Cadillac Gives Herta Extra Brazil FP1 to Seal F1 Superlicence

Cadillac will hand Colton Herta another FP1 outing at the Brazilian Grand Prix, giving the American one last shot at the superlicence point he needs to unlock a Formula 1 future. It will be his sixth practice appearance of the season, with Herta taking over Sergio Perez's car at Interlagos.

Why it matters:

Without 40 superlicence points, Herta simply cannot race in F1 — and Cadillac is weighing him for its 2027 line-up. The team has invested heavily in his development, and a paperwork shortfall rather than a lack of pace would be a frustrating way for a promising pathway to stall.

The details:

• Herta currently sits on 39 points, one shy of the threshold, after a miscalculation traced to an error on IndyCar's website.
• That error listed him sixth rather than seventh in the 2025 IndyCar standings, inflating his tally by two points. Cadillac verified the flawed figure with the FIA earlier this year before the discrepancy surfaced over the Mexico City weekend.
• His breakdown: 1 point for 10th in IndyCar in 2023, 30 for the 2024 runner-up finish, 4 for seventh in 2025, and 4 from four valid FP1 outings — Monza did not count after he fell short of the required mileage.
• The point isn't guaranteed in Brazil either: Herta must complete at least 24 laps to cover 100km in FP1.

What's next:

Herta is among the leading candidates to replace Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac in 2027, but that seat stays out of reach without a superlicence — making this an urgent, if logical, move. Cadillac is also investigating the front-left suspension failure that struck Bottas in Mexico, a repeat of earlier trouble on Perez's car, with reliability now a live concern heading into the weekend.