Entering its second season, F1 Academy will start awarding FIA Super Licence points to the top five finishers in the drivers standings. More regulation changes were announced - including a two-year limit and wild card entries.
Entering its second season of competitions, F1 Academy will now be eligible to award FIA Super Licence points: the all-female championship announced that the top five, starting from 2024, will receive Super Licence points.
The championship winner will get 10 points, the runner up will collect 7 points and the third placed driver will get 5. The fourth and fifth drivers in the standings will be awarded 3 and 1 point respectively. As per FIA regulations, drivers need to accumulate at least 40 points over a period of three years - before they expire - in order to qualify for a FIA Super Licence, a requirement to compete in Formula 1.
This puts F1 Academy on the same level of US-based Indy Pro 2000 and GB3 Championship, which all receive approximately two thirds of the Super Licence points compared to national F4 championships.
Another important regulation change communicated by F1 Academy will be a limit to 2 years of competitions in the series for drivers. This is designed to encourage progression up the ladder and, with age limits in place, the grid is expected to change significantly in 2025 and beyond to allow opportunities to more drivers - hopefully making the step from karting, as per the series' mission.
A very interesting new concept that F1 Academy will pioneer in 2024 is wild card entries. Series' team champion Prema Racing are in fact expected to line up a wild card entry at select races, in order to showcase local talent to the region where the event is taking place.
The drivers will be selected by F1 alongside race promoters, which will identify young female talents for the specific weekend. Wild card will be eligible to score points for the drivers' championship.
“The introduction of the Wild Card entrants will promote regional talent, engage with local communities, and increase the talent pool in the regions in which we race which will be important for our long-term growth and ensure we are creating even more opportunities for women to get involved in our sport” - said F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolff.
With three rounds on the calendar contested in the Middle East, two in Europe, one in the US and one in South East Asia, the introduction of wild cards are expected to encourage progress in these regions. The opening race event will be held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudi Arabia.