A boy holds a Renault Formula One steering wheel during a training session at the Jerez racetrack in southern Spain February 12, 2009. Motor racing chief Max Mosley has reminded Formula One drivers to race elsewhere if they are unwilling to pay for their
A boy holds a Renault Formula One steering wheel during a training session at the Jerez racetrack in southern Spain February 12, 2009. Motor racing chief Max Mosley has reminded Formula One drivers to race elsewhere if they are unwilling to pay for their super-licences. Reuters

Formula One, or F1's governing body has toughened the criteria for obtaining super license, which is the mandatory requirement for F1 qualification. As such, aspiring F1 drivers will find it hard to become eligible for F1 competition.

To qualify for 2016 super licence, drivers must have accumulated 40 points in three years, according to a statement posted on F1's official Web site. The points allocation will reportedly be based on motorsport series that the drivers have competed including IndyCar, EuroF3, and LMP1 in WEC as well as the level of results that they have achieved.

In addition, drivers must be 18 years old and must have a valid driving licence. The drivers must also have a minimum level of experience in junior single-seater categories and must pass a test on F1 sporting regulations. The aforementioned new criteria are added to the existing requirement in which the drivers must complete a 300 kilometre dash in an F1 car.

In 2016, the winners of FIA F2 Championship, GP2, FIA F3 European Championship, FIA WEC (LMP1 only), and IndyCar would qualify for a 2016 super license. Future GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 champions will only be awarded 30 points. Japanese Super Formula winner will get 20 points. National FIA-certified F4 championships and national F3 championships winners will get 10 points whilst Formula Renault - EuroCup, ALPS, or NEC, will get 5 points.

Had the new super licence points system been implemented last year, Max Verstappen, who will be racing for Torro Rosso this year, would not have been eligibile to race after all. Even though he finished third in FIA European F3 Championship, he would have only earned 20 points under the new super licence points system. If the new criteria had been implemented during the burgeoning racing careers of Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen, who both spent only a short period in junior formulas, they wouldn't have been able to qualify because in the new points system, Button would only get 15 points and Raikkonen five.

It was in September 2014 when it was announced that the FIA will take steps to review the process and make changes to the super licence points system if necessary. FIA has decided to take action after concerns about the ease of obtaining a super licence were raised.

To reach the author of this article, email r.corpuz@IBTimes.com.au.

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