With the news that the FIA has updated its Appendix L of the International Sporting Code to add flexibility to its superlicence requirements for drivers under 18, the superlicence points system has been called into question once again. I agree that there needs to be a framework in place to control who can drive what and when. However, the current system is imperfect and the latest update is in a way an admission of that.
That current system was introduced for 2016, to prevent a repeat of the ‘Max Verstappen scenario’ – in other words, a 17-year-old with just one season of car racing under their belt going straight into Formula 1. However, that ‘solution’ did not encompass the full picture.
