New Super Licence Points for IndyCar: Too Little, Too Late

Colton Herta, IndyCar

A major topic in Formula 1, Formula 2, and IndyCar has been Colton Herta's Super Licence points. Announced for next year, he will compete in Formula 2 to earn the five/six points he needs to reach the required 40, so he can finally get that F1 seat. But should this be the case? After all, should Colton Herta’s history at the top of American single seaters guarantee him a Formula One seat? This is what I will discuss in this article.

On the 10^{th of} December, the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council announced there would be some changing of their allocations for IndyCar finishing positions, to “reflect the growing significance of the category.” The changes leave 1^st (at 40 points) and 2^nd (at 30 points) unchanged but have an increase in points from 3^rd to 9^th. 3^rd now gets 25, 4^th gets 20, 5^th gets 15^th, 6^th gets 10, 7^th gets 8 points, 8^th gets 6 points and 9^th gets 3 points.

Upon hearing the news, a lot of fans, including me, thought immediately of Colton Herta, an IndyCar driver who has finished 2^nd in the championship (in 2024), who must complete a series in Formula 2 to get the points needed. Super Licence points have always been stacked in favour of the feeder series to Formula 1, as this has been the main way of obtaining a seat, but these times have changed recently, with people like Nyck de Vries (who did win Formula 2 and has enough Super Licence points) joining from Formula E.

Herta is different, though, as the entrance of the new Cadillac team in 2026, another addition to the American team, wanted their American driver: Colton Herta. Once the latest season of IndyCar was over, it was known that this dream of an F1 2026 seat was over, as he only managed to finish 7^th in the standings, gaining four Super Licence Points, finishing on 35 points. Under the new system, Herta would have 8 Points, only one away from the coveted 40 Points. This means just 1 young driver test or Free Practice session on a Formula 1 weekend would allow him the Super Licence; now he needs five/six more points.

So, while these points do benefit any other IndyCar driver who wants to leap into Formula 1, it is too late for Colton Herta, who must fight with a new car and some veteran Formula 2 drivers to pick up those points to make his F1 dream come true. This is also interesting, given that this can work the other way too, with many IndyCar and Indy NXT drivers making the jump from the Formula 1 route to IndyCar and American racing. So far, it is just Herta who faces the dilemma of Super Licence Points, with Palou the only other driver open to driving F1 machinery, although this did not go to plan, and who has the needed 40 SL points.

Will any other drivers benefit from this change, and should other series that are also at the top of the classes, namely Formula E, have an increase in Super Licence Points? These are debates that will continue to plague motorsports fans in the future. We will just have to wait and see what the FIA’s next moves are.

Written by Amy Powis