Photo credit — Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski
It’s been a total non-secret that Colton Herta has always wanted to drive in Formula 1.
He was one of the rumored drivers during the entire Andretti Autosport-to-F1 saga, and when it was announced that Cadillac was the chosen American entity to join the sport in 2026, that speculation was intensified.
Now it’s a reality. It was announced today that the 25-year-old would forgoing the IndyCar Series in 2026 and becoming Cadillac’s reserve driver behind Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Herta would probably have been named to one of the seats had he accumulated enough Super License points over the last three years. To earn a Super License, a driver has to accumulate 40 points based on a table set up by the FIA.
According to an article from Nathan Brown of the Indy Star, Herta has 35 points. Now, there are two ways he could get the other five points before next year: get enough seat time in F1 free practices, or drive in a lower series and get points from there.
Both seem to be the idea, as most talk centers around him getting a ride in Formula 2, which is heavily weighted for SL points. In IndyCar, the points are divvied up this way:
1st — 40 points
2nd — 30 points
3rd — 20 points
In F2, a top 3 finish in the championship all pay out 40 points. Problem solved.
Despite all of his struggles over the last couple of years — he’s only had one top 5 finish in points in the last four seasons — he’s more than capable of making this jump. In the past, he has tested very well for various teams, and he’s proven that when he’s had a good car under him he could be very, very good.
And this is the smart way to do it. Instead of jumping straight into an F1 seat, where he would be learning a new car, new tracks, and, biggest of all, new tires, he gets to test and sim while sitting in debriefs with two very experienced drivers.
Instead, he gets plenty of testing time, and racing in F2 would be part of a very solid development arc. Put it this way: Cadillac wants Herta in that seat, and will do everything in their power to put him there.
The only issue I see is the “what if?” part. What if he spends 3-5 years there, it doesn’t go well, and he wants to come back to IndyCar?
If there are open seats, by all means, he’d probably get one. But past drivers who have gone to F1 and come back have found that when the music stops, a chair isn’t always available.
And, when you are no longer the flavor-of-the-month, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. Alexander Rossi is a perfect example of that. You can’t tell me that he isn’t the same driver he was back in the 2018-19 when he finished P2 and P3 in points.
But performance talks. Like the great football coach Bill Parcells once said…you are what your record says you are. And like Rasheed Wallace once said…ball don’t lie.
Regardless of the circumstances, Rossi hasn’t gotten it done, and when you aren’t getting results, don’t have a super-loyal sponsor, or someone else’s dad writes a seven-figure check, you get relegated.
We don’t know what IndyCar will look like down the road. You could say with some certainty that having his dad involved would probably help, but in pro sports, nothing is ever guaranteed.
So it’s a huge risk, but at the same time, the payoff his huge as well.
The dominoes are falling
His move meant Will Power’s unemployment only lasted a couple of days, as Power will be jumping into Herta’s seat in 2026.
As Marshall Pruett said in his article, it’s rare for a driver who’s 44 years old gets to move from one good drive to another, but it shows two things: 1) Power is still immensely respected in the paddock and 2) he still has his fastball.
And one more: he’s probably seriously motivated.
I still hate what happened to him, but you know what? Sometimes change is good. Power now has the opportunity to have more of a leadership role, and he as teammates in Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson who bring a lot to the team in terms of their technical knowledge.
It really wouldn’t surprise me to see Power win a race or two and finish in the top 5 in points next year.
Also announced today is that a race in Markham, Ontario will be replacing the street race in Toronto for at least the next 5 years. I’ll write more about that later.
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