Details emerge of Sergio Perez\u2019s $10m Cadillac F1 deal \u2013 report<\/a><\/p>\nHerta joined the\u00a0Off-Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast for its first post-IndyCar season recording, where the young American driver publicly spoke in depth about the news that he\u2019s leaving the US-focused sport for Formula 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is my best shot at getting to Formula 1,\u201d Herta claimed.<\/p>\n
Herta pointed out that he\u2019d been gunning for an F1 seat for years, referencing rumors that he would join the AlphaTauri team for the 2023 season. However, Herta lacked the necessary super license points, and the FIA opted not to enact its \u201cforce majeure\u201d clause to facilitate the signing.<\/p>\n
Herta still lacks the requisite super license points to enter Formula 1 \u2014 but he\u2019s hoping that a full commitment to the European racing scene will facilitate that acquisition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes without saying, the risk factor\u2026\u201d Herta said on the podcast, trailing off.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was an incredibly tough decision to make, because I know what I\u2019m leaving behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m leaving behind a great group of guys, an incredibly competitive championship where if it\u2019s your day you can win, and we\u2019ve seen that\u2019s not always the case in Formula 1 \u2013 you need the car to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n
With his eye on a seat at Cadillac, the unknowns are huge for Herta. No one knows how the team will perform upon debut, nor do they know how it will evolve.<\/p>\n
Herta acknowledged that by stating,\u00a0\u201cThe easy thing would be to stay in IndyCar. That would be simple for me. I\u2019d live a very similar life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a risk, and it\u2019s a dream of mine, so I thought, this is my last shot at it. I want to do it, I want to take that chance. For me, it\u2019s really just about fighting for my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a dream that may not come to fruition, as Cadillac has signed two highly experienced drivers for reported \u201cmulti-year\u201d contracts. Herta will need to earn and then maintain a total of 40 super license points heading into 2027 \u2014 and even then, he may find himself without an open seat.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s nothing new for Herta.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a racing driver, you constantly are betting on yourself,\u201d the driver said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, this is just one of those things where I\u2019m betting on myself. I believe in myself, I believe that I\u2019m fast enough to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not saying it\u2019s going to be easy. It\u2019s going to be a lot of work to understand the differences from grand prix racing to IndyCar racing, but it\u2019s something I\u2019m going to work for, 100 per cent diving into it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I didn\u2019t think that I can do it \u2013 like I said, it\u2019s a super big risk \u2013 I would stay in IndyCar. But I believe in myself, and I believe I\u2019m fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could a return to IndyCar come in the future? Herta didn\u2019t rule it out.<\/p>\n
Regarding a one-off race while traveling the world with Cadillac, Herta said he\u2019d be \u201copen to\u201d the opportunity, but that \u201cit can\u2019t hold us back from the ultimate goal, which is trying to reach Formula 1 with Cadillac F1.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when this international era comes to a close, Herta knows he has a future back in America.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a forever goodbye to IndyCar by any means,\u201d Herta said. \u201cI see myself coming back to IndyCar at some stage in my career, just because I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cadillac will make its Formula 1 debut in 2026, helmed by Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.<\/p>\n
Read next:\u00a0Cadillac\u2019s line-up under the spotlight as F1\u2019s 11th team overlooks rookie options<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Colton Herta has stepped away from the IndyCar circuit to join Cadillac F1 as the incoming team\u2019s official…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,3550,68659,817,813,816,818,44,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-121864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cadillac","11":"tag-colton-herta","12":"tag-f1","13":"tag-formula-1","14":"tag-formula1","15":"tag-home-page","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}