Herta abandons full IndyCar schedule for first real shot at Formula 1

The decision is unusual because Herta, 25, is giving up a guaranteed seat at Andretti Global after finishing seventh in the 2025 IndyCar championship. Test drivers in Formula 1 traditionally maintain active racing careers in other series, as their roles consist mainly of simulator work and limited track sessions.

Why Herta is Risking His IndyCar Career

Drivers like Patricio O'Ward maintain their full-time seat in IndyCar while serving as development drivers for McLaren Formula 1. That Herta is giving up competing entirely suggests that Cadillac has given him specific guarantees about a future race seat, or that as a new team it requires exclusive dedication for its technical preparation.

Coordination with TWG Motorsports allows Will Power, winner of the 2018 Indianapolis 500, to immediately take over the number 26 car at Andretti Global. Power arrives from Team Penske after more than a decade with the team.

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Record That Supports Cadillac's Bet

Herta has 116 starts in IndyCar with nine victories, 16 pole positions, and over 1,000 laps led. His most notable moment came in 2019 when, at 18 years and 11 months, he became the youngest winner in IndyCar history by winning at the Austin circuit, the same track that hosts the United States Grand Prix in Formula 1.

His European experience between 2015 and 2016 includes four victories and six podiums in the Euroformula Open Championship, plus three podiums in six appearances in the British Formula 3 Championship, including a victory at Brands Hatch.

Experience in Sports Prototypes

Herta's resume transcends open-wheel racing. His victories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019 and 2022, along with his overall win in the 12 Hours of Sebring 2024 in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, provide him with experience in advanced aerodynamics and tire management over long distances.

Graeme Lowdon, director of the Cadillac Formula 1 team, explained the decision: "Colton is an exceptionally talented driver with proven speed, race craft, and maturity beyond his years. His experience in top-level motorsport as part of the TWG Motorsport family makes him ideal for this role."

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Cadillac Bets on American Driver

The signing has symbolic value for the first American team in Formula 1 in decades. Lowdon considers it relevant that the first development driver is from the same country: "Having a driver from this country in the first Formula 1 team from this country is an enormously relevant moment, not only for our team but for motorsport in this nation in general."

Herta will join a project where Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez will form the race driver duo. His role will include intensive simulator work, on-track development sessions, and technical support to prepare the car that will compete alongside the ten current teams on the Formula 1 grid.