F1 Drivers to Sign 2009 Superlicense Agreements

F1 drivers are likely to pay their Superlicense fees for 2009 after all, according to a late report coming from British magazine Autosport's official website. Although the Grand Prix Drivers Association has urged all its members to take their time before signing the new agreements until the FIA would find a way to lower the fees, it seems the teams are now pressuring their drivers to stop their “protest”.

According to the aforementioned source, the drivers who have not yet committed to their 2009 paperwork will do so in the upcoming week. However, the drivers are expected to keep pushing for a Superlicense-fee-reduction for the years to come, as they consider the 2009 level “unreasonable”. The drivers will therefore resume their discussions with FIA president Max Mosley on the matter in the months to come.

From the 20 drivers (18, should Honda fail to secure their place in the 2009 championship) completing the F1 pack for the upcoming season, only 3 have until now submitted their applications to the FIA. It is believed that those 3 drivers are the ones that have chosen not to be part of the GPDA – including reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

The drivers are asking for a fee reduction that will bring the Superlicense costs to their 2007 level. At the beginning of 2008, the FIA have decided to increase the fees by more than 600 percent, from 1690 euros in 2007 to 10,000 euros in 2008, while the point fees were brought from 447 euros per point in 2007 to 2000 euros in 2008.

An additional increase of the fees was brought in 2009, as a result of the inflation. Under its current form, the Superlicense in Formula 1 makes the sport the most expensive motor racing series in the world, as far as drivers are concerned.