Colton Herta's Unprecedented Path from IndyCar Star to F1 Hopeful via F2

IndyCar race winner and championship runner-up Colton Herta is embarking on a unique and risky career move, stepping down from America's premier open-wheel series to compete in Formula 2 in 2026. His goal is clear: earn the superlicence points and prove his worth to secure a Formula 1 seat with the new Cadillac team for 2027, a journey that flips the traditional motorsport ladder on its head.

Why it matters:

Herta's switch represents an unprecedented modern-era gamble for a proven top-tier driver. Success could validate a new pathway to F1 and be a major coup for Cadillac's American identity, while failure would highlight the immense difficulty of adapting to the European racing ecosystem's specific demands, particularly tire management, later in a career.

The details:

• Herta, a nine-time IndyCar winner, needs to bridge a six-point superlicence gap. A top-eight finish in the F2 championship would secure his F1 eligibility.
• Cadillac has positioned him as a test and reserve driver, with plans for FP1 runs and simulator work to evaluate his readiness alongside his F2 campaign.
• The Learning Curve: Herta admits the F2 car is a "180-degree shift" from IndyCar, with Pirelli's high-degradation tires posing the biggest challenge. Unlike the more durable Firestones in IndyCar, they require meticulous management on out-laps, in-laps, and during races—a skill most rivals honed in F3.
• A Valuable Teammate: He will partner with Ritomo Miyata at Hitech, a former Super Formula and Super GT champion who has already endured two difficult F2 seasons. Herta cites Miyata's "refined style of F2 driving" as an invaluable reference for his own adaptation.
• The Stakes Beyond F2: Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss emphasizes Herta's promotion will be judged on his "total body of work," including simulator and FP1 performance, not solely F2 results.

What's next:

Herta's immediate focus is on mastering F2's unique challenges, with pre-season testing showing promising pace. His long-term F1 fate, however, is intertwined with the performance of Cadillac's veteran 2026 lineup.

• A 2027 promotion becomes more straightforward if either Sergio Perez or Valtteri Bottas underperforms, creating a clear vacancy.
• If both veterans deliver strong results, the bar for Herta to displace them will be significantly higher, making his performance in every test, FP1, and F2 session critically important. As Herta himself stated, only time will tell if this bold reverse-step pays off.