |
| Scott Dixon | 80 | IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar | 0 |
| Raffaele Marciello | 74 | GP2, Euro F3, Euro F3 | 0 |
| Loic Duval | 70 | WEC, WEC, WEC, Super Formula, Super Formula, Super Formula | 0 |
| Allan McNish | 70 | WEC, WEC | 0 |
| Helio Castroneves | 70 | IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar | 0 |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | 65 | GP2, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup | 0 |
| Anthony Davidson | 60 | WEC, WEC | 0 |
| Sebastien Buemi | 60 | WEC, WEC | 0 |
| Jolyon Palmer | 56 | GP2, GP2 | 0 |
| Fabio Leimer | 56 | GP2, GP2 | 0 |
| Sam Bird | 55 | GP2, Formula Renault 3.5 | 0 |
| Felix Rosenqvist | 53 | Euro F3, Euro F3, Euro F3 | 7 |
| Felipe Nasr | 52 | GP2, GP2, GP2 | 0 |
| Alex Lynn | 52 | Euro F3, GP3, British F3 | 0 |
| Mitchell Evans | 50 | GP2, GP3 | 20 |
| Davide Valsecchi | 50 | GP2 | 40 |
| Kazuki Nakajima | 50 | WEC, Super Formula, Super Formula, Super Formula | 10 |
| Ryan Hunter-Reay | 50 | IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar | 30 |
| Esteban Ocon | 41 | Euro F3, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup | 0 |
| James Calado | 40 | GP2, GP2 | 10 |
| Luiz Razia | 40 | GP2 | 40 |
| Daniel Juncadella | 40 | Euro F3 | 40 |
| Antonio Felix da Costa | 40 | GP3, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.5 | 25 |
| Tom Blomqvist | 39 | Euro F3, Euro F3, Euro F3, German F3 | 6 |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 38 | Euro F3, Formula Renault 3.5 | 10 |
| Alexander Wurz | 38 | WEC, WEC, WEC | 22 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 38 | GP3, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 10 |
| Nicolas Lapierre | 36 | WEC, WEC, WEC | 24 |
| Simon Pagenaud | 36 | IndyCar, IndyCar, IndyCar | 12 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 33 | Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.5 | 10 |
| Esteban Gutierrez | 30 | GP2 | 40 |
| Neel Jani | 30 | WEC, WEC | 20 |
| Robin Frijns | 30 | Formula Renault 3.5 | 40 |
| Stephane Sarrazin | 28 | WEC, WEC | 12 |
| Lucas Auer | 27 | Euro F3, Euro F3, German F3 | 20 |
| Romain Dumas | 26 | WEC, WEC | 20 |
| Marvin Kirchhofer | 25 | GP3, German F3 | 15 |
| Pierre Gasly | 25 | Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup | 15 |
| Joao Paulo de Oliveira | 25 | Super Formula, Super Formula, Super Formula | 20 |
| Jordan King | 23 | Euro F3, Euro F3, British F3, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 20 |
| Max Chilton | 20 | GP2 | 40 |
| Max Verstappen | 20 | Euro F3 | 20 |
| Marc Lieb | 20 | WEC | 20 |
| Dean Stoneman | 20 | GP3 | 20 |
| Jimmy Eriksson | 20 | GP3, German F3 | 30 |
| Facu Regalia | 20 | GP3 | 20 |
| Conor Daly | 20 | GP3, GP3 | 25 |
| Daniel Abt | 20 | GP3 | 40 |
| Jules Bianchi | 20 | Formula Renault 3.5 | 40 |
| Naoki Yamamoto | 20 | Super Formula | 20 |
| Stefano Coletti | 18 | GP2, GP2 | 22 |
| Nicolas Prost | 17 | WEC, WEC, WEC | 33 |
| Nick Yelloly | 17 | GP3, GP3, Formula Renault 3.5 | 30 |
| Jack Harvey | 17 | GP3, British F3 | 33 |
| Yuichi Nakayama | 17 | Japanese F3, Japanese F3 | 30 |
| Roberto Merhi | 15 | Formula Renault 3.5 | 25 |
| Will Stevens | 15 | Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.5 | 25 |
| Koudai Tsukakoshi | 15 | Super Formula | 40 |
| Oliver Rowland | 14 | Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup | 27 |
| Johnny Cecotto Jnr | 13 | GP2, GP2 | 30 |
