Cadillac F1 program has been eyeing Herta since the beginning

The long-awaited acceptance of Cadillac entering the pinnacle of motorsport as the 11th team on the F1 grid for 2026 has introduced more questions, including what potential driver lineup may look like. Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 Champion who was recently named a director on the board for the GM racing program, was quick to confirm that the 24-year-old Colton Herta, fresh off finishing runner-up for the 2024 IndyCar title, as the clear frontrunner.

“From the beginning of this project, the team always looked at the prospect of Colton Herta to be one of the drivers,” Andretti told Motorsport.com.

“As far as I know, this is something we had not discussed lately because there’s time, that still remains a priority. I’m sure that’s the direction he would like to go. He trained there. He raced alongside the likes of, just to say one, Lando Norris, who is obviously very prominent now with McLaren. And so, he is from that era, if you will, still, young and vibrant and ready to go.”

And the plan, to this point, is to put a veteran alongside Herta in the second seat, though, there is little rush to lock anyone down. 

Colton Herta, testing the McLaren MCL35M at Portimao in 2022.

Photo by: McLaren

Herta’s name has been flirted with F1 seats in the past, but FIA Super License points have been a hindrance to reaching that next step. An allotment of 40 points is needed, but the FIA also takes into account coming in either the three-year period preceding the year of application or the two-year period preceding the year of application in addition to the points accumulated in the year of application. 

Based on that, Herta currently sits at 32 points total over the last three seasons: 30 for finishing second in the 2024 championship, along with one point each of the previous two years after finishing 10th on both occasions. That leaves the California native needing to finish fourth or better in next year’s championship, or fifth or better and running an F1 practice session — which awards a point following the completion of 100km, with a maximum of 10 points available for consideration.

Considering that Herta has previous run in a TPC (testing previous car) with McLaren at Portimão in 2022, forming a relationship with a team to get him seat time in an F1 free practice outing isn’t out of the question.

“Yeah, I think all those options are open, quite honestly,” Andretti said. “There’s a way of finding that. I think the point system obviously, we need to be aware of what the demands are, but I think that’s achievable even with him, obviously, having some better luck in IndyCar. I’m sure if he’d have won the championship this year, he would’ve been home free in that respect. Nevertheless, I don’t think that’s a thing of real concern. Honestly, I think that it’s close enough that it’s doable.”