Possible USF1 Drivers - Part 1 By Flood1

Jonathan Summerton 

As the silly season continues, there has still been no word out of USF1 regarding their driver lineup. The initial talk was all about Americans, but that quickly faded away in the face of reality:the Superlicense. The team has publically accepted this reality and has quietly moved to consider experienced non-americans. This is reasonable.

I have compiled a list of many of the drivers who are superlicense eligible. The list includes many that will never be seriously considered, but  there are several that would satisfy the needs of the team in their first year.

Series	Reg.	Name	Country
Previous Superlicense	5.1.2 a	Nelson Piquet	Brasil
Previous Superlicense	5.1.2 a	Scott Speed	USA
Previous Superlicense	5.1.2 a	Seb Bourdais	France
Previous Superlicense	5.1.2 a	David Coulthard	UK
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Pedro de la Rosa	Spain
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Alexander Wurz	Austrian
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Sakon Yamamoto	Japan
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Marko Asmer	Estonia
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Luca Filippi	Italy
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Mike Conway	UK
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Brendon Hartley	New Zealand
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Christian Klien	Austrian
Test Driver Contracts	5.1.2 b	Gary Paffett	UK
F Nippon	5.1.2 c	Loic Duval	France
F Nippon	5.1.2 c	Benoit Treluyer	France
F Nippon	5.1.2 c	Andre Lotterer	Germany
F Nippon	5.1.2 c	Tusugio Matsuda	Japan
F Nippon	5.1.2 c	Loic Duval	France
F Nippon	5.1.2 c	Andre Lotterer	Germany
F2	5.1.2 c	Andy Soucek	Spain
F2	5.1.2 c	Robert Wickens	Canada
F2	5.1.2 c	Mikhail Aleshin	Russia
GP2	5.1.2 c	Nico Hulkenberg	Germany
GP2	5.1.2 c	Vitaly Petrov	Russia
GP2	5.1.2 c	Lucas DiGrassi	Brasil
GP2	5.1.2 c	Giorgio Pantano	Italy
GP2	5.1.2 c	Bruno Senna	Brasil
GP2	5.1.2 c	Lucas Di Grassi	Brasil
GP2 Asia	5.1.2 c	Kamui Kobayashi	Japan
GP2 Asia	5.1.2 c	Jerome D'Ambrosio	Belgium
GP2 Asia	5.1.2 c	Roldan Rodriguez	Spain
GP2 Asia	5.1.2 c	R. Grosjean	France
GP2 Asia	5.1.2 c	Seb Buemi	Switzerland
GP2 Asia	5.1.2 c	Vitaly Petrov	Russia
IRL	5.1.2 d	Dario Franchitti	UK
IRL	5.1.2 d	Scott Dixon	New Zealand
IRL	5.1.2 d	Ryan Briscoe	Australia
IRL	5.1.2 d	Helio Castroneves	Brasil
IRL	5.1.2 d	Tony Kanaan	Brasil
Euro Formula 3	5.1.2 e	Jules Bianchi	France
Italy Formula 3	5.1.2 e	D. Zampieri	Italy
Japan Formula 3	5.1.2 e	Marcus Ericsson	Sweden
Spain Formula 3	5.1.2 e	Celso Miguez	Spain
UK Formula 3	5.1.2 e	Daniel Ricciardo	Australia
WSR	5.1.2 e	Bertrand Baguette	Belgium
A1GP, Indy Lights,	5.1.2 f*	Jonathan Summerton	USA
F BMW,F Master,GP2 A.	5.1.2 f*	Alex Rossi	USA
A1GP, Indy Lights, F Atlan.	5.1.2 f*	JR Hildbrand	USA
F Ford, Indy Lghts, IRL	5.1.2 f*	Danica Patrick	USA
CART, A1GP, IRL	5.1.2 f*	Ryan Hunter Rhey	USA
Indy Pro, A1GP, IRL	5.1.2 f*	Marco Andretti	USA
F BMW, CART, IRL	5.1.2 f*	Graham Rahal	USA
*Only Americans considered

To see the rules for a superlicense, appendix "L" of the FIA's International Sporting Regulations, continue reading.

http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/2A9404B6E4C8FE4EC12575FA00440479/$FILE/Annexe%20L_2009_09.07.20.pdf

 

5.1 Qualifications

5.1.1 The driver must be the holder of a current FIA International Grade

A  licence.

5.1.2 The driver must also satisfy at least one of the following

requirements:

a) have made at least 5 starts in races counting for the FIA Formula

One World Championship for Drivers the previous year, or at

least 15 starts within the previous 3 years.

b) have previously held the Super License and have been the

regular test driver with an F1 World Championship team for the

previous year.

c) been classified, within the previous 2 years, in the first 3 of

the final classification of the F2 Championship, or of the final

classification of the GP2 Series, or of the final classification of

the GP2 Asia Series or of the final classification of the Japanese

F/Nippon Championship,

d) been classified in the first 3 of the final classification of the Indy

Racing League (IRL) series or of the Champ Car World Series

within the previous 2 years; been classified in the first 4 of the

final classification of the Indy Car IRL series the previous year.*

* From 1.1.2010: been classified in the first 4 of the final classification of

the Indy Car IRL series within the previous 2 years.

e) be the current champion of one of the following:

Formula 3 Euro Series

The principal national F3 championships of: Great Britain, Italy,

Japan, Spain

World Series F/Renault V6

N.B.: the title of Champion is considered valid for 12 months from the last

race of the relevant series or championship season.

f) be judged by the FIA to have consistently demonstrated

outstanding ability in single-seater formula cars, but with no

opportunity to qualify under any of c) to e) above. In this case the

F1 team concerned must show that the applicant has driven at

least 300 km in a current Formula One car consistently at racing

speeds, over a maximum period of 2 days, completed not more

than 90 days prior to the application and certified by the ASN of

the country in which the test took place.