| Antonio Fuoco | 13 | Euro F3, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 27 |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | 13 | Euro F3, British F3 | 27 |
| Emil Bernstorff | 13 | Euro F3, GP3, German F3 | 28 |
| Marcus Ericsson | 12 | GP2, GP2 | 32 |
| Lucas di Grassi | 12 | WEC, WEC | 28 |
| Tio Ellinas | 12 | GP3, GP3 | 30 |
| Takuya Izawa | 12 | Super Formula, Super Formula | 38 |
| William Buller | 11 | Euro F3, British F3 | 35 |
| Aaro Vainio | 11 | GP3, GP3 | 39 |
| Ryo Hirakawa | 11 | Super Formula, Japanese F3 | 39 |
| Nobuharu Matsushita | 11 | Japanese F3, Japanese F3 | 29 |
| Arthur Pic | 10 | GP2, Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.5 | 32 |
| Pascal Wehrlein | 10 | Euro F3 | 40 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 10 | IndyCar | 30 |
| Marco Andretti | 10 | IndyCar, IndyCar | 30 |
| Lance Stroll | 10 | Italian F4 | 30 |
| Bruno Baptista | 10 | Formula 4 Sudamericana | 30 |
| Markus Pommer | 10 | German F3 | 30 |
| Simon Hodge | 10 | Australian F3 | 30 |
| Tim Macrow | 10 | Australian F3 | 30 |
| James Winslow | 10 | Australian F3 | 40 |
| Pedro Piquet | 10 | Brazilian F3 | 30 |
| Martin Cao | 10 | British F3 | 30 |
| Nyck De Vries | 10 | Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 30 |
| Harry Tincknell | 9 | Euro F3, British F3 | 32 |
| Mathias Beche | 9 | WEC, WEC | 31 |
| Takamoto Katsuta | 9 | Japanese F3, Japanese F3 | 31 |
| Ben Gersekowski | 9 | Australian F3, Australian F3 | 31 |
| Giedo van der Garde | 8 | GP2 | 40 |
| Rinaldo Capello | 8 | WEC | 40 |
| Sergey Sirotkin | 8 | Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.5 | 32 |
| Nico Muller | 8 | Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.5 | 33 |
| Marco Sorensen | 8 | Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 3.5 | 37 |
| Stephane Richelmi | 7 | GP2, GP2 | 33 |
| Jake Dennis | 7 | Euro F3, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 38 |
| Matias Laine | 7 | GP3 | 40 |
| Mattia Drudi | 7 | Italian F4 | 33 |
| Felipe Ortiz | 7 | Formula 4 Sudamericana | 33 |
| Nabil Jeffri | 7 | German F3 | 33 |
| Artem Markelov | 7 | German F3 | 33 |
| Kenta Yamashita | 7 | Japanese F3 | 33 |
| John Magro | 7 | Australian F3 | 33 |
| Chris Gilmour | 7 | Australian F3 | 40 |
| Bruno Etman | 7 | Brazilian F3 | 33 |
| Matt Rao | 7 | British F3 | 33 |
| Jazeman Jaafar | 7 | British F3 | 40 |
| Tony Kanaan | 6 | IndyCar, IndyCar | 36 |
| Justin Wilson | 6 | IndyCar | 34 |
| James Hinchcliffe | 6 | IndyCar, IndyCar | 37 |
| Ryan Briscoe | 6 | IndyCar | 40 |
| Norman Nato | 6 | Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 37 |
| Sven Muller | 5 | Euro F3, Euro F3 | 38 |
| Dario Franchitti | 5 | IndyCar, IndyCar | 39 |
| Nigel Melker | 5 | Formula Renault 3.5 | 35 |
| Hiroaki Ishiura | 5 | Super Formula | 35 |
| Andrea Russo | 5 | Italian F4 | 35 |
| Agustin Lima | 5 | Formula 4 Sudamericana | 35 |
| Indy Dontje | 5 | German F3 | 35 |
| Kimiya Sato | 5 | German F3 | 40 |
| Mitsunori Takaboshi | 5 | Japanese F3 | 35 |
| Katsumasa Chiyo | 5 | Japanese F3 | 35 |
| Hideki Yamauchi | 5 | Japanese F3 | 40 |
| Chris Anthony | 5 | Australian F3 | 35 |
| Nick Foster | 5 | Australian F3 | 35 |
| Steel Guiliana | 5 | Australian F3 | 40 |
| Lukas Moraes | 5 | Brazilian F3 | 35 |
| Camren Kaminsky | 5 | British F3 | 35 |
| Felix Serralles | 5 | British F3 | 40 |
| Benjamin Barnicoat | 5 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 35 |
