A failed move to AlphaTauri left Colton Herta fearing his Formula 1 chance had gone for good, with the American admitting he thought he would not get another shot before Cadillac revived the dream.
The 26-year-old, now racing in Formula 2 while also serving as Cadillac’s test driver, said the collapse of previous opportunities with Sauber and then Red Bull’s junior team had been a bitter blow at a point when he felt the door to Formula 1 might be closing.
“It was disappointing to have those 2 instances where I thought there was a chance,” Herta said on the Beyond The Grid podcast. “Maybe not so much on the Sauber one. I thought there was a chance with that one, but the AlphaTauri deal seemed very real to me.
“When that didn’t happen, I was like, look, okay, kind of getting up there in age, probably won’t have another opportunity.”
Herta said the AlphaTauri discussions came closer than many realised, with a contract ready but no way to complete the move because he did not have the super licence required to race in Formula 1. There was a very real possibility.
“I had a contract from them, just unable to sign because I didn’t have the super licence. They were feeling really good at a point that they thought it was going to happen and then, but they weren’t sure. Eventually, I couldn’t really wait too much more. I had to sign a new deal in IndyCar.”
Herta: I really like the straightforwardness of Dr Marko
Helmut Marko had been direct throughout the process, recalled Herta, even if that meant the picture kept shifting from one day to the next: “I really like the straightforwardness of dealing with Dr Marko. No grey areas with Helmut.
“One day it was, if I had to put a percentage, maybe it was 80%, and then the next day it was 40%. Wait, we clawed back, so maybe 60%.”
Having stepped away from a successful IndyCar career to move into Formula 2, Herta said his current mission was to prove he deserved a place on the Formula 1 grid rather than expect a shortcut into Cadillac’s future lineup.
“My goal of coming over here and doing F2 is to prepare myself to be a Formula 1 driver, the best I can, with Cadillac in mind,” he said.
“Holding this opportunity to try to get there and try to achieve that dream and that goal of being a Formula 1 driver was very easy for me to say yes to.”
Herta said success in Formula 2 this season would be measured by progress rather than immediate domination, although he made clear he still believed he could fight at the front.
I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t think I could win
“Progression,” Colton replied, when asked what success would look like. “That’s the biggest thing to look at. Where I started in Melbourne, it was great to finish 7th on Sunday, but progression and finishing inside the points as much as possible.
“Eventually you want to get to the point where you win and you’re qualifying on pole. That’s every driver’s goal. I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t think I could win or compete.”
Herta also said the unusual route he has taken, leaving a proven place in IndyCar to start over in Europe, was driven by a lifelong love of motorsport and a refusal to let the Formula 1 ambition die.
“For me, I’m just a motorsport fan,” he said. “There are so many things that I want to drive, but at the top of the list, right there with Indy cars, is Formula 1 for me on a personal level.”
That ambition, which once seemed out of reach, has returned with Cadillac’s arrival and Herta now sees the General Motors backed project as the chance that brought his Formula 1 hopes back to life.
“And then this came around, and I was like, geez, count my lucky stars,. This is an amazing opportunity,” added Herta, in his quest to become the next USA driver on the grid since Logan Sargeant’s spell with Williams.