By exception, if supported by the Safety Commission, the FIA

World Motor Sport Council may approve the issue of the Super

Licence to persons judged by the Council to have met the intent

of the qualification process.

 
 

Comments

[Alastair]

What about Sato?

[Paul Murtagh]

That is so list of drivers to choose from! Johnathon Summerton could be a good bet for the drive after his performances in A1GP this season, but could face competition from Robert Wickens for that seat.

As for the other, I think USF1 will go with an experienced driver for the other seat, and Seb Bourdais could be a PR dream for the team after winning 4 ChampCar titles, but whether he would be the right man for the job after his time at STR I'm not sure. But I'm sure the team will want their strongest line-up possible to establish themselves in year one before aiming as high as possible from year two onwards

[flood1]

You are right, Alastair, Sato belongs in the first group, drivers with superlicenses. He has at least 15 races within the last three years so he is eligible. My oversight. I'm sure he's not the only one.

[matdoral]

And... what about López, former test driver at Renault F1 team?

[flood1]

Matdoral, you are right. We missed this in our blog and did not consider Lopez.Do you have any insights regarding Lopez? Have you seen him race?

We have included news about him after it was widespread.

http://www.usf1formula1.com/2009/11/just-who-is-jose-maria-lopez.html

I have read his bio and hope he is confirmed with the team. I consider an American team to be a team that includes South, Central, and North Americans.

So, he is welcome as far as I am concerned to the team and I wish him good luck.

Flood1

[flood1]

Matdoral, tiene usted razón. Hemos logrado esto en nuestro blog y no considera Lopez. Do tiene ideas respecto a López? ¿Lo has visto la carrera?

Hemos incluido noticias de él después de haber sido generalizada.

http://www.usf1formula1.com/2009/11/just-who-is-jose-maria-lopez.html

He leído su biografía y espero que se confirma con el equipo. Considero que un equipo americano a ser un equipo que incluye el Sur, Central y América del Norte.

Por lo tanto, es bienvenido en la medida que a mí respecta al equipo y le deseo buena suerte.

Flood1

[juan arevalo]

porque se nombra tanto al piloto argentino pechito lopez como ya incorporado al USF1 si ni siquiera aparece en la grilla publicada por ustedes, que bueno seria que corten con esos rumores que producen mucha ilusion a los argentinos siendo que de seguro no es culpa de ustedes sino del periodismo de aca.
gracias y saludos.

[JLS]

JR Hildebrand should be on that list because
he is a support series champion as is the
Atlantic Series champ John Edwards who is
not on the list.

[flood1]

I think JRH and Edwards would only qualify under condition(f)which means they need 300km in an F1 car in testing. They did not have this at the time of my post. But, I agree that both have the talent and skills to qualify for a superlicense.

5.1 Qualifications
5.1.1 The driver must be the holder of a current FIA International Grade
A licence.

5.1.2 The driver must also satisfy at least one of the following
requirements:

a) have made at least 5 starts in races counting for the FIA Formula
One World Championship for Drivers the previous year, or at
least 15 starts within the previous 3 years.

b) have previously held the Super License and have been the
regular test driver with an F1 World Championship team for the
previous year.

c) been classified, within the previous 2 years, in the first 3 of
the final classification of the F2 Championship, or of the final
classification of the GP2 Series, or of the final classification of
the GP2 Asia Series or of the final classification of the Japanese
F/Nippon Championship,

d) been classified in the first 3 of the final classification of the Indy
Racing League (IRL) series or of the Champ Car World Series
within the previous 2 years; been classified in the first 4 of the
final classification of the Indy Car IRL series the previous year.*
* From 1.1.2010: been classified in the first 4 of the final classification of
the Indy Car IRL series within the previous 2 years.

e) be the current champion of one of the following:
Formula 3 Euro Series
The principal national F3 championships of: Great Britain, Italy,
Japan, Spain
World Series F/Renault V6
N.B.: the title of Champion is considered valid for 12 months from the last
race of the relevant series or championship season.

f) be judged by the FIA to have consistently demonstrated
outstanding ability in single-seater formula cars, but with no
opportunity to qualify under any of c) to e) above. In this case the
F1 team concerned must show that the applicant has driven at
least 300 km in a current Formula One car consistently at racing
speeds, over a maximum period of 2 days, completed not more
than 90 days prior to the application and certified by the ASN of
the country in which the test took place.

By exception, if supported by the Safety Commission, the FIA
World Motor Sport Council may approve the issue of the Super
Licence to persons judged by the Council to have met the intent
of the qualification process.

[Ken Johnson]

the best solution for USF1 is Sebastien Bourdais or Franck Montagny , they know the the formula one paddock ad his moeurs , they are expirimented,and they have a good image in US

[flood1]

I would be happy with either of those drivers. Bourdais would work very well as American race fans know him from his championships in Champ cars.

As tototo said in the Lopez comments - Lopez/Bourdais would be a good driver pair.

And, thanks for your comments KJ

[Matt]

what do you guys think about some sports car drivers
Scott Pruitt (possibly the best american sports car driver)

Alex Gurney (Dan Gurneys son and 2 time Grand am champion)

Jon Fogarty (2 time Atlantic champion and Gurneys co-driver for the 2 grand am championships)

Scott Sharp (drove Patrone Acura p1 car for ALMS, 1996 IRL champ, and 2 time trans am champ