As the rest of the world bemoans the rising cost of living, with UK households alone facing stiff increases in their utility bills after the country’s largest provider of gas, British Gas, announced a 15 percent increase in prices, Formula One drivers are left lamenting the increase in cost of their Superlicense.
The Superlicense is a mandatory document required by, and issued only to, Formula One drivers. To obtain an FIA Superlicense, competitors must already hold a Grade A Competition license and must be a reigning champion – or have performed exceptionally well – in a lower category, such as the Formula 3 or GP2 championships. Drivers of the two primary single-seater categories in the USA, the Champ Car World Series or the Indy Racing League, are also eligible for a Superlicense if they finish within the top six of either championship in the previous season.
The FIA can, and occasionally does, award a Superlicense to a competitor who does not meet these exact requirements provided a unanimous agreement is reached by all its members and the competitor applying has completed 300 kilometers (approx. 186 miles) of testing at full race speed in a current Formula One car.
On top of these strict requirements is the annual fee. Up until now, the FIA has charged €1’690 euros a season, plus an additional €447 per point scored. This means that in 2007, Kimi Räikkönen’s license cost him €30’745 euros (£22’993 UK pounds or $44’958 US dollars).
The World Motor Sports Council has, however, recently approved a dramatic increase in the cost of the license to €10’000 euros per annum for the base license and €2’000 euros per point achieved.
Lewis Hamilton, who came second to Räikkönen in the 2007 championship, will be grateful of the pay rise he has just received from Ron Dennis. The young Briton this week signed a new contract that is believed to be worth up to £70’000’000 UK Pounds ($136.9 million US Dollars) over the next five years, making him the third highest paid driver on the grid this year.
The World Motor Sports Council’s price hike for 2008 will mean that Hamilton’s Superlicense for 2008 will cost him €228’000 euros (£170’513 UK Pounds or $333’404 US Dollars). That’s rather a lot more than the €1’690 Euros he had to pay at the start of 2007.
With the FIA considering capping Formula One team budgets in 2009, this spectacular price increase will not have been easily accepted. Ferrari’s joint Superlicense bill for the coming season now stands at a spectacular €428’000 Euros.
