You don’t just hop into a Formula 1 car because you set a fast lap at your local karting circuit or have a billionaire backing your garage. Becoming a Formula 1 driver means earning the ultimate credential in motorsport bureaucracy –– the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile Super Licence. The FIA hasn’t been popular for its sanctions on things like swearing, but it’s serious about licensing rules. The Super License is a highly structured, occasionally controversial system designed to keep F1 seats reserved for legit talent.
To get started, you have to be at least 18 years old, hold an International Grade A competition licence, and pass a theory test based on F1’s sporting code, which might be the driest book you’ll ever read. Even before that, drivers must complete at least 80% of two full seasons in junior single-seater categories sanctioned by the FIA. Racing in F3, F2, Super Formula, or IndyCar, among others, a driver finishes races to earn Super Licence points. The catch? You need to bank at least 40 points over a rolling three-year period.
Climbing the FIA points ladder to the big leagues
The FIA awards Super Licence points based on where you finish in a tiered list racing series. Nailed the F2 championship? That’s 40 points right there, enough for a Super Licence. Won IndyCar? You’re golden. Top seat in Formula E? That’s 30 points. But place third in a smaller series, like the Japanese Super GT500 or Euroformula Open, and you might only earn 12 or 10 points, so you may need to grind through a few seasons to add it all up.
The system is designed to ensure that drivers are both fast and experienced before hitting the grid. Bonus points exist, too. For drivers who run 100 kilometers (62 miles) in an F1 Free Practice session, avoid penalty points, or win prestigious one-offs like the Macau GP, the FIA awards points bonuses.
We can continue to hope that the V10s return to F1, but in the meanwhile, if an old F1 driver (cue cheers for Fernando Alonso, who says he’s not done yet), wants back in after more than three years away, they can’t just dust off their helmet and show up. The FIA has to believe that they’ve still got the chops in single-seaters, and the team backing them has to prove that the driver has recently logged at least 300 kilometers (186 miles) at proper race pace in a current-spec car over a maximum of two days and within the last 180 days.
Fine prints, exceptions, and the moolah
Just when you think it’s all math and meritocracy, the FIA likes to sprinkle in some mystery spice. While the 40-point rule is the gold standard, there are workarounds. Drivers can boost their Super Licence points by keeping it clean all season, winning the FIA Formula Regional World Cup, or logging trouble-free Friday practice laps during F1 weekends; up to 10 bonus points total if they tick all the right boxes.
Then there are the exceptions for prodigies. Remember when Max Verstappen debuted at 17? That loophole has been technically closed, but even now, under special dispensation, drivers like Andrea Kimi Antonelli can get the nod at 17 if the FIA sees enough maturity and experience to make an exception, and if the stars align. The logic is fuzzy, but if you’re freakishly talented and backed by a top team, the door might open early.
Getting an F1 Super Licence is also about the cash. Drivers reportedly shell out a flat $12,800 fee, plus $1,280 for every point they score in the championship. Oh, and it’s not a one-and-done deal. The licence needs renewing every year, and newbies get a 12-month probation period where the FIA can yank it away if they don’t keep things clean. A rookie without a full Super License can, however, participate in a race with a flashing green light instead of the usual flashing red at the back of their car.
Ultimately, the Super Licence isn’t about keeping slowpokes out of the paddock. It’s about managing risks, maintaining standards, and making sure that when 20 cars dive into Turn 1 at the Monaco Grand Prix, every driver belongs there, making their way to Turn 2, and not turning the grid into an expensive pile of carbon fiber.