{"id":930225,"date":"2026-10-16T12:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T12:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/930225\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T12:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T12:04:09","slug":"colton-herta-under-f2-boss-microscope-as-cadillac-future-uncertain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/930225\/","title":{"rendered":"Colton Herta under F2 boss microscope as Cadillac future uncertain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cadillac<\/a> F1 test driver Colton Herta has had a \u201cmore difficult\u201d time in Formula 2 than series CEO Bruno Michel had expected.<\/p>\n

Michel suggested that Herta and F2 perhaps \u201cunderestimated\u201d the challenge of changing working environment after his arrival from IndyCar. The American\u2019s 2027 plans and future with Cadillac are yet to be clarified, with Michel hoping for a strong end to F2 2026 for the series\u2019 big-name driver.<\/p>\n

Colton Herta \u2018deserves\u2019 strong end to F2 2026<\/p>\n

Having signed with Formula 1 newcomers Cadillac as a test driver, Herta, chasing his dream of a place on the F1 grid, left his IndyCar career behind and signed with Hitech for the 2026 Formula 2 season.<\/p>\n

It has proven a challenging campaign for the California native. He sits 19th in the championship, without a podium result.<\/p>\n

Herta has also partaken in multiple FP1 sessions with Cadillac across the year, with one more planned for a final total of four.<\/p>\n

How 2027 looks for the 26-year-old is unclear, as he will fall short of the points needed for an FIA Super Licence.<\/p>\n

He is also well below the target of a top 10 F2 championship finish, set by Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss.<\/p>\n

Herta is not ruling out a second F2 campaign, but has made it clear this is not his priority.<\/p>\n

Asked by PlanetF1.com for his thoughts on Herta\u2019s struggles with the F2 transition, CEO Bruno Michel said: \u201cIt has been more difficult than what I thought it was going to be because Colton is a very strong driver. There\u2019s no doubt about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe and we maybe underestimated the difference of working environment that we have, compared to IndyCar teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t think it has to be settled as an example, and I really hope that he\u2019s going to finish the season on a high. We\u2019re still hoping for that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had some good races as well. He had more difficulties in quali, and maybe also that\u2019s one of the limits that we were having, because you need to, in 30 minutes, come up with the right time immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have one lap, maybe two flying laps on a set of tyres, in which you have very limited track time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s also the way we prepare drivers for Formula 1 because in Formula 1, you have limited track time as well. So probably he struggled for that and he suffered from that a bit more than what he expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I really hope sincerely that he\u2019s going to finish the season on a high. He deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on Colton Herta from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n

Three Cadillac F1 options as Colton Herta future uncertain<\/a><\/p>\n

Herta clarifies Formula 2 stance as Cadillac future remains unclear<\/a><\/p>\n

Herta is not the only driver to have landed in F2 from outside the traditional junior path in recent years. His Hitech teammate Ritomo Miyata joined the series in 2024 after a successful GT and endurance racing career.<\/p>\n

Nicolas Varrone also arrived from the endurance world to hit the F2 grid in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important to have drivers from different routes,\u201d Michel stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe logical path is now what is called the FIA pyramid, which is Formula 4, Formula Regional, Formula 3, Formula 2. You can skip one part of it. For instance, Kimi [Antonelli] didn\u2019t do Formula 3 and went from Formula Regional directly to Formula 2. It happens sometimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut generally speaking, it\u2019s a very positive thing, I would say, to have people coming from outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took Colton\u2019s approach as a very interesting one because Colton is a very successful driver in Indy, he won races. He was very close in the championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor him coming into Formula 2 was a big step, a big, different step. I think it was very positive for him to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult because he\u2019s coming from a very different environment, and it doesn\u2019t help. But on the other end, I think it\u2019s very important if they want to come to Formula 1 at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two rounds remain of the F2 2026 campaign, as the series prepares to follow Formula 1 to a Middle East finale.<\/p>\n

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n

Read next: F1 receives key vote of confidence over Middle East finale<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cadillac F1 test driver Colton Herta has had a \u201cmore difficult\u201d time in Formula 2 than series CEO…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":930226,"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":["post-930225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cadillac","tag-colton-herta","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-home-page","tag-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930225","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=930225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/930226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}