14/09/2025 19:10
Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss has handed Colton Herta firm instructions
about his F2 season in 2026 as he attempts to land an F1
superlicence. Herta is trading IndyCar to become the reserve driver
for Cadillac in 2026 as it joins the F1 grid, and will be racing in
F2 to acquire the points he needs to finally land a superlicence.
The Californian will head into 2026 on 35 points, with 40 required
to obtain the licence to be able to compete in F1, with Herta
switching to F2, which is more generous in its points allocation
than IndyCar. The top-three finishers in the F2 championship earn
40 points, thus automatically being a superlicence immediately.
Herta has had previous experience of driving on European circuits
when he competed in the MSA Formula in 2015, finishing third as
Lando Norris won the championship on tracks such as Brands Hatch
and Silverstone, whilst in 2016's EuroFormula season, he raced at
Spa, Paul Ricard, Silverstone, the Red Bull Ring, Monza, Jerez, and
Barcelona. As he prepares to make the switch, Towriss believes
Herta serving his apprenticeship in F2 will end the "entitlement"
model of drivers coming from America to Europe. "Colton has shown
a lot of promise for a Formula 1-type car, and he's done a lot more
testing and had a lot more sim time than maybe what people know,"
Towriss told Sky Sports F1. "He's excelled every single time he's
been given an opportunity, and for Colton, this has always been a
dream of his to drive in Formula 1, but this is the path he's had
to take. "He's had to take a huge amount of risk; no seat is
guaranteed for Colton, this is Formula 1, and so he wants to learn
the track and the tyres again and show respect to European
open-wheel racing. "The entitlement model from the US hasn't
really worked out that well in the past, so we want to build that
body of work and get the knowledge to see if he has what it takes
to drive in Formula 1. "He'll adapt to the tracks very quickly;
he's raced on a number of them earlier in his career, but the
experience around the tyres is going to be important for him."
