Herta still aiming for F1 by 2028

“It would be foolish to sit here and think that I will be on the pace right away, that I will be on the pace and ready to win in my first race. I may be older, but speed-wise, these guys are just as fast as anybody out there.”

This was how Colton Herta viewed his gamble of a Formula 2 switch from IndyCar as he pursued his Formula 1 dream, and he has so far been proven right – actually more than he initially imagined.

Cadillac’s protege was well aware that F2 was a tricky championship for rookies, especially when bypassing F3 and having to master the Pirelli tyres from the get-go, but he certainly didn’t expect to struggle to the extent that he has.

The Hitech driver lies 19th in the drivers’ standings, with 26 points to his name and fifth place in the Barcelona sprint race as his best result – from third on the reversed grid. He is at a loss to explain such a lack of performance.

Asked by Autosport in an exclusive interview what exactly has been tough for him to get his head around, Herta responded: “Nothing in particular, it's just been the whole thing. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a whole bunch of positives at any point. For whatever reason, there's been zero pace, and nothing has really changed.

“It's unclear why we can't put a weekend together from start to finish and it be completely strong. I think it's just a head-scratcher to be qualified three seconds off here [in Baku]. It just makes zero sense to me.”

Colton Herta, Hitech

Photo by: Getty Images

Pressed on whether he struggled to get used to the car or to the tyres, Herta clarified: “Initially, no. Through the winter testing, we were fairly strong. All the private testing that I’d done, I was strong, but for some reason on race weekends, it just hasn't ever translated.”

The American’s analysis is accurate. He was joint 11th-fastest in pre-season testing at Barcelona, 0.574s down on pacesetter Rafael Camara – also a rookie as the reigning F3 champion. That performance clearly was encouraging.

But it didn’t last. Herta qualified 14th on average in the first five rounds, with a 0.848s deficit to the top, and his form gradually worsened, as he averaged 18th across the next eight qualifying sessions. Over the latter period, the mean gap was 1.088s – discounting the latest Baku event, where his deficit inexplicably ballooned to 2.484s in Q1 and 3.091s in Q2.

Crashes also have been more and more frequent, with no fewer than three across the recent Monza and Madrid rounds.

“It's frustrating, but all we can do is just keep trying,” Herta added. “I guess, unsure if that's the last one [of the season, with Qatar and Abu Dhabi at threat due to the Iran war] or if we have more, but we'll keep working like we have two more races to do. I'll try to get the most out of it.”

It’s fair to say this season hasn’t exactly been amazing for Herta’s F1 prospects, especially given Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss expected a top-10 finish in the championship, which is all but mathematically out of reach.

Cadillac had been clear that its test and development driver had a real chance of an F1 seat in a not-too-distant future if he did well enough in F2, but Herta said he hadn’t had feedback from the team about his performance in the feeder series.

Colton Herta, Hitech

Photo by: Getty Images

The former IndyCar frontrunner added that he was currently in talks with the F1 outfit regarding his 2027 plans and clarified, amid conflicting media reports, that he wasn’t ruling out a second season in F2 – though this clearly isn’t his priority.

“I said ‘I don't have an interest’,” Herta pointed out. “This year, I think if there was clear progression and whatnot, it would be more interesting to return, but there's zero progression.

“I've been doing a lot more with the F1 team now as far as sim stuff. I just did a TPC [Testing of Previous Cars] day on Monday, which was very strong. On the F1 sim and the TPC stuff, the pace has been really strong, but for whatever reason, it's just not translating to F2.”

Yet, asked if he was still firmly on Cadillac’s books for 2027, Herta replied: “I don't have anything for next year at the moment, but we're discussing, getting through that as far as what the opportunities are for me within the team.”

And when we inquired whether the 2024 IndyCar runner-up would consider a return to the series, Herta made it clear where his priority lay: “It all depends on what next year looks like. My focus is still on getting to F1, and I still think I have a chance of that in these next two years. But I don't know exactly, I have to sit back and see what the plan is for Cadillac for me.

“And once I know that, then I can make more decisions on maybe if I'm in Formula 1, if I'm not. What does that look like in terms of, is it a reserve role? Is it still a test role? If that's the case, what other series can I race in during that to stay busy?

“So, there's a lot of just, like, nothing to say at the moment, unfortunately, until I have more solidified plans for next year – then I can build everything out around that.”