Colton Herta says he will not do another F2 season in 2027. Image: XPB Images
The American made a major switch from IndyCar to Europe this year, joining Hitech in F2 while also taking on development duties with Cadillac during its debut F1 campaign.
The move gave Herta another route towards F1 while also providing an opportunity to improve his Super Licence position, but he has now made clear that his time in F2 will not extend beyond this season.
Asked by F1-Insider.com whether another F2 campaign or a return to IndyCar could form part of his plans for 2027, Herta stopped short of revealing his next move.
“I think we’ll have to wait and see,” Herta said.
“But I have no interest in another year of Formula 2.”
The decision comes amid a difficult season for the 26-year-old, who sits 19th in the F2 standings with three rounds remaining and has scored points only once across his last 13 races.
His struggles continued in Madrid, where a qualifying crash prevented him from taking part in either race, adding to a campaign in which consistent pace and results have proved difficult to find.
Herta admitted the lack of competitiveness had taken its toll.
“Whatever I do and whatever series I drive in, I want to be competitive,” Herta said.
“And that’s why it’s simply frustrating when that’s not the case. It’s frustrating when the results don’t come and it’s difficult to find the necessary pace.
“But yes, for me it’s mainly just frustrating to show up here almost every weekend and then not have any pace.”
Despite those difficulties, Herta has continued to receive opportunities with Cadillac and has driven its F1 car during practice appearances in Barcelona, Budapest and Monza.
The Monza outing proved particularly costly when a hydraulic issue ended his running after only one flying lap.
That prevented Herta from completing the 100 kilometres required to earn a Super Licence point from the session, with the American believing he remains two points short of eligibility for an F1 seat.
He indicated another Cadillac practice outing was planned, although the Monza failure had complicated the original program.
“Nothing concrete has been announced yet. The [early exit in Monza training; ed.] has obviously thrown a wrench in our plans,” he said.
“So we’ll have to wait and see what happens. At the moment, one more session is planned.”
Cadillac has previously shown interest in eventually placing an American driver in one of its F1 seats, with Herta having long been viewed as a potential candidate.
His decision to rule out another year of F2 therefore leaves further uncertainty over how he could continue pursuing that opportunity beyond the end of the current season.
Herta nevertheless insisted his results in F2 should not necessarily be treated as a direct indication of how he would perform in F1, pointing to the substantial differences between the two cars.
“They are indeed quite different. The driving style that makes you fast in a Formula 1 car is quite different from that in a Formula 2 car,” he said.
“You’re looking for lap times in different places and pushing the limits in different areas.”
A return to the United States remains one possible direction for Herta, who won nine IndyCar races before making his move to F2.
He said he remained confident in what he had already demonstrated in IndyCar and expressed interest in sampling the category’s new car after it arrives in 2028.
“It’s a cool-looking car, I like it,” he said.
“I’m curious to see how it performs in racing and how it handles on ovals, street circuits, and regular road courses.
“I would really like to drive it sometime, but I don’t know what the timeline for that is.”
Herta’s next opportunity comes in Baku this weekend, where F2 will use a one-off expanded format featuring two qualifying sessions, a sprint race and two feature races.
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