Colton Herta deems his chance to be an F1 driver ‘now or never’ as the American waits for the verdict of his next move after the FP1 outing in Mexico.
After a strange error from IndyCar, Colton Herta faces another hurdle. The American was believed to have 40 Super License points, which is the required amount to drive in Formula 1. However, IndyCar made a mistake and listed Herta as sixth in the 2025 standings, when in reality he was classified seventh. This puts him at fewer points, and after his FP1 outing in Mexico with Cadillac, he remains at 39 points.
As each Free Practice session in which a driver finishes a minimum of 100 km earns them one Super License point, Cadillac believed the American would finally reach the 40th point at the Mexico City GP. Now that he remains one point shy of the magical number needed, it could complicate his journey even more.
Despite the complications this mistake may add, Herta revealed he learned about the confusion on his way to “go do the media stuff”.
“To be honest, I haven’t paid too much attention. I was literally walking to go do the media stuff, and that was the first time I had heard about it,” Herta told media, including Motorsport Week.
“Obviously, we were still doing our meetings and whatnot, so I didn’t talk to anybody about it, and as far as I was concerned, going into the weekend, if I did 100km here, I would have 40 [points], so I’m not sure what’s changed or why stuff has changed or if it even has, so I think I have to wait and see.”
‘Now or never’ to make it into F1
Herta has had a complicated journey, as the 26-year-old has long hoped to reach the pinnacle of motorsport. In 2023, he was a potential candidate for the AlphaTuri seat however with a lack of required Super License points and the FIA rejecting his request for an exemption the dream was short lived.
The racer also drove in IndyCar before making the surprising switch to Formula 2 this season. He believed F2 would help him earn the required Super License points, but his F2 stint has been anything but easy. With speculation about what Herta might do next, he was asked whether he had reached his last chance to make it.
“I think so, and as far as it being like now or never, I don’t think I can go back to IndyCar and then have another chance in Formula 1,” Herta said.
“Whether that means next year or the following year, I really don’t know what the plan is at the moment, so I think we’ll have to wait and see. I think some decisions hopefully will be made within the next month.
“For me, I think it would be great the sooner the better to know. Going into November, you want to know what you’re doing next year. So for me, that’s kind of like the main thing is just to know what I’m doing next year.”
Backs himself for the Cadillac seat
While Herta hopes the Cadillac seat will be his, the competition is tight. The feeder series have produced several young talents who are patiently waiting for their chance to drive in F1. With Fred Vesti showing great speed at the Mexico City GP for Mercedes, and the many high-potential drivers racing in F2, the Cadillac seat could be anyone’s.
Asked whether he could be a realistic candidate for the Cadillac seat, Herta said, “I hope so,” before continuing to explain. “Or else, I don’t know why I’d be doing this. I think Cadillac have shown a lot of faith in me doing these FP1s – they’ve put a lot of resources behind me to get me ready to be in the Formula 1 seat.
“I hope that’s reciprocated and I can make it, but right now, it’s all guesses, I think every time I get in the car, I feel more comfortable and I’m able to push a bit more.
“Once I get that super licence monkey off my back, then I can really kind of push everything as hard as I want.
“I back myself 100% on everything, I think I can be as quick as anybody, I think, and I think I have the capability of learning very quickly too, and picking up on things. So, 1,000%, I back myself in being able to do this.”
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