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A proposal for a standalone Formula 1 sprint race for young drivers is being discussed, The Race has learned.
The idea, which still requires a huge amount of detail to be considered, would be for a mini-event in the days after the season finale involving practice, qualifying and a sprint race.
It would be in addition to the usual one-day post-season Abu Dhabi test, where teams run two cars, one of which is for the sole purpose of giving young drivers track time.
That 'young driver test', as it is commonly referred to, is one of the only opportunities that presently exists to offer mileage in current F1 cars.
The other is the rule that teams must run a non-race driver - one who has not participated in more than two F1 races - at least once per season in each of its cars.
This has prompted a wider discussion about creating more opportunities, which continued at the most recent F1 Commission meeting, where 'wildcard' entries to F1 races for young drivers was suggested.
That idea was quite swiftly dismissed for various reasons including the fact F1's complex regulations meant the only way this could really work in reality would be for the wildcard to replace an existing driver, which was considered a non-starter.
However, The Race understands that the conversation continued, a post-season standalone race was suggested, and tentatively received support from all stakeholders - at least in principle.
That could change as various factors are worked through. Among the considerations are drawing up suitable regulations given a normal F1 season is governed by a budget cap and engine component limitations, what safety requirements there would be for a grid full of young drivers racing F1 cars for the first time, and logistical elements such as ensuring there is a sufficient team on the ground and television/media arrangements.
There is also the significant matter of establishing which drivers could take part. Having a superlicence or being eligible for one is not likely to be a condition, but one concern is that teams could potentially sell seats to drivers if there is not a sensible threshold.
It could be that an International A licence is sufficient with a certain number of superlicence points, so that an acceptable pool of drivers is created.
Because of how much still needs to be progressed, this idea has no fixed timeline to be realised. In theory the end of 2024 could be achievable but it would be a significant logistical challenge.
Introducing the race for the end of 2025 would give all parties much more time to scrutinise the proposal and work out the details.
Plus, as F1 is adopting brand new technical rules in 2026, there would be no carryover of key components.
Who could be eligible?
The most common "young driver" criteria is someone who has not started more than two grands prix.
While it would mostly comprise Formula 2/Formula 3 drivers past and present, given they dominate F1 teams' junior driver programmes, many other drivers in other series such as IndyCar and Super Formula have been in contention for F1 opportunities as well.
Applying all that to a hypothetical 2024 edition of this post-season event, the pool of drivers could look something like this:
Red Bull/RB: Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad, Ayumu Iwasa
Mercedes: Kimi Antonelli, Frederik Vesti
Ferrari: Ollie Bearman, Robert Shwarztman, Dino Beganovic
McLaren: Pato O'Ward, Gabriel Bortoleto, Ryo Hirakawa
Aston Martin: Felipe Drugovich, Jak Crawford
Alpine: Jack Doohan, Victor Martins, Kush Maini
Williams: Franco Colapinto, Zak O'Sullivan, Luke Browning
Sauber: Theo Pourchaire, Zane Maloney
Haas: Pietro Fittipaldi
Others: Paul Aron, Alex Palou, Colton Herta
