‘Top banter’: Twitter reacts to IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden’s F1 ‘super license’ dig
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Josef Newgarden
AlphaTauri wanted to get Colton Herta, but that deal fell through as Herta did not possess the required 40 super license points (he had only 32). They tried to get an exemption, but that did not work either, and now they have shifted their attention to Monza debutant, Nyck de Vries.
Earlier, de Vries had also made his stance clear on the matter: “I think the rules that have been created for this should simply be complied with. Because besides being frustrating, I think it’s also bad for the system.” also adding that there are already many eligible drivers to choose from, and as it’s happened, he is considered the frontrunner for the seat.
But American fans, drivers and even famous personalities were not happy with this. Alexander Rossi, who formerly drove for Marussia in F1, and is now in IndyCar was among those, and so was Graham Rahal who said: “F1 is an elitist sport. They don’t want us. Remember that.” and now two-time IndyCar champion, Josef Newgarden has also joined in.
Josef Newgarden pokes fun at ‘super license’ eligibility
Josef Newgarden is a two-time IndyCar champion, and he is certainly ‘super-license’ eligible. Colton Herta, however, was not so fortunate. Herta does have some supporters in the paddock, such as McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown, who has also remarked that Max Verstappen or Kimi Raikkonen would not have been eligible for an F1 seat either.
But the IndyCar drivers have wasted no time in making their displeasure known, and Newgarden has done so with a joke on Twitter. He posted an image of a t-shirt with ‘Super License Eligible’ written on it, and with a link to his store to buy it. His fellow ‘Bus bro’ Scott McLaughlin, three-time Supercars champion and current IndyCar driver, also poked fun at the rule.
Responding to the image, Newgarden quoted it and said: “Why am I on the floor?”
Even the 2022 Indy Lights champion, Linus Lundqvist joined in.
The image Newgarden posted on Twitter has eligible spelt as ‘eligibile’ (but it’s correct on the website), which fans certainly noticed as well.
Even though the fans loved it, Colton Herta certainly wouldn’t: The wound is too fresh. It’s possible that Herta may finally enter Formula 1 after he is super license eligible, but for the foreseeable future, there is no chance.
Also Read: Colton Herta’s F1 dreams fail to get a go-ahead as Red Bull withdraws support
Also Read: ‘Utter nonsense’: F1 fans hit out at IndyCar driver Graham Rahal’s ‘F1 is elitist’ comments
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)