Colton Herta opens up on key advantage as Cadillac F1 rumours swirl

Cadillac F1 hopeful Colton Herta has opened up on the benefits he's found in his first European racing season.

The former IndyCar championship runner-up made the bold switch to F2 and an F1 testing role this season, looking to gain the superlicence points which would allow him to become a full-time F1 driver for Cadillac.

A number of fans have ridiculed the idea that a driver who sits 19th in the F2 standings (with less than half of his team-mate's points tally) could get a seat in F1 purely on the basis of his passport, but Cadillac's desire to have an American driver in their car could tip the scales.

The American has now secured the necessary points (through F1 practice sessions, sitting in for Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez) to run in F1 as soon as next season, with rumours swirling that he could replace Bottas for 2027.

Herta and Cadillac have yet to comment on those rumours, but Herta did talk recently about how a season of F2, and being around the F1 paddock, has helped him to get ready for any potential move.

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Herta: Important to be close to F1 team

"There are a lot of positives to the series," he told the media. "You run on the same race weekends, so you kind of understand the flow of what the sessions look like."

He then joked: "What I've experienced this year, you get to understand how bad traffic is to Formula 1 races and how early and late you have to leave."

Traffic aside, he added: But I think it's important because you're here and you're noticed. You're in the eyes of the Formula 1 teams, and they see first-hand what you can do. You're running on the same race tracks that you will be racing on, which is a big one, and it's the main reason why I came over to do it.

"You're just immersed in it. I live in the UK, I'm in the shop every day [at Hitech], and they're right next to the F1 shop, so I can kind of piggyback back and forth, and I think it's important from that aspect.

"It makes the transition easier than coming from, say, IndyCar, sports cars, or whatever. So there are positives."

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