Drivers in the 2019 Toyota Racing Series will now be able to score Super Licence points that are required for competing in Formula One. It is a qualification criterion for new drivers to meet where they must earn 40 FIA points over a three-year period before they are able to compete at the highest level in single seaters.
This was one of Brendon Hartley’s advantages in gaining his Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 seat at the US F1 Grand Prix last year ahead of other F1 hopefuls.
His points were gained mainly from winning his two World Endurance Championship titles in 2015 and 2017. With the team having to scramble to find a driver when Pierre Gasly had a ‘Honda’ commitment to drive in the final round of the Super Formula in Japan, Hartley was one of a handful of drivers who had the required number of points to qualify for an F1 seat.
The FIA recognition is a bonus for TRS as it gives the championship more international status alongside other single-seater categories, particularly in Europe, such as F4, F3 and Formula Renault.
The biggest and best advantage for TRS is that it has the potential to attract more Northern Hemisphere drivers down-under. It’s an added bonus to the current five consecutive meetings that take place straight after the New Year.
So, what is the point. The reality for drivers is that very few will get through to a F1 seat within the three-year period after competing in NZ. Rather they will have to continue to accumulate the necessary points each year of their career until the opportunity arises.
The winner of the Toyota Racing Series will get a mare seven points, five for second, three for third, two for fourth and a single point for fifth.
Last September the FIA approved changes to the qualification structure with only Formula 2 (GP2) and IndyCar now offering the maximum points. Previously, the champions of F2, European Formula 3, Formula E, IndyCar and the World Endurance Championship LMP1 class all received the necessary 40 points.
So what of the equivalent categories to TRS. National F3 points are 10,7,5,3,1 while FIA F4 are 12,10,7,5,3,2,1.
The Australian Supercars was also recently awarded Super Licence points for the top finishers in the championship (13,11,9,6,4,3,2,1) and again the reality of this is that none of these drivers will go on to a F1 career.
Typically a successful TRS driver will head to Europe in the same year and compete in Formula 3 and if they are really good spend two years in Formula 2 before making the final step into a F1 seat.
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