SRO Motorsports threw down the gauntlet to the FIA over a necessary change in driver categorization in order to correct some defects of the current system. After a long analysis of the situation, the FIA approved a revision of this system at the World Motor Sport Council on June 29, establishing new criteria for the different classifications. Criteria that will be valid for the next season, since this new FIA driver categorization system will come into force on January 1, 2023.
Starting with the most basic, categorization maintains its four levels and these receive the same names as before. Thus, the pilots will be divided into ‘Platinum’, ‘Gold’, ‘Silver’ and ‘Bronze’, with ‘Platinum’ being the highest and ‘Bronze’ the lowest. Also as before, the division between professional pilots -‘Platinum’ or ‘Gold’- and amateurs -‘Silver’ or ‘Bronze’- is also maintained, although the line is much more diffuse due to one of the changes in criteria approved by the FIA.
‘Platinum’ pilots are professional pilots under 55 years of age who are normally linked to a manufacturer, have the Formula 1 super license, have won Le Mans or the WEC or have obtained weight results in the main championships. For its part, the volume of ‘Gold’ pilots grows in some way, since other options are added to the existing ways to have this categorizationsince it will be worth having competed at a high level in karting for three or more seasons or in significant single-seater categories for two seasons.
In this sense, the main nuance is the age and experience of the pilots so far categorized as ‘Silver’since this group included very young pilots with great talent, but who did not have notable results and older pilots. Drivers who have started their career before the age of 20 and have competed in karting or single-seaters become ‘Gold’while the ‘Silver’ categorization is reserved for pilots under 30 years of age in their first year of license or without significant experience or who have started their career after being 20 years of age.
Finally, the ‘Bronze’ category is reserved with the new criteria for pilots who are amateurs in the strictest sense of the word, since only those who have obtained their first license after the age of 30 will be ‘Bronze’ pilots. In addition, it is noteworthy that the reductions in the categorization of drivers by the FIA will begin at 55 years and not at 50 as before and will be subject to annual performance reviews. Thus, pilots over 60 years old will automatically cease to be ‘Bronze’ pilots.
Photos: SRO Motorsports