As you saw above, Williams Racing announced Tuesday that Franco Colapinto will replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season. To this point, Colapinto is currently sixth in Formula 2 points with a victory in the Sprint race at Imola.

As far as Formula 1 experience goes, Colapinto has run as a third driver once, earlier this year at Silverstone in place of Sargeant. He also did a test session at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi last year.

For decades, drivers have to qualify for a Super License to be able to race to Formula 1. The minimum requirements are fairly steep. The minimum age is 18 (although there are some exceptions that would allow a 17-year-old to race), the driver must already have an International Grade A license, they have to pass a theory test, and they must have earned the license via success in various series.

Once you have it, it's pretty hard to lose it unless you don't race in Formula 1. Or, your license gets stripped for bad driving. The last time this happened was with Yuji Ide after a mere four races in 2006 when he was driving for the Super Aguri team.

It is that last requirement that is likely puzzling a lot of people. How did Colapinto earn the points?

It's actually partially due to a special rule instituted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Normally, your Super License points are determined from your results over the past three years. However, if 2021 is in this stretch, then you can choose three of the past four years. If this rule weren't in affect, then Colapinto would only have 33 points and would not qualify.

Despite the issues surrounding life in 2021, it was a very good year for Colapinto. He earned a total of 15 points that year. Five came from finishing sixth in Formula Regional European Championship points. An additional six came from finishing third in points in the European Le Mans Series' LMP2 class. Four more came from a fourth-place finish in Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 points.

Those finishes were combined with 12 points in 2020 from finishing third in the Toyota Racing Series (now known as Formula Regional Oceania Championship). It should be noted that this is a winter series that was completed in early 2020 prior to the shutdowns. He also earned 15 points from finishing fourth in the FIA Formula 3 Championship last year. Those past results add up to 42 points, enough to get the license.

Running Free Practice No. 1 technically also earned Colapinto a Super License point since he completed 141.384 kilometers during the session, more than the 100-kilometer minimum.

As a result, Colapinto is considered in the eyes of the FIA to be more than qualified for the Super License. We'll see starting this weekend how he does.

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of FIA Media.