Three years after a superlicense dispute derailed what seemed like an inevitable Formula 1 arrival, Colton Herta is taking the long road to the grid. Armed with a development role at Cadillac F1 and a full Formula 2 campaign in 2025, the American is staking his case for a race seat on the one thing he believes speaks loudest: outright pace.
A Second Chance Built on a Different Foundation
In 2022, Herta's name was everywhere in Formula 1 circles. Red Bull and AlphaTauri were reportedly interested in bringing the then-22-year-old American to the grid, a move that would have made him one of the most high-profile transatlantic crossovers in recent memory. The plan collapsed when it emerged that Herta did not hold sufficient superlicense points under the FIA's eligibility criteria, a technical barrier that overshadowed his genuine talent and left the motorsport world debating the fairness of the points system.
That frustration has not faded, but it has been channeled. Rather than waiting for another shortcut that may never come, Herta has left the comfort of IndyCar competition and thrown himself into Formula 2, the traditional European feeder series that feeds directly into the Formula 1 ecosystem. It is a humbling step on paper, but strategically it may be the smartest move of his career.
What Cadillac Needs to See
Herta's path to an F1 seat is not guaranteed. Cadillac F1, the American manufacturer-backed constructor preparing to enter the championship as the sport's newest team, has made that explicit. The team has taken Herta on as a test and development driver, giving him meaningful integration with the program while he competes in F2. But Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss has set a clear performance benchmark: a top ten finish in the F2 standings is the target that team leadership expects Herta to meet.
That target carries weight in both directions. Achieving it would represent a legitimate marker of readiness, proof that a driver who has spent his professional career in American open-wheel racing can adapt and compete at the front of Europe's most competitive junior formula. Falling short, particularly in a category where several drivers have already spent multiple seasons, would raise uncomfortable questions that even Herta's strongest advocates could not easily dismiss.
The Transition Challenge Is Real
Herta has been candid about the difficulty of moving from IndyCar to the European single-seater ladder. The two disciplines demand different things from a driver. IndyCar racing, particularly on the oval circuits that define much of the series calendar, develops instincts and racecraft that do not map directly onto the tightly-contested, aerodynamically sensitive world of Formula 2. The tyres behave differently, the tracks are almost entirely new, and the competition includes drivers who have been racing on European circuits since their teenage years.
That context makes the superlicense situation from 2022 feel even more pointed in retrospect. The points system was designed to ensure F1 drivers have demonstrated competence in recognised feeder categories, yet Herta's IndyCar performances, which included multiple wins and a reputation as one of the most exciting young talents in North American motorsport, were not weighted heavily enough to clear the threshold. Now he must prove himself in the very arena the system was designed to protect.
Speed as the Argument
Herta's belief is that raw speed will ultimately make the case that circumstances and regulations previously could not. His approach to the F2 campaign reflects that philosophy. Rather than framing the season as a box-ticking exercise or a regulatory formality, he views his ability to generate pace, to qualify at the front and put in the kind of laps that force the paddock to take notice, as the most persuasive argument he can make to Cadillac and to the wider F1 community.
That mentality is consistent with how he has always raced. His IndyCar career was defined not by calculated consistency but by moments of brilliance, the kind of single-lap speed and aggressive racecraft that made him appointment viewing on street circuits. Translating that quality into F2 hardware and new environments will be the defining challenge of his 2025 season.
Cadillac's Arrival Changes the Equation
The backdrop to all of this is the historic nature of Cadillac's F1 entry. After a lengthy and at times contentious approval process involving the FIA and Formula One Management, the American constructor was granted a place on the grid, representing the first new team to enter the championship in over a decade. The symbolism of an American team potentially fielding an American driver is not lost on anyone involved.
Formula 1's commercial expansion in the United States has been one of the sport's defining storylines in recent years. Multiple US races, surging broadcast numbers, and a fanbase that now treats the championship with genuine passion rather than niche curiosity have transformed the American market into one of F1's most valuable. A Herta-Cadillac pairing would sit neatly at the centre of that story, but neither the team nor the driver appears to be letting narrative convenience override sporting merit.
Colton Herta's Formula 2 campaign is one of the more compelling subplots of the 2025 season. The stakes are clear, the timeline is defined, and the audience extends well beyond the F2 paddock. If he can deliver a top ten in the standings while continuing to develop within the Cadillac program, he will arrive at the door of F1 with credentials that no points system or eligibility debate can easily dismiss. If the pace he has always believed in shows up on European circuits, the argument writes itself.