F1: Verstappen, Raikkonen wouldn’t have been eligible for Super License

Zak Brown, speaking to media at the IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca, said: “I get that rules are what rules are and they shouldn’t be broken, but I question whether just because those are the rules that in place now, those are the correct rules.

“Someone of Colton’s or Pato’s [O’Ward] Caliber or half of the ‘IndyCar’ field are Formula 1 capable. If someone like Colton who’s won a lot of IndyCar races isn’t eligible for a Super License, then I think we need to review the Super License system.”

Brown also makes the argument that F1 champions such as Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen wouldn’t have qualified for a Super License when they made their debuts.

Verstappen would have had 15 points at the time of his debut with Toro Rosso in 2015.

Raikkonen would have had around 18 when he first appeared on the grid with Red Bull Sauber in 2001.

In Herta’s current case, he would have 32 points from his last three IndyCar seasons where he finished third, fifth and 10th respectively.

“I don’t think Max Verstappen would have been eligible for a Super License, I don’t think Kimi Raikkonen would have been eligible for a Super License,” Brown added.

“If you go back and look, there are a couple of guys, world champions, who wouldn’t have got their super license in today’s environment.”

And that underscores just how out of touch the current system used to qualify for a Super License is.