Colton Herta believes outright speed is his strongest case for earning a Formula 1 seat with Cadillac, though the American driver knows he must prove himself in Formula 2 first. The IndyCar standout switched to F2 this season with Hitech, hired by Cadillac as a test and development driver as the American manufacturer’s new F1 team builds toward a potential race seat.
Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss set clear targets: Herta must finish inside the top 10 in this year’s F2 championship, develop as expected, and perform in simulator work and FP1 sessions — the first of which will come at Barcelona. With veteran grand prix winners Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas currently filling Cadillac’s 2026 lineup, breaking through will be a tall order.
One-Lap Pace as the Foundation
In an exclusive interview, Herta was asked what he would emphasise if he had to make his case for an F1 seat — a reference to George Russell’s PowerPoint presentation pitch to Mercedes years earlier.
“It’s probably just down to outright speed, right? That’s the most important thing, that’s what you get hired on, and then the rest follows. If you look at what I was able to do in IndyCar – speed-wise and poles and whatnot – I think the one-lap pace is probably one of my specialties. But overall, you need to have everything, right?”
Herta’s IndyCar record backs the claim. He set 16 poles in the series — more than anyone except veterans Will Power, Scott Dixon, and Josef Newgarden among the current crop. Fifteen of those poles came on road courses, which translate more directly to European-style racing than ovals.
But translating that speed to F2 has proven difficult so far.
A Difficult Start in Melbourne
Herta’s F2 debut in Melbourne was rocky. He crashed eight laps into the only practice session, qualifying 14th, and recovered to seventh in the feature race to open his points account. The weekend left him frustrated but realistic about the learning curve.
“There were some good parts about it that were good to hold on to, but there were a lot of bad parts. I had the crash in practice, which just put our whole weekend a step behind everybody else, not only because I had never been to the track and [was] driving the car for the first time on a race weekend, but there’s just so much that I had to keep up on. When you have a few less laps and you cut practice in half for yourself, it makes it impossible.”
He noted that race pace was solid, but qualifying — critical in F2 for securing a top-10 grid spot and accessing the reversed-grid sprint race — remains a weakness. Adapting to Pirelli tyres, unfamiliar to a driver schooled on Firestone rubber in IndyCar, is part of the challenge.
“It was disappointing from my perspective, but I think there was plenty of learning to be had. We weren’t expecting to just go out there and win anyways for our first weekend. But I was unsatisfied, for sure.”
Miami and Montreal Next, No Indy 500
Herta will have a chance to improve in the next two rounds, both of which unexpectedly take place in North America. F2 has been added to the Miami and Montreal bills alongside Formula 1, following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. The Canadian round clashes with the Indianapolis 500, which Herta had hoped to contest but will now miss.
Thirteen rounds remain in the F2 season. For Herta, each one is an opportunity to prove that the speed he showed in IndyCar can translate to the ladder series — and eventually, to Formula 1.
The next F2 round takes place in Miami from 2-4 May, with the Canadian round following in Montreal on 6-8 June.