{"id":119253,"date":"2025-09-04T12:15:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/119253\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T12:15:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:15:09","slug":"colton-herta-to-make-shock-indycar-to-f2-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/119253\/","title":{"rendered":"Colton Herta to make shock IndyCar-to-F2 switch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nine-time IndyCar race winner Colton Herta<\/a> will make a shock switch to Formula 2 in 2026, Cadillac Formula 1 team CEO Dan Towriss has announced.<\/p>\n

Cadillac has hired F1 veterans Sergio Perez<\/a> and Valtteri Bottas<\/a> as its race drivers for its maiden campaign in the world championship, and named Herta as a test and development driver on Wednesday \u2013 with the American brand eager to promote drivers from the United States.<\/p>\n

However, the biggest news is Herta\u2019s switch to F2, which is unprecedented for an IndyCar frontrunner in the modern era. The 2024 IndyCar runner-up will move back to junior single-seaters in order to prepare for a potential F1 debut in 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been fortunate to keep Colton at Andretti in the IndyCar team, and so now, he\u2019s going to pursue that dream in Formula 1,\u201d Towriss, also a CEO of the TWG Motorsports group whose portfolio includes the Andretti IndyCar and Cadillac F1 outfits, told the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast. \u201cAnd to do that, he\u2019s going to take a pretty big risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s leaving IndyCar, he\u2019s not going directly to Formula 1 \u2013 this is a test and development driver role \u2013 and so he\u2019s going to be going into F2. He\u2019s got to learn tracks, he\u2019s got to learn tyres \u2013 tyres are a big part of that, very different from IndyCar from that standpoint. I couldn\u2019t be more proud of Colton, to be willing to take that risk to pursue his dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Colton <\/p>\n

Colton Herta, Andretti Global, Dan Towriss<\/p>\n

Photo by: Penske Entertainment<\/p>\n

Does Herta have a real chance to get a Cadillac F1 seat for 2027? \u201cI\u2019m confident Colton will get his shot, but he\u2019s got to earn it, right?\u201d Towriss pointed out. \u201cHe\u2019s taking that risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people should really take note of and admire Colton for that bold move. He\u2019s not entitled to the seat. He\u2019s not guaranteed the seat from that standpoint. He\u2019s going over to prove that he belongs in Formula 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I applaud most about him is his willingness to be uncomfortable. When you come to a fork in the road, the most comfortable thing he could have done was say, \u2018I\u2019m well paid, I\u2019m going to stay in IndyCar and go try to achieve this next thing\u2019, but he chose the unconventional path. He chose something that\u2019s a very uncomfortable situation \u2013 there\u2019s a lot of new things that are going to come at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to grow tremendously, and he\u2019s got a big opportunity in front of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

25-year-old Herta previously got close to F1 seats on several occasions, first of all when Andretti attempted to acquire the Sauber operation in 2021. \u201cHe went over to Switzerland, got on the simulator, and within an hour was faster than the two Formula 1 drivers with the team at that time,\u201d Towriss recounted, with 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen<\/a> and Antonio Giovinazzi<\/a> the aforementioned drivers.<\/p>\n

The Sauber deal fell through due to \u201ccontrol issues in the final hours of the negotiations\u201d, Michael Andretti stated in November 2021.<\/p>\n

\"Colton <\/p>\n

Colton Herta, McLaren MCL35M<\/p>\n

Photo by: McLaren<\/p>\n

As Andretti kept applying for an F1 entry, Herta ran a two-day test with McLaren in Portimao in July 2022, and Red Bull started looking at the Californian as a potential replacement for Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly<\/a> at AlphaTauri. However, despite taking third and fifth in the IndyCar standings in 2020 and 2021, Herta was not eligible to a superlicence. Alpine was even ready to facilitate a private test in order to make Gasly\u2019s transfer easier \u2013 the Frenchman did have a contract with AlphaTauri for 2023 \u2013 but the FIA rejected Herta\u2019s superlicence request and Red Bull gave up on Herta.<\/p>\n

However, the vast experience Herta has accumulated at a relatively young age has made him the most attractive American driver for Cadillac.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s built up a natural body of work that not everybody knows about in Formula 1, in terms of some of the tests that he\u2019s done from that standpoint, even to drawing interest from Red Bull later on from there,\u201d Towriss insisted, before being asked by Alexander Rossi<\/a> why Herta could be the path for the future of Cadillac\u2019s F1 team.<\/p>\n

\u201cColton, through the various tests we\u2019ve talked about, has shown a high potential in a Formula 1-type car,\u201d Towriss replied. \u201cHe\u2019s very good at high-commitment corners, he\u2019s done very well on street, road-type courses.\u201d Every single one of Herta\u2019s nine IndyCar victories was taken on those types of tracks, as well as 10 out of his other 11 podium finishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cColton also adapts to new information very, very quickly, and his driving style has been adapted to doing a lot of complex things in the car,\u201d Towriss added. \u201cAll of those are going to be skills that are needed in Formula 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

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