(Motorsport-Total.com) – Actually, the year 2026 was supposed to be the springboard for Colton Herta into Formula 1. Cadillac signed the former IndyCar star as a test and development driver, while the American also took the step into Formula 2 to recommend himself for the coveted full-time seat in the top class.
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But reality paints a sobering picture: His Formula 2 season is developing rather poorly – and the race weekend in Monza marked the provisional low point of an already stalled campaign.
“What I want is to get into Formula 1, and as quickly as possible,” Herta makes his ambitions unmistakably clear. But the following words sound almost like a premonition: “How realistic that is, I still have to be told, or I have to find out.”
After recent events, a full-time Formula 1 seat for 2027 is hardly a serious option anymore. Because it was calculated that the step up would not be a given due to lack of track knowledge and the tricky Pirelli tires – the current yield is not.
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The Hitech driver is languishing with a meager 26 points in 17th place in the drivers’ standings. With a 151-point deficit to championship leader Nikola Tsolov and only 156 points left to be awarded in the remaining four rounds, the title is no longer attainable. Even the top 10 is currently a mammoth task with a 37-point gap.
Breakdowns, off-track excursions, and a bitter Friday
Nowhere was Herta’s downward spiral more evident than on the high-speed circuit in Italy. The only free practice session of Formula 2 ended prematurely in the barriers: At the exit of Lesmo 2, he got two wheels into the gravel trap, spun away, and hit the inside wall.
Shortly thereafter, he climbed into the Formula 1 car for Cadillac under the rookie regulations – his already third outing in a first free practice. There, he actually felt “much more comfortable” in the car, according to his own statement:
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“It’s just that little bit of knowledge about what the car wants or what the car needs, how it wants to be driven,” explains Herta. “All these cars have tiny differences that make it click. I drive and try to find that. Having a better understanding of what the car likes to do is a big help, it makes me feel more comfortable.”
However, the hoped-for damage limitation on the Formula 1 stage was denied to him. After only a single push lap, his MAC-26 rolled out with a suspected hydraulic defect.
“If I only have an hour, it literally seems – when you’re in the car and everything is happening – that everything goes by so fast,” Herta describes the hectic session. “It feels like I’ve only been in the car for five minutes. I get out and immediately think: ‘Oh, I should have done this’ or ‘I should have done that.’ I think everyone would say that you would do better if you got a second chance while driving. For me, that certainly would have been quite a big step.”
No turnaround in the Formula 2 field
There was no second chance on Friday; instead, the next setback followed in the Formula 2 qualifying: 20th place with over a second deficit to the front. Over ten race weekends, Herta managed to get into the top twelve in qualifying only once.
The races also brought no relief for the American. In the sprint race on Saturday, he only managed 15th place. The main race on Sunday finally ended with him lying in 21st place in the gravel trap at the exit of the Parabolica – off-track in lap 11, race over.
With only a single top-12 finish in the past ten races, not only the momentum is fading but especially the argument basis for a promotion to the top class. For Cadillac and Herta, the goal of Formula 1 is probably moving further and further away.
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