TWG Motorsports and Cadillac Formula 1 team CEO Dan Towriss says that the switch from Colton Herta to Formula 2 shows respect for the various challenges of racing in Europe.
Herta leaves Indycar to race in F2 in 2026 in addition to a Cadillac F1 team test drivering role, where the Californian has to score six superlative points to meet the requirements for racing in F1. While F2 offers more points than Indycar, Towriss (shown above) Racer said that the differences in racing in Indycar and F1 mean that Herta will benefit from the time in the Feeder series to gain further experience.
“I think this is also a wink to show respect to European open-wheel races,” said Towriss. “I think we’ve often seen, someone says:” Oh, well, you’re the Indycar champion and now you go to Formula 1. ” And it is as if that law approach did not work in the past.
“So I think the fact that Colton looks at it as he is and shows that respect comes in, I think that is the right way for an American driver to come in, especially for us at the Cadillac Formula 1 side.”
Although the future Herta F2 team has not yet been fully completed, Towriss has confirmed that the 25-year-old will participate in the series and he believes that it is a different approach to help an American talent to achieve F1 and ultimately be successful.
“It certainly seems like an obvious path from that point of view, in terms of only the knowledge needed to feel the cars, know the tires and the traces,” said Towriss. “I think they are at what point they come, or they should come to arrive immediately after karting or at a later stage.
“Historically, we had this problem that if drivers from the US leave too early, they clearly learned the series, but then the American fans do not know who they are. So how do you position where the American fans know who they are? They have created an oeuvre in the US and now we have that opportunity to racing in Formula 1. So we don’t have that opportunity, but we have to come and with that, but we have that opportunity with it, but that is what he is going to do with.”
It is not only on the TWG side of the team that Herta has also impressed, where team head Graeme Lowdon says that the nine times Indycar Race winner has all the attributes to succeed because of the way he will continue the transition to F2.
“The first contact I had with Colton was one of the things that really made an impression on me, he has a modest approach,” Lowdon added to Racer. “The best people in everything always have that modest approach because they have a belief in their assets – and that was very strong – but there are no illusions either.
“He knows that if for whatever reason he racets Formula 2, whether it is to learn ties or to get used to something or what, he knows that the competition will absolutely be extreme in terms of talent and everything. And I like that people respect the competition.
“Only the whole way he approached it could not be accused of at all. And it also gives us a lot of confidence in the team. Nobody comes to this team in any way, form or form. The team is always the biggest thing and it just gives me a lot of confidence for the future relationship and the contribution he can make to the team.”
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