{"id":113144,"date":"2025-09-02T01:47:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T01:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/113144\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T01:47:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T01:47:15","slug":"colton-herta-set-for-formula-2-switch-in-cadillac-f1-quest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/113144\/","title":{"rendered":"Colton Herta set for Formula 2 switch in Cadillac F1 Quest"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was only last week that Cadillac confirmed Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as their 2026 line-up.<\/p>\n

The US team emphasised the importance of signing drivers with experience, overlooking younger options like Drugovich<\/a>, Schumacher and Zhou.<\/p>\n

Cadillac also turned down the opportunity to sign an American driver, with team principal Graeme Lowdon arguing that attracting US talent is a secondary objective.<\/p>\n

When Cadillac\u2019s F1 entry was first confirmed, Colton Herta<\/a> was frequently mentioned as a leading candidate to join the team.<\/p>\n

A lack of Super License points, however, meant Herta was never eligible to compete in Formula 1.<\/p>\n

This is something he is looking to change, with the 25-year-old set to race in Formula 2 next season in a bid to collect the necessary SL points to race in F1.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dutch Photo Agency \/ Red Bull Content Pool
\nHerta expected to race in Formula 2 next year<\/p>\n

Perez<\/a> and Bottas<\/a> celebrated their Cadillac contracts just before the F1 action returned in Zandvoort.<\/p>\n

After missing out on seats for 2025, the two veterans managed to secure comeback ahead of the new regulations.<\/p>\n

Since Cadillac\u2019s driver search began, Bottas was always a favourite to reach an agreement.<\/p>\n

His proven track record, alongside extensive simulator work with the 2026 Mercedes project, made him a logical candidate for a new team.<\/p>\n

Bottas\u2019 position as Mercedes<\/a> reserve driver kept him active in the paddock as negotiations ramped up, something he capitalised on to secure an agreement with the US outfit.<\/p>\n

Sergio Perez, meanwhile, was also a front-runner to join Cadillac from day one.<\/p>\n

The Mexican is understood to have been in talks with other teams, including Alpine, before joining the American team.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Perez decided that Cadillac offered more security than Alpine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Given the French outfit\u2019s trigger-happy approach with his drivers, this is an understandable conclusion.<\/p>\n

In any case, the 35-year-old completes a line-up devoid of any American drivers.<\/p>\n

For a team that has been vocal about their US identity since their F1 entry was confirmed, the absence of an American in the cockpit is notable.<\/p>\n

However, they are not abandoning this possibility after 2027.<\/p>\n

Colton Herta, who has often been linked with Cadillac\u2019s F1 project, is set to race in Formula 2 next year.<\/p>\n

As first reported by RACER<\/a> last week, the 25-year-old is set to compete the 2026 Formula 2 Championship.<\/p>\n

Herta\u2019s objective would be clear \u2013 achieve enough Super License points to be eligible to race in Formula 1.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dutch Photo Agency \/ Red Bull Content Pool
\nA big risk<\/p>\n

For the sake of clarity, it should be emphasised that Super License points are also awarded in IndyCar.<\/p>\n

The winner of the IndyCar Championship, for example, receives 40 Super License points \u2013 which is enough to race in F1.<\/p>\n

Alex Palou, who claimed his fourth IndyCar title this year, has more than enough points to make the switch.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the Spaniard was briefly linked with a Red Bull<\/a> seat during the summer break. Red Bull were swift to shut down that rumour.<\/p>\n

Returning to Herta, there have been plenty of opportunities for him to secure the necessary position in the Championship to secure enough SL points.<\/p>\n

However, having finished 7th in this year\u2019s Championship, Herta only has 35 points. This leaves him 5 below what he needs to race in Formula 1.<\/p>\n

Of course, he could still achieve the needed SL points this in IndyCar next year.<\/p>\n

With that said, it seems to have been decided that a bold switch to Formula 2 gives him better chances.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, there will be immense pressure on the American if he enters the series next season.<\/p>\n

Aside from his obvious ambitions of racing for Cadillac in 2027, his efforts will reflect on IndyCar as a whole.<\/p>\n

Competing against younger drivers, Herta will be expected to demonstrate his abilities in comprehensive fashion.<\/p>\n

Herta\u2019s first chance to join F1 was in 2022 \u2013 when he was in negotiations with Red Bull to join VCARB.<\/p>\n

These negotiations concluded when the FIA decided against granting Herta an exemption for his lack of SL points.<\/p>\n

More than three years later, he has another chance to put himself in F1 contention \u2013 this time with Cadillac.<\/p>\n

Main photo: Dutch Photo Agency (Red Bull content pool)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was only last week that Cadillac confirmed Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as their 2026 line-up. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[63812,49,63813,48,578,36899,576,577,63814,82],"class_list":["post-113144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-andretti","tag-ca","tag-cadillac-f1-team","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-herta","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}