He is the only F1 driver ever to lose his superlicence after Kimi Raikkonen called him a ‘disaster’

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Only one driver in the history of Formula 1 has lost their superlicence since they were introduced back in the early 1990s.

The system was reformed in 2016 to ensure that drivers were 18 years old at the time of receiving one, following Max Verstappen’s introduction to the sport. The FIA decided that a change was needed.

There are other procedures in place to punish drivers who cross a certain threshold, such as the penalty points system, which saw Kevin Magnussen banned for the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

He racked up 12 points in a 12-month period, which triggered an automatic one-race ban, forcing Haas to replace him with then-Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman.

Even Verstappen’s penalty points situation has been a topic of discussion, with the reigning champion being close to a ban for much of the 2025 campaign.

However, he should be able to avoid it if he continues to keep himself out of trouble over the final 10 races of the season.

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Yuji Ide is the only F1 driver to lose his superlicence after Kimi Raikkonen called him a ‘disaster’

The man who lost his Formula 1 superlicence was Super Aguri’s Yuji Ide, who, just four races after making his debut, had his right to drive at the highest level stripped from him.

The FIA’s advice was that the Japanese driver needed more experience before returning to the top flight, but he never got the chance to.

At his first event in Bahrain, he managed to run one of his own mechanics over, which earned him a reprimand from stewards.

In his fourth and final race at Imola, he managed to get tangled with Midland’s Christijan Albers, flipping his Dutch rival in the process.

According to the Irish Examiner, Kimi Raikkonen had some harsh words to say about his rival after he was dropped in 2006.

“It could have been a big disaster in Monaco,” he said. “It is a good thing [he has been dropped]. I’m sure he is a nice guy. But he was quite slow and he was spinning quite often – you never knew if he was going to spin in front of you.”

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What happened to Yuji Ide after he left Formula 1 in 2006?

After leaving Formula 1 in 2006, Ide went back to compete in two other series that he was familiar with from years prior.

After finishing 2nd in the Formula Nippon standings in 2005, he failed to replicate that sort of form after returning between 2006 and 2010.

In Super GT, he would win one more race in 2010, and raced in the series as recently as 2022, securing a second place at Fuji.

However, it appears that the 50-year-old hasn’t raced in the last few years, and that his competitive years may be over for now.