Colton Herta to quit IndyCar as next step in Cadillac F1 dream confirmed

Colton Herta established himself as one of the brightest IndyCar stars, but having signed as Cadillac F1 reserve, he has taken a further leap of faith in pursuit of his Formula 1 dream.

And that will be a 2026 move to Formula 2, recognised as the highest-ranking junior category on the traditional ladder to Formula 1. Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss acknowledges this as a huge “risk” from Herta, with no guaranteed F1 drive on the table even if he achieves his Super Licence.

Colton Herta to compete in Formula 2 from 2026

Herta, a nine-time race winner in IndyCar, has signed up to become the Cadillac F1 team’s first reserve driver. He is currently limited to that role due to not possessing the required 40 points for an FIA Super Licence, which would permit him to race in Formula 1.

Therefore, Herta has made a huge career decision. He is to quit IndyCar, and turn his focus to Formula 2 from 2026, going all in on his Formula 1 dream.

“I’m confident Colton will get his shot, but he’s got to earn it, right? He’s taking that risk,” said Towriss on the topic as he appeared on the Off Track podcast.

“He’s not entitled to the seat. He’s not guaranteed the seat from that standpoint, he’s going over to prove that he belongs in Formula 1.

“What I applaud most about him is his willingness to be uncomfortable. When you come to a fork in the road, the most comfortable thing he could have done was say, ‘I’m well paid, I’m going to stay in IndyCar and go try to achieve this next thing’, but he chose the unconventional path.

“He’s going to be going into F2. He’s got to learn tracks. He’s got to learn tyres. Tyres are a big part of that, very different from IndyCar from that standpoint, and so I just couldn’t be more proud of Colton to be willing to take that risk, to pursue his dream.”

Explained: How Colton Herta can bag his super licence

Despite winning nine races in IndyCar, Herta – an Andretti-backed driver since 2020 – has consistently found a Super Licence to be his F1 stumbling block. He was previously linked with Sauber when Michael Andretti attempted a takeover, and Red Bull’s junior F1 team, but neither move materialised.

Drivers earn a certain number of points based on their achievements in any given championship. The points on offer vary, but the end goal of 40 remains the same. That is the minimum number of points a driver must collect to be permitted to race in Formula 1.

Points are calculated over the previous three seasons of competition for that driver.

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So, if we take a look at Herta’s IndyCar results, he finished 10th in the 2022 and 2023 championships, before finishing runner-up in 2024.

That second in the IndyCar standings netted Herta 30 points. He gained a single point for each of those tenth-place finishes. So, a grand total of 32. Not enough.

With latest IndyCar season complete, Herta bagged seventh in the final standings. That is four points, so it still will not be enough with his 2023-25 tally.

By heading to Formula 2 for 2026, Herta, in theory, should position himself far better to score the points for F1 2027 eligibility. While 40 points are awarded to the F2 and IndyCar champion, there is a sharper drop off in points moving down the IndyCar standings than in F2.

Any driver who finishes in the top three of the F2 standings scores the 40 points needed there and then for a Super Licence. Even fourth place bags 30.

So, let’s do a bit of forward planning for Herta, with an F1 2027 Super Licence and seat in mind. He would have his 2024 IndyCar runner-up result (30 points), and his seventh place in 2025 (four points), meaning a minimum of six required from his 2026 F2 campaign.

He only needs to finish eighth in the championship to achieve that which, despite the difficulties of adaptation mentioned by Towriss, should be well within reach for a driver of Herta’s talent and experience.

If it turned out that the F2 route was proving a struggle, Cadillac F1 could run Herta in FP1 sessions during 2026, its debut year. Each driver must sit out two sessions per season for a rookie driver, meaning four sessions are up for grabs for Herta.

It is one Super Licence point per 100km in a practice session, for up to 10 sessions.

One thing is for sure, there are going to be more eyes on F2 than ever before in 2026.

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