Colton Herta joins Cadillac as a test driver for the pursuit of F1 chair – Jalopnik

Since Michael Andretti launched his bid at the F1 entrance in 2021, Colton Herta soon became the first choice to jump from Indycar to Formula 1. While Andretti has been put aside, the Cadillac F1 team announced on Wednesday that it signed the 25-year-old American as a test driver. The move was quickly followed by Andretti Global Signing Former Penske driver Will Power to take over the chair of Herta in Indycar.

In addition to his test and development role, Herta will spend his 2026 season with competing in Europe. He will probably race in Formula 2 to secure the crucial points needed for a FIA Super License. Although Herta does not start all over again, a top-three championship finish would be sufficient to immediately earn the 40 points for a super license. However, the six points of an eighth place in the F2 classification would be sufficient for Herta, to be charged in the 34 points he booked the last two Indycar seasons. Herta said in a press release:

“I am incredibly enthusiastic to become a member of the Cadillac Formula 1 team as a test driver. This is a dream possibility, and one that I have been working for a long time. To be part of the entry of Cadillac F1 at such a crucial time is something that I could not leave.” My dream has always been to race in Formula 1 and I see this movement as a huge step in the neighborhood. For now, my focus is on giving everything I can do to Cadillac F1, helping to build a competitive team. “

Herta should not necessarily be immediately successful in F2. Cadillac signed Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas for racing chairs on multi -year contracts. However, both drivers will be 36 years old during the Cadillac debut race next year. Drivers who compete after 40 are a rarity in F1, where Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are the exceptions that prove the rule. Herta can first be in line to replace Bottas or Pérez if one of them retires or Cadillac decides to bring a driver into the meadow.

Although the movement of Herta naturally seems, given that the Cadillac F1 team and Andretti Global are both under the TWG ownership overparaplu, along with the Dodgers and the Lakers, Red Bull Racing also considered offering the American a job. In 2021, Max Verstappen’s employer was looking for a COVID-related exemption from the FIA ​​to qualify Herta for a super license and to place it in the Sister Alphatauri team. The FIA ​​refused to grant the exemption. In the following years, Andretti’s struggles in Indycar meant that Herta could not end high enough in Indycar to earn an F1 license. A driver must win the Indycar championship or end up in the top three of more than three consecutive seasons. The F2 route seems to be a cakewalk in comparison.