A lot of you don’t watch IndyCar and it shows
IndyCar’s youngest race winner. An IndyCar vice champion. Once sought after by Red Bull - who asked the FIA to allow him to race in F1 despite not having enough Super License points, McLaren, Andretti Autosport’s attempted F1 entry, tested with Alpine - and now (at last) the proud owner of enough points to apply for his very own Super License after several tests and FP1 sessions.
But a lot you don’t think Colton Herta’s good enough for F1.
Promoted to an IndyCar race seat with Harding Steinbrenner Racing to become the series’ fourth youngest ever driver after two Indy Lights (now Indy NXT), Herta took to IndyCar like a duck to water, finishing in the series’ top seven as a rookie - becoming the series’ youngest ever winner as he took two race victories.
Andretti Autosport acted fast to sign up the youngster, but kept him with Steinbrenner in 2020 where he’d add a third career win on the Indianapolis Road Course and his first Indy 500 race finish, cracking the top 10 with an eight place finish and rise to third overall in the standings as a sophomore.
2021 saw him cement his place as a serious contender in IndyCar, winning three races in the top Andretti team as he moved from Steinbrenner’s 88 car to the Andretti 26 car he’s most associated with.
The first pieces of speculation linking him to F1 began but the American stuck in IndyCar, but took just one victory in 2022 and 2023 before bouncing back strong in 2024 where he finished the series as runner up to dominant Álex Palou, and taking his first oval victory. 2025 would mark Herta’s final season (for now) in IndyCar, finishing seventh with two podiums to his name and a notable gigantic crash in Indy 500 before departing his 26 seat to embark on the goal of reaching F1, starting with F2 with Hitech and a reserve and development role for Cadillac.
Although his F2 campaign hasn’t gone to plan, his F1 work now has paid off, with the securing of his Super License points requirement. F2 isn’t the be all and end all - Bottas, Sainz, Stroll and one Max Verstappen all stunning example of being successful without even racing there! Herta’s goal in F2 - understand Pirelli’s, adapt to circuits and keep race fit…Herta in a strong F1 car is a threat.
A lot of you watch him being a second off his opposite car in FP1’s…but remember, these sessions for rookies are test sessions and the proof is there for anyone who was ever a rookie:
Japan FP1, 2014: Max Verstappen +0.600s behind Daniil Kvyat
Monza FP1, 2018: Lando Norris +0.800s behind Fernando Alonso
Monza FP1, 2024: Kimi Antonelli +1.700s behind Lewis Hamilton
I’m just saying: If three world champions can be that much ‘off the pace’….I’m not saying Herta will be one or is on the the same level, but numbers are just that, numbers. Herta in a full time seat is deserved for us as fans and for Herta, after his hard work to get there.
📸 Image credits: NTT IndyCar Series, Formula Motorsport Limited.
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