Colton Herta’s path to a Formula 1 grid spot has always been less about raw speed and more about bureaucracy, timing and getting the right boxes ticked in the right order. This season, Cadillac is making sure there’s nothing left to chance.
Herta will run all four of Cadillac’s mandatory rookie FP1 outings in 2026, starting with his first appearance at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. For a driver who’s already had Super Licence applications knocked back by the FIA in the past, it’s not just a nice-to-have day in the spotlight — it’s a deliberate, points-driven plan with a clear endgame.
He arrives in Europe this year doing the heavy lifting the old-fashioned way: racing in Formula 2 while keeping one eye firmly on what comes next. After the opening round in Australia, Herta sits seventh in the F2 standings — a position that, if maintained over the season, would comfortably push him beyond the 40-point threshold required for a Super Licence. As it stands, he’s just five points short of qualifying right now, and the direction of travel looks obvious.
Cadillac’s contribution is equally calculated. Beyond the mileage and experience, