Red Bull is to run its simulator driver Jake Dennis at Wednesday’s Formula 1 test day in Hungary, the Briton’s second taste of the RB14 after his run in Spain.
But compatriot Daniel Ticktum – the leading youngster in Red Bull’s scheme – was the driver the team wanted to nominate for the test day, only for its request to be denied.
Ticktum’s history has been well documented courtesy of his two-year ban, one of which was suspended, for deliberately passing several cars under the Safety Car in order to collide with his title rival during a 2015 MSA Formula event.
Ticktum has since emerged as one of the leading young drivers in motorsport, winning the Macau Grand Prix last year, and currently holds second spot in the European F3 standings.
Ticktum also briefly participated in GP3 in 2017 and has made a handful of outings in the Japan-based Super Formula championship.
He joined Red Bull’s young driver scheme shortly after the elapsing of his suspension and the team wanted to assess his prowess in this week’s Formula 1 test.
But he has not yet amassed the required points in order to qualifying for an International Grade A License – and it is this that has precluded him from getting behind the wheel of the RB14.
“The points system was introduced to bring everything not only to a required standard, but also so you know where you stood,” explained FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting.
“Super Licenses were sometimes awarded at the discretion of the permanent bureau of the F1 Commission and there were no absolute rules about it.
“This year we introduced the system for A licenses, which is what Dan Ticktum is missing. It’s not a Super License, it’s an A license. You don’t need a Super License to test a Formula 1 car but we require an A license.
“For an A License you have to get 14 points, four of which are based on results, and five are given if you complete 80% per cent of two championships that qualify, and five are given at the discretion of the driver’s ASN [National Sporting Authority].
“So normally you’ve got 10, that’s a given, but Daniel didn’t get four for results and this was all because of his problem he had in the UK where he effectively got a two-year ban, half of which was suspended.
“He missed two half seasons, so unfortunately that’s the case, that he simply didn’t qualify.
“You don’t have to achieve an awful lot to get an A-license, literally all you have to do is complete 80 per cent of two qualifying championships, could be Formula 4, Formula 3, so you’ve got experience.
“Then only four points are required from performance, and five you’re bound to get from your ASN unless you’ve upset them.”
Ticktum is set to earn his International A license upon the completion of this year’s Formula 3 championship, and could grab 30 Super License points if he wraps up the title.
This would enable Ticktum to run in the post-race test in Abu Dhabi, though would leave him short of the Super License points needed for an F1 seat.
Discussion about this post