| Matt Parry | 5 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 35 |
| Nick Heidfeld | 4 | WEC, WEC | 36 |
| Jonny Kane | 4 | WEC | 40 |
| Nick Leventis | 4 | WEC | 40 |
| Danny Watts | 4 | WEC | 40 |
| Tsugio Matsuda | 4 | Super Formula, Super Formula | 37 |
| Dennis Olsen | 4 | Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 36 |
| Alexander Rossi | 3 | GP2 | 37 |
| Luis Derani | 3 | Euro F3 | 37 |
| Alexander Sims | 3 | Euro F3, GP3 | 37 |
| Harold Primat | 3 | WEC | 40 |
| Andrea Belicchi | 3 | WEC | 40 |
| Carlos Munoz | 3 | IndyCar | 37 |
| Dino Zamparelli | 3 | GP3 | 37 |
| Kevin Korjus | 3 | GP3 | 37 |
| Patric Niederhauser | 3 | GP3 | 40 |
| James Rossiter | 3 | Super Formula | 37 |
| Tomoki Nojiri | 3 | Japanese F3, Japanese F3 | 38 |
| Louis Deletraz | 3 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 37 |
| Jack Aitken | 3 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 37 |
| Charles Leclerc | 3 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 37 |
| Luca Ghiotto | 3 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 37 |
| Julian Leal | 2 | GP2 | 38 |
| Tom Dillmann | 2 | GP2 | 38 |
| Nicholas Latifi | 2 | Euro F3, British F3 | 38 |
| Michael Lewis | 2 | Euro F3 | 40 |
| Brendon Hartley | 2 | WEC | 38 |
| Mark Webber | 2 | WEC | 38 |
| Timo Bernhard | 2 | WEC | 38 |
| Marc Gene | 2 | WEC | 38 |
| Oliver Jarvis | 2 | WEC | 38 |
| Charlie Kimball | 2 | IndyCar | 38 |
| Richie Stanaway | 2 | GP3 | 38 |
| Matthieu Vaxiviere | 2 | Formula Renault 3.5 | 38 |
| Yuji Kunimoto | 2 | Super Formula | 38 |
| Takashi Kogure | 2 | Super Formula | 38 |
| Kazuya Oshima | 2 | Super Formula | 40 |
| Leonardo Pulcini | 2 | Italian F4 | 38 |
| Francisco Camarotta | 2 | Formula 4 Sudamericana | 38 |
| Sam MacLeod | 2 | German F3 | 38 |
| Gustavo Menezes | 2 | German F3 | 38 |
| Mitchell Gilbert | 2 | German F3 | 40 |
| Richard Bradley | 2 | Japanese F3 | 40 |
| Ricky Capo | 2 | Australian F3 | 38 |
| Jordan Skinner | 2 | Australian F3 | 40 |
| Arthur Fortunato | 2 | Brazilian F3 | 38 |
| Felipe Guimaraes | 2 | British F3 | 38 |
| David Brabham | 1 | WEC | 40 |
| Peter Dumbreck | 1 | WEC | 40 |
| Karun Chandhok | 1 | WEC | 40 |
| Sebastien Bourdais | 1 | IndyCar | 39 |
| Graham Rahal | 1 | IndyCar | 40 |
| Jann Mardenborough | 1 | GP3 | 39 |
| Kevin Ceccon | 1 | GP3 | 40 |
| Marlon Stockinger | 1 | Formula Renault 3.5 | 39 |
| Alain Valente | 1 | Italian F4 | 39 |
| Nicolas Muraglia | 1 | Formula 4 Sudamericana | 39 |
| Weiron Tan | 1 | German F3 | 39 |
| John Bryant-Meisner | 1 | German F3 | 39 |
| Daiki Sasaki | 1 | Japanese F3 | 39 |
| Jordan Oon | 1 | Australian F3 | 39 |
| Hayden Cooper | 1 | Australian F3 | 40 |
| Raphael Raucci | 1 | Brazilian F3 | 39 |
| Zhi Cong Li | 1 | British F3 | 39 |
| Alexander Albon | 1 | Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup | 39 |
| Seb Morris | 1 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 39 |
| Josh Hill | 1 | Formula Renault 2.0 NEC | 40 |
| Matevos Isaakyan | 1 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 39 |
| Bruno Bonifacio | 1 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 39 |
| Paul-Loup Chatin | 1 | Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS | 40 |
2016 F1 season
- Alonso: Missing Q3 ‘massively frustrating’
- Vettel rues mistakes after qualifying gamble
- Three-place grid penalty for Hulkenberg after wheel mishap
- Ricciardo surprised by ‘awesome’ front row start
- Hamilton to give ‘everything I’ve got’ from last