Herta Still One Point Short of F1 Superlicence After IndyCar Standings Error

Colton Herta is still a single superlicence point away from being eligible for a Formula 1 race weekend, after a quiet correction to IndyCar's published 2025 standings undid the maths behind his Mexico City FP1 appearance for Cadillac.

Cadillac had checked its numbers with the FIA back in July and was confident Herta sat one point short of the 40 required. Running him in FP1 in Mexico, provided he completed at least 100 kilometres, would deliver the final point.

Why it matters:

The superlicence is a hard gate, not a formality. Cadillac's entire path to putting Herta in a race seat depended on that count being accurate — and it wasn't.

The details:

• IndyCar's website listed Herta sixth in the 2025 championship, having tied Felix Rosenqvist on points. The tiebreaker — more second-place finishes — should have placed Rosenqvist ahead.
• IndyCar's own end-of-season results had it right. The website didn't, until a reporter flagged the error this week.
• Dropping from sixth to seventh cuts Herta's haul from six points to four.
• His revised total: 1 point for 10th in 2023, 30 for second behind Alex Palou in 2024, 4 for seventh in 2025, and 4 for his four FP1 outings. That's 39.
• The International Sporting Code allows FP1 points to be counted in a separate year from the three seasons of results, capped at 10 — which is why the Mexico run still mattered.

What's next:

Cadillac is almost certain to give Herta another FP1 this year to push him to 40, regardless of whether he replaces Valtteri Bottas for 2027 — a scenario the team is understood to be weighing. The superlicence question, at least, should be settled on track rather than in a spreadsheet.