4-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou dropped a hilarious response to the FIA revamping the Tremendous Licence Factors allocation for IndyCar starting from 2026. The FIA’s determination got here after it confronted yearlong criticism over undermining the caliber of IndyCar drivers and awarding extra factors to the F1 feeder collection like F2.
Colton Herta’s instance seemingly acted as a case examine. The Andretti International driver did not safe an F1 seat twice over the previous three years as a result of he could not collect the required 40 factors for a Tremendous Licence. As a final shot at realizing his F1 dream, Herta left IndyCar after the 2025 season to race in F2 with Hitech GP in 2026.
The brand new allocation for the High 10 IndyCar drivers shall be 40-30-25-20-15-10-8-6-3-1 as an alternative of 40-30-20-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. Although it’s nonetheless undervalued in comparison with F2, the rise will ease the expertise pathway from IndyCar to F1.
Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who has received the title thrice consecutively, has 120 factors (The FIA considers factors accrued over a three-year interval earlier than a driver’s F1 entry). On Wednesday, after the FIA’s announcement, he jokingly flaunted his achievement in an X submit.
“I’ve 2 tremendous licenses for SALE. They haven’t been used, solely critical inquiries,” the Chip Ganassi Racing driver wrote.
Although Alex Palou’s factors tally stays the identical below each the brand new and previous allocation regimes, Colton Herta’s does not. The American driver would’ve been eligible to affix AlphaTauri in 2023 (with 41 factors as an alternative of 32) and with Cadillac F1 in 2026 (with 39 factors as an alternative of 34) if the brand new system had been utilized retroactively. Within the second case, he would’ve needed to full one FP1 session with any crew and attain the 40-point mark.
Alex Palou ‘hated’ the FIA’s previous Tremendous Licence system that spoiled Colton Herta’s F1 dream
In September this 12 months, Cadillac F1 introduced it had signed Colton Herta as a take a look at driver for 2026, and crew CEO Dan Towriss confirmed that the 25-year-old would take a step down from IndyCar to race in F2. Alex Palou had shared his sincere response to the identical.
Although the Chip Ganassi Racing driver was glad to see his IndyCar rival go all out to fulfil his F1 dream, he expressed disappointment with the FIA’s Tremendous Licence factors system. Talking about Herta’s transfer on the Velocity Road podcast, Alex Palou mentioned:
“I feel it is a terrific story. It is a terrific story that what he is making an attempt to realize, how onerous everyone knows that it’s. And that is why we push for it. And particularly figuring out that it is a little bit bit unfair that he might get an opportunity if we had extra factors in our system. Sure. And that is what it makes us be much more like… I hate that.”
This 12 months, Alex Palou was linked with two F1 groups, Cadillac F1 and Purple Bull, for a 2026 drive. Nonetheless, he dismissed the hyperlink on each accounts, emphasizing his dedication to racing in IndyCar.
Edited by Yash Kotak