Cadillac star caught out by FIA rule change

A shift in FIA regulations could leave a Cadillac star with Formula 1 ambitions questioning a decision he has already made.

American driver Colton Herta has chosen to step away from IndyCar and compete in Formula 2 beginning in 2026, aiming to gain experience in F1’s developmental ladder and boost his chances of eventually breaking into the top tier.

The 25-year-old had built a strong foundation in IndyCar, securing nine wins early in his career and finishing second to Alex Palou in the 2024 standings.

In 2026, he will serve as a test driver for Cadillac, assisting full-time racers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas with car development. Herta stepped away from IndyCar in hopes of accumulating enough superlicence points to participate in a handful of future practice sessions.

However, the FIA have announced changes to the way that IndyCar superlicence points are allocated, drastically improving the amount of points that drivers get for finishing between third and ninth in the IndyCar championship.

However, that is still less than F2, with fourth place in that series claiming 30 points, and the top three claiming the maximum of 40, the same amount given to the IndyCar champion.

In order to be able to compete in F1, drivers need to have amassed 40 points from their previous three seasons.

Cadillac's hopes for Herta

Herta will race for the Hitech Grand Prix team in F2 in 2026, and Cadillac will be hoping that he can hit the ground running and one day become a driver that they can rely upon to help them complete their rookie driver quota in practice sessions.

With their two full-time drivers in Perez and Bottas also a little long in the tooth, the American-based outfit may well be lining up Herta for a full-time seat in the future, potentially when General Motors team up with Cadillac in 2028.

There's no doubt that they have a desire to one day have an American racer filling one of their seats, but having the option to have Perez and Bottas (with 16 career grands prix wins between them) was too good to turn down for their first season.

Team principal Graeme Lowdon has already stated that he believes that the team will be running last in 2026, but having those two experienced racers may just help them to develop their machinery which will in turn help them for future seasons.

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