FIA Super Licence

The FIA Super Licence is a qualification allowing the licence-holder to compete in the Formula One World Championship as a driver. The licence is issued to drivers who have met criteria of success in junior motorsport categories, or in exceptional circumstances, those who have not met those criteria but have demonstrated "outstanding ability in single-seater formula cars" and achieved 300 kilometres (190 miles) of running in a Formula One car.

To qualify for an FIA super licence the requesting driver must already be the holder of a grade A competition licence, and additionally meet the requirements of the 2013 FIA International Sporting Code, Appendix L. These requirements state that the driver must be either the reigning champion in a lower category of motor sport, for example Formula 3 (Euroformula Open Championship or Japanese championship), Formula 2, or GP2 Series, or must have consistently finished well in these categories. For example, a driver finishing fourth and fifth (twice) positions in the GP2 championship within the last three years will be eligible for a super licence.

Additionally, drivers who have competed in the IndyCar Series are eligible for a super licence if they finished within the first four places of the driver's championship. This allows drivers from the United States domestic series to move into Formula One without first taking part in other FIA sanctioned events. Under exceptional circumstances Appendix L also allows the FIA to award a Super Licence to a driver who does not meet the normal criteria if a vote reveals unanimous agreement by the members, and provided that the driver has completed 300 kilometers of testing at racing speeds in a current car.

From 2016 onwards, in order to secure a super licence, a driver must score at least 40 points over a three year period from the following table:

The FIA charges the licence holder an annual fee. According to a report on the BBC, the cost of a super licence rose by an average £8,700 in 2009, and there was an extra charge of € 2,100 per point earned in 2008 - up from €447 per point in 2007. In 2010, Lewis Hamilton would pay £242,000 for his licence for the season.

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