Cadillac F1 2027 driver lineup saga takes bizarre twist

Colton Herta is one step closer to being eligible to race in F1 after an FP1 appearance at the Mexican Grand Prix, but after a bizarre twist, he still doesn't have the required 40 points to compete in the sport full-time.

Herta, who hails from Santa Clarita, California, currently competes in F2 after making the shock switch from IndyCar at the end of the 2025 season.

In IndyCar, Herta ran in 116 races in total, winning nine races and finishing as runner-up in the championship to Alex Palou in 2024.

Alongside his F2 responsibilities this season, Herta was also named as the test driver for US team Cadillac, and has competed in five FP1 sessions this campaign, including in Mexico City on Friday afternoon.

It looked as though it was a key session for the California native, with Cadillac claiming that he was on 39 Super License points ahead of the action, meaning the additional point he gained on Friday would have taken him to 40 - the magic number the FIA system requires a driver to have to compete in F1.

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Colton Herta Super License twist after Mexico City

Many media outlets also ran with this after the session, reporting that Herta now had enough points for the FIA Super License.

However, the FIA has now said that the American star has not yet reached the 40-point mark, according to Chris Medland.

The confusion appears to have come from Herta's IndyCar finish in 2025. The American driver finished P7 in the championship, but was level on points with P6, and reports have claimed that there was previously an error which listed Herta as P6 on the IndyCar website.

If Herta had secured P6, he would have had the required number of Super License points, but P7 means he scored two less last year, and therefore does not.

Medland reports that Herta is actually now on 39 points, meaning that he would need one more FP1 outing this season to become eligible for the Super License and to race full-time in F1.

Cadillac chief on Colton Herta chances

All of this comes with a seat at Cadillac still seemingly up for grabs next year. This week, Sergio Perez was confirmed on a new long-term contract, but Valtteri Bottas' future with the team was thrown into doubt after Marcin Budkowski refused to confirm he had a contract for 2027 in Austin last weekend.

After he thought Herta had the required points, Budkowski was quizzed on how important it is for the team to eventually have an American driver in the team.

“Look, it’s important; it’s an American team," Budkowski told Sky Sports. "It races with an American flag. "I think we're building…you've seen it in Austin, we're building a strong American identity as well. It's great to have an American driver. It increases the hype, but it's also a question of timing. The right driver, when the team is ready for it.

“And so we're assessing this, but you know, the objective here this season was to have Colton as part of the team; he's doing some simulator development for us."

Budkowski did not comment on whether Herta would be in the car next year, but did say the team could use him in further FP1 sessions this year, which would suggest he will eventually get his Super License.

"He's done five FP1s now, one more than expected because in Monza unfortunately we had an issue on his car that prevented him from doing any meaningful running," he explained.

“We might do more FP1s with him to give him more experience. I think it’s part of the process for him.”

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