DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Colton Herta is well aware it sounds insane to leave IndyCar, where he's one of the series stars and the veteran driver at Andretti Global, and walk away at age 25 with seven full seasons on his resume.
All to move to the United Kingdom and race in F2, a junior season loaded with teenagers trying to make it to Formula 1.
But for Herta, the decision wasn't all that difficult: if he's a bust this season driving for Hitech TGR, he can return to IndyCar. If he's a success, he should be the first American driver by 2027 on the new Cadillac F1 team.
An ownership change at Andretti, where Dan Towriss and the TWG Motorsports conglomeration now own the IndyCar team outright as well as the Cadillac F1 entry that debuts this season, created the opportunity. Herta has always wanted to be in F1 but had failed to obtain the Super License points required for him to participate in the series. Towriss figured out a path to get him there by spending a year in F2.
“This goes all the way back to the Andretti period, where we were talking about bringing Colton over, and Colton showed a lot of promise,” Towriss said of some simulator work Herta did to gauge his skills.
“Next thing you know, he’s, he’s on the SIM for Red Bull, and at the time, he was part of our IndyCar team,” Towriss continued. “Next thing I know, his manager showed me a contract from Red Bull Racing, you know, and I had to convince Colton to say no to Helmut Marko and stay in IndyCar, which is a pretty daunting task.”
Towriss approached Herta's father, Bryan, with the idea of Herta doing a season in F2 to learn the tires and the tracks and gain the Super License. He told Bryan Herta it was the clearest path to getting Herta into a Cadillac seat as the team attempts to become a true American organization, and if Herta wasn't interested, then Towriss “didn't want to hear another word about F1.”
Herta took some time to ponder it and decided he has nothing to lose. Towriss hired Will Power as Herta's replacement on a multi-year deal. Andretti driver Kyle Kirkwood recently received an extension and former Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson is in a contract year.
“Colton is taking this huge risk to be in a very solid place,” Towriss said. "He's going to learn tracks and tires and show that he’s got what it takes to be in Formula 1."
The gamble
Herta, who became IndyCar's youngest race winner in 2019 when he won at 18 years, 11 months, and 25 days old, understands he's probably going to be one of the oldest drivers in F2. He participated in the young driver test following Abu Dhabi and noticed quickly he was a man among boys.
“I did not feel like a young driver at that test,” Herta said.
He accepts it is going to be a struggle at times and that many people don't understand why he is even making the move. But his early career path was F1 before he returned to the United States to compete in IndyCar and never let the European dream die.
“When they came to me, I was like, ‘They want me to do what? They want me to go to a junior series? Then what will happen?’" Herta told The Associated Press. "At first it seemed like a lot and I have the opportunity to win every week in IndyCar and win titles.
“But then I decided this can be a very interesting arc in my career. I think it's great if it gets me to Formula 1 and I would be incredibly grateful I took the leap. I think a lot of people feel it would be embarrassing if I fail, but I don't care what everybody thinks or if its going to tarnish my career. And the thing that many people don't understand is I can come back to IndyCar — I do want to end my career ultimately as an IndyCar driver.”
What about the Indianapolis 500?
Herta has an open racing schedule in May when F2 has no races scheduled and, if he can get it worked out, he'd like to run the Indianapolis 500 in May.
It's not so cut and dry even though the same group owns the IndyCar and Cadillac team, and Herta is expected to participate in some F1 free practice sessions this year.
But the biggest hurdle is that Andretti fields Honda in IndyCar and the Cadillac program is run by rival General Motors. It would take an agreement between the manufacturers, sponsorship for the entry and a commitment from Herta to step away from F2 for nearly a month to drive a completely different race car than the one he's trying to learn to further his career.
“Obviously I want to do it, but I want to make sure it doesn't take away from any of the main stuff I am doing,” Herta said. “If I get the chance, I will do it.”
What's first on his schedule?
Herta is still in the United States awaiting the visa he needs to relocate to England. But he's specifically in Florida at Daytona International Speedway for this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Herta will be racing a Cadillac for Wayne Taylor Racing — also owned by TWG — with a chance to win his first overall title in the most prestigious endurance race in the U.S. In eight previous appearances in the twice-round-the-clock race, Herta has a pair of class victories.
Herta will be the endurance driver on the team with full-time IMSA competitors Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz.
“I love this race, this and Indy I want to do every year that my schedule can make it work,” Herta said.
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