Why a 2026 switch to F2 is Herta’s ‘last shot at reaching F1’

One does not often see proven professional racers stepping back to junior formulae, yet that’s exactly what Colton Herta is doing for 2026.

Having signed with the Cadillac Formula 1 team as a test and development driver, Herta is in contention for a full-time drive in 2027. F1 has been his dream all along, and he’s putting his career on the line for it.

“Everyone’s seen how close I’ve come before,” said the driver whom Andretti always had in mind as it strived to get an F1 entry – also someone who nearly got a 2023 AlphaTauri drive until superlicence points turned out to be an insurmountable obstacle – in the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast.

“I think this is my best shot at getting to Formula 1.” Not just a shot – even a “lifeline”. That’s how much F1 matters to him.

Herta may be just 25 years of age, but the Andretti driver has been an established IndyCar frontrunner. He became a race winner in the series just days before his 19th birthday and has taken eight more victories since then, finishing third in the 2020 championship and second in 2024.

Moving to F2 at this stage of a career can be dangerous. This is a notoriously tricky championship to succeed in. In recent years, one driver made a similar switch: 2023 Super GT and Super Formula champion Ritomo Miyata.

Toyota protege Miyata entered both F2 and ELMS in 2024, with a reserve driver role within the manufacturer’s WEC outfit; he had a bright future as the main contender to replace Kamui Kobayashi when the Toyota team principal eventually retired from driving the GR010 Hybrid himself.

While he did take two victories in ELMS, the Japanese driver struggled immensely in F2, taking 19th position in the championship. Now 26, Miyata doesn’t race in ELMS anymore and is no longer listed as a Toyota WEC reserve driver; his sophomore F2 season is not going much better than his first campaign. He did take a maiden podium finish with second place in the Spa-Francorchamps feature race, but that’s just one of his 47 race starts in the series.

Ritomo Miyata, ART Grand Prix, Roman Stanek, Invicta Racing

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

“It goes without saying, the risk factor…” Herta admitted. “For me, it was an incredibly tough decision to make, because I know what I’m leaving behind. I’m leaving behind a great group of guys, an incredibly competitive championship where if it’s your day you can win, and we’ve seen that’s not always the case in Formula 1 – you need the car to compete.

“The easy thing would be to stay in IndyCar. That would be simple for me. I’d live a very similar life.

“It’s a risk, and it’s a dream of mine, so I thought, this is my last shot at it. I want to do it, I want to take that chance. For me, it’s really just about fighting for my dream.”

The thing is, Herta isn’t certain he’ll get a Cadillac F1 seat in 2027.

Unlike the AlphaTauri fiasco three years ago, superlicence points likely won’t be an issue – Herta already has 34 points after finishing second and seventh in the last two IndyCar seasons. All he needs is a top-eight result in F2, and one can assume that’s the least Cadillac expects of him.

What Herta needs is to show he’s got what it takes to succeed in F1 and prove he’s an upgrade over Sergio Perez or Valtteri Bottas – and he’s pretty confident.

Asked if the lack of guarantees regarding his F1 future made his decision scary, he said: “No, not for me.

“As a racing driver, you constantly are betting on yourself. For me, this is just one of those things where I’m betting on myself. I believe in myself, I believe that I’m fast enough to do it.

Colton Herta, Andretti Global

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

“That’s not saying it’s going to be easy – it’s going to be a lot of work to understand the differences from grand prix racing to IndyCar racing, but it’s something I’m going to work for, 100% diving into it.

“If I didn’t think that I can do it – like I said, it’s a super big risk – I would stay in IndyCar. But I believe in myself, and I believe I’m fast enough.”

Staying in IndyCar was an option, however ruled out given Herta would have had little time to really integrate the F1 world – which he can easily do from the F2 paddock, a stone’s throw away from the F1 area – and get some testing done.

Meanwhile, unlike previous years, the Indy 500 won’t clash with the Monaco Grand Prix – or any F2 round – which Herta found out about on the podcast.

The Californian didn’t rule out a one-off outing in IndyCar’s most prestigious race. “If it makes sense, it’s definitely something that I would be open to, but it has to make sense, right?” he mused after collecting his thoughts. “It can’t hold us back from the ultimate goal, which is trying to reach Formula 1 with Cadillac F1.”

And whatever happens – or doesn’t happen – in F1, an IndyCar comeback beckons down the line. “This isn’t a forever goodbye to IndyCar by any means,” Herta professed. “I see myself coming back to IndyCar at some stage in my career, just because I love it.”

Colton Herta, Andretti Global

Photo by: Penske Entertainment