A Super Licence has been a requirement of a Formula 1 driver for a long time. Without one, a driver can only dream of being able to compete in the top echelon of motorsport.
In days gone by, a driver had to complete 300km of testing in Formula 1 machinery to be able to qualify for one. Easy enough to do back then, as in-season testing was unrestricted and a driver could easily complete 300km in a day.
In 2015, the rules regarding the Super Licence changed. With in-season testing now a thing of the past, it is now down to each driver to prove their credentials with their racing skill as championship results earn points on their licence.
40 points must be accumulated over the three years prior to their entry into Formula 1, with Formula 2 and IndyCar awarding the full 40 points for winning the title. Formula 3, Formula E, and the World Endurance Championship offer 30 each for the champions, while lower categories hand out lower amounts.
The idea of this system was to weed out the pay drivers who have achieved nothing in their careers and pay their way to the top. While there is still the occasional pay driver that comes through, they must at least show they also have talent and earn their way up.
This brings me to the point of this article: should the junior categories have a similar system to stop drivers paying their way up?
It brings the best talent through the ranks
Suggesting how to implement such a system is not the point of this article, as I don't think I would be able to provide the perfect solution, but one must consider the positives of this kind of system being brought into play.
There are many examples of drivers who have more money than talent reaching as high as Formula 2. Mahaveer Raghunathan, Alessio Deledda, and more recently Niels Koolen, just to name a handful.
Koolen became an easy target for online abuse when he competed for AIX Racing in Formula 2 this season, racing at Monza and Baku with a best finish of P19, lapping many seconds per lap off the pace of his fellow drivers.
The abuse directed at him was inexcusable, as you cannot fault a person for pursuing their dream of being a racing driver, but I do find it hard to justify the fact that he raced in Formula 2 having never scored a point in anything other than Indy NXT in his junior career.
This led me to think about how bringing Super Licence points to junior racing would produce better talent in the higher categories. Quite simply, drivers who never achieved anything in their junior careers should not be able to race one category away from Formula 1, or in some cases even in Formula 1. Looking at you, Pedro Diniz.
While the field in Formula 2 this season is, for the most part, completely stacked with genuine talent, there have been seasons gone by where the grid has been mostly made up of cash rather than skill, in many cases meaning those who deserve to be there have been left by the wayside due to a lack of budget. I could name so many drivers who deserve a shot at this level of racing but were unable to progress due to someone less talented having a bigger wallet.
If you bring in the requirement for drivers to earn their way through the ranks rather than pay their way up, this would lead to a better standard of racing driver all the way up to Formula 1 and would mean that the best of the bunch get their chances at the top of motorsport, isn't this what motorsport should be?
But wait, teams need money to race
This is a necessary evil of the sport, racing costs money. Were motor racing not an expensive sport, I reckon the Formula 1 grid would look very different from what it currently is.
The costs involved in running a racing team have skyrocketed in the past couple of decades. Some of the costs are covered by the team owner, some by the sponsors and, in a lot of cases, some by the drivers.
It can be likened to going down to your local karting circuit for a few laps. You don't just turn up and get in the kart, you have to pay for it. The money then goes towards the circuit for the hiring of its staff, circuit maintenance, etc. It's the same in the junior categories. The money goes into the team and enables it to go racing, as well as pay its staff.
I'm not saying that the richest drivers have the least talent, some are genuinely very impressive racing drivers, but money alone should not allow a driver to rise up the ranks to the point where they are almost at Formula 1. In some ways, it's a big middle finger to those drivers who have spent time honing their craft and working their way towards their dream, only to be stopped short because someone has a bigger backer.
If anyone at the FIA has any idea how to implement such a system into the junior categories, I implore you to bring it in. There are still many talented drivers who can bring enough money to a team, let's make sure it's the best ones that are rewarded for their successes.
Image credit: Formula 2, Trident
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