IndyCar does not deserve as many F1 Super License Points as F2 – Palou
IndyCar drivers should earn more points towards an FIA superlicense according to 2021 series champion Alex Palou, but not as many as F2 drivers.
Asked at COTA if he thought successful IndyCar drivers should be granted more points, Palou said: “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to change at all.
“I have my superlicense, I’m happy, I don’t care what happens. But obviously, I think it’s very unfair that there’s some series that they don’t get enough license points.
“Pato [O’Ward] doesn’t have [a superlicense] and he finished third in the [2021] championship, fourth in the [2020] championship, and seventh [this season].
“So I mean, a guy that is like that during 17 weekends racing against people that has 10 or 15 years of experience in IndyCar, that guy is capable of doing a lot in F1.
“But that’s the rules, so hopefully they change it in the future.
“I understand that also the FIA want everybody to go through Europe and not through other places. But it’s true that you could get more points by racing in, I don’t know, a winter series in Thailand and winning that than finishing fifth in IndyCar.
“That’s a bit like, I don’t know if that’s fair or not!”
“No, I do not think IndyCar drivers should get more points than F2 drivers, I think the program they have in F2 is good,” he stated.
“If you finish in the top three, you get a superlicense. That should be like that.
“But I think they could maybe give a little bit more [to IndyCar drivers]. I don’t think we’re asking to match it [IndyCar to match F2].
However, with that said, IndyCar drivers already get almost as many points as F2 drivers.
If you win the championship, both F1 and IndyCar drivers get 40 points and qualify immediately for a Superlicense.
However, F2 drivers get the same 40 points for 2nd and 3rd place, whereas IndyCar drivers only get 30 and 20 points. From 3rd on down is where IndyCar drivers should get more points.
Even F3 drivers earn more points than an IndyCar driver from 4th place on down. How ludicrous.
As of December 15, 2021, the Supplement 1 Super License points, which also qualify for the 80% rule, are awarded according to the following table:
| Series | Championship position | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship | 40 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | |
| IndyCar Series | 30 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| FIA Formula 3 Championship | 30 | 25 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| FIA Formula E Championship | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| FIA World Endurance Championship HYPERCAR | 24 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Formula Regional European Championship | 25 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Super Formula Championship | ||||||||||
| FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Super GT GT500 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| Formula Regional Asian Championship | 18 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Formula Regional Americas Championship | ||||||||||
| Formula Regional Japanese Championship | ||||||||||
| Formula Renault Eurocup (folded 2020, expires post-2023) | ||||||||||
| IMSA Prototypes | 10 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | 15 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| World Touring Car Cup | ||||||||||
| Supercars Championship | ||||||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series | ||||||||||
| Indy Lights | ||||||||||
| W Series | ||||||||||
| Euroformula Open | ||||||||||
| Super Formula Lights | ||||||||||
| Formula 4 Championships | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| FIA World Endurance Championship LMGTE Pro | ||||||||||
| Asian Le Mans Series Prototypes | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| European Le Mans Series Prototypes | ||||||||||
| FIA World Endurance Championship LMGTE Am | ||||||||||
| IMSA GTD Pro | ||||||||||
| F3 Asian Championship Winter Series (folded 2019, expires post-2022) | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| National Formula 3 Championships | ||||||||||
| Indy Pro 2000 Championship | ||||||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series | ||||||||||
| Toyota Racing Series | ||||||||||
| International GT3 Series | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| FIA Karting World Championships Senior | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||||||
| FIA Karting Continental Championships Senior | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| FIA Karting World Championships Junior | ||||||||||
| FIA Karting Continental Championships Junior | 2 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| Source:[1] | ||||||||||
^1 Subject to ‘road course’ rounds being held on FIA-homologated c