what the FIA’s new superlicence rule means for F1 silly season

The FIA has officially lowered the minimum age requirement for a superlicence to 17 following speculation around Kimi Antonelli.

While technically the minimum age is still 18, the FIA has added a clause to the sporting regulations to allow 17 year-old drivers to receive a superlicence at the discretion of the FIA. The clause is aimed at Formula 2 and Formula 3 drivers who are succeeding at a young age and looking to join Formula 1.

Why has the rule been changed, and why now?

For weeks, 17 year-old Italian driver Kimi Antonelli has been at the centre of silly season rumours, especially regarding the Mercedes seat for 2015.

With Lewis Hamilton vacating the team to join Ferrari, Mercedes is looking to their junior roster to fill his spot.

Antonelli has been a talking point amongst feeder series enthusiasts for several years now, and most recently skipped out on a Formula 3 seat to go straight to Formula 2 with PREMA Racing.

But Antonelli is set to turn 18 later this year in August, and has already met all the other requirements for a superlicence. So why bother getting the rule changed now?

While Hamilton’s Mercedes seat won’t open up until 2025, that doesn’t mean there won’t be an opportunity for Antonelli to hop in an F1 car earlier than that, before his 18th birthday.

Williams rumours

One big factor is Williams Racing, a team that has a close relationship with Mercedes and previously housed Mercedes junior driver George Russell.

It’s been made clear that Williams aren’t happy with the performance of Logan Sargeant, an American driver in his second season with the team. There have been many rumours about Sargeant getting replaced mid-season, most commonly by Antonelli himself.

If Williams were to make the choice to replace Sargeant, they could now have Antonelli in the car as soon as they like, without having to wait until he turns 18. Of course, it’s arguably more risky to sign Antonelli than it is to keep Sargeant, as Antonelli’s track record in Formula 2 is, as of now, not particularly impressive, and his Formula 3 record is nonexistent.

His brief track record hasn’t seemed to dissuade Mercedes, or anyone else, from touting him as a Formula 1 driver in the near future. Hamilton himself, as reported by Autosport, even went so far as to say that he would choose Antonelli to be his replacement next season.

Silly season is hardly predictable, but it seems more and more likely, especially after this ruling by the FIA, that we’ll see Antonelli on the Formula 1 grid sooner rather than later.

Feature Image Credit: Mercedes AMG F1