Cadillac is eyeing Herta as one of its drivers for 2026
Having recently confirmed its intention to join the pinnacle of motorsport from 2026 onwards, Cadillac has been eyeing IndyCar star driver Colton Herta as one of its drivers, reckons Mario Andretti, director on the board of the newly approved Cadillac F1 team.
General Motors and TWG Global have recently confirmed that they have reached an agreement in principle with Formula 1 to bring a Cadillac team to the series in 2026.
In addition, the US car giant is also launching an F1 power unit that will put the Cadillac Formula 1 Team on the path to being a “full works” team — building its own F1 vehicles and power units — by the end of the decade.
However, the new outfit that will be the first new team to join F1 since 2016 and the eleventh team on the grid, will be powered by Ferrari, with the Italian manufacturer set to supply Cadillac not just with its power units, but with gearboxes as well.
The team is yet to decide about its driver line-up, but, being a squad from the USA, it is expected to sign a young American driver and a more experienced driver to kick off its presence at the pinnacle of motorsport.
Mario Andretti, who will serve as the director on the board of the newly approved Cadillac F1 team reckons that the outfit has been eyeing IndyCar star driver Colton Herta as one of its drivers
Herta competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Andretti Global with Curb Agajanian, and he is currently the youngest person to ever win an IndyCar Series race.
“From the beginning of this project, the team always looked at the prospect of Colton Herta to be one of the drivers,” Andretti told Motorsport.com.
“As far as I know, this is something we had not discussed lately because there's time, that still remains a priority. I'm sure that's the direction he would like to go. He trained there.
"He raced alongside the likes of, just to say one, Lando Norris, who is obviously very prominent now with McLaren. And so, he is from that era, if you will, still, young and vibrant and ready to go," concluded Andretti.
Herta is the son of IndyCar and Champ Car driver Bryan Herta.
The California-born driver made his competitive karting debut in 2010 at the age of 10, racing karts in the SKUSA and IKF series, although he had been karting since the age of 6.
He made his single-seater racing debut at 13, finishing second in the SBF2000 Winter Series. In 2014, he made his professional racing debut in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, while he also made his international formula racing debut the same year at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia with the Meritus-run AsiaCup Series
In 2015, he made his debut in the UK-based MSA Formula series, as the youngest driver and the only American on a grid. The following year saw Herta make the switch to the Euroformula Open Championship, staying with Carlin and finished third in points, with four victories, six podium finishes, and five pole positions.
In 2017, Herta joined forces with the newly formed Steinbrenner Racing to pilot the 98-car in the Indy Lights Series. He started the year strong with a second-place finish in the first race at St. Petersburg street circuit and followed it up with a Sunday victory. Herta ultimately won Rookie of the Year and finished 3rd in the drivers championship.
In 2018, Herta remained in Indy Lights, winning four races, including all three held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Herta finished 2nd in points to his Andretti teammate Patricio O'Ward.
In September 2018, Herta made his IndyCar Series debut at the season finale in Sonoma, driving for Harding Racing. He stayed with Harding Racing for 2019, finishing seventh in the standings, before ending the 2020 season third with Andretti Harding racing.
In 2021, he made the switch to Andretti Autosport, but he only finished fifth before slipping down to tenth in 2022 and replicating the same spot the next year. The 2024 IndyCar season saw Herta scored two victories and a further four podium finishes en route to second place in the championship.
