Alexander Rossi hits out at FIA for making Super license exemption for Andrea Kimi Antonelli despite rejecting Colton Herta in 2022

Andrea Kimi Antonelli is projected to be the next Max Verstappen considering his rapid progress through the junior ladder.

Alexander Rossi hits out at FIA for making Super license exemption for Andrea Kimi Antonelli despite rejecting Colton Herta in 2022

Alexander Rossi, Kimi Antonelli(left circle) and Colton Herta(right circle), via IMAGO

Max Verstappen joined the F1 grid in 2015, at the tender age of just 17 years. This warranted FIA to set a minimum age barrier of 18 years to curb young drivers from joining the pinnacle of motorsport too soon.

However, this provision has now been scrapped after a rumored request to allow 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli to race on the grid. This enraged Indycar driver, Alexander Rossi for making an exemption while in the case of Colton Herta, such an exemption request was rejected.

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Two years ago, Red Bull flirted with the idea of having an American driver in F1. The main candidate for the seat at Alphatauri appeared to be Indycar star, Colton Herta. However, this hype train was soon de-railed as the 24-year-old did not have enough super license points, and a case for such exemption was rejected by the governing body (FIA).

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21 months after this saga, Andrea Kimi Antonelli appeared to be the prime candidate for the Mercedes seat but was under the age limit. To everyone’s surprise, FIA agreed to make an exemption, making Alexander Rossi furious.

Oh so exceptions can be made? Huh.
Alexander Rossi said on X

The 32-year-old was charged with anger due to the partial treatment. He made a jibe at FIA and claimed that such exemptions are now possible while these were not a few years back. This filled the fans with rage and they questioned FIA’s integrity via social media.

Will Buxton explains why FIA agreed to rule change in case of Kimi Antonelli

While the fans questioned FIA’s integrity, F1 experts deemed this exemption a necessary one. Subsequently, famous F1 presenter, Will Buxton explained why the governing body agreed to make an exceptional case for the Italian, and how the same was not possible in Herta’s case.

Will Buxton and Kimi Antonelli
Will Buxton(L) and Kimi Antonelli(R), via IMAGO

The 43-year-old described the cases of Antonelli and Herta as different from each other.

Know there’s a lot of upset over the Colton Herta comparison. The difference between the two cases is that Antonelli has already qualified for a superlicense by amassing enough points (without even racing F3 or F2) but until the reg change wasn’t old enough to use it. Herta has never amassed enough points to gain a superlicense. That’s the simple harsh reality.
Will Buxton Via X

Buxton elaborated that the 17-year-old had already qualified for the super license. On the contrary, this was not the instance during Herta’s time as he had not qualified for the super license. Furthermore, he explained that the American driver had never amassed enough points to gain the super license, thus making the two instances different from each other.

This rule change has now made the possibility of Antonelli moving to Mercedes in 2025 a certainty. Thus, this leaves Carlos Sainz without a top seat left to bid for. Leaving only Williams or Sauber as possible alternatives.

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