\u201cWhen that didn\u2019t happen, I was like, look, okay, kind of getting up there in age, probably won\u2019t have another opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a contract from them, just unable to sign because I didn\u2019t 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\u2019t sure. Eventually, I couldn\u2019t really wait too much more. I had to sign a new deal in IndyCar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herta:\u00a0I really like the straightforwardness of Dr Marko![\"colton](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/colton-herta-action-69e9068e23c0b.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Helmut Marko had been direct throughout the process, recalled Herta, even if that meant the picture kept shifting from one day to the next: \u201cI really like the straightforwardness of dealing with Dr Marko. No grey areas with Helmut.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne 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%.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s future lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHolding 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be here if I didn\u2019t think I could win![\"Colton](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hbj5btywwaadzmb-69e9068e085bb.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cProgression,\u201d Colton replied, when asked what success would look like. \u201cThat\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually you want to get to the point where you win and you\u2019re qualifying on pole. That\u2019s every driver\u2019s goal. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be here if I didn\u2019t think I could win or compete.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I\u2019m just a motorsport fan,\u201d he said. \u201cThere 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
That ambition, which once seemed out of reach, has returned with Cadillac\u2019s arrival and Herta now sees the General Motors backed project as the chance that brought his Formula 1 hopes back to life.<\/p>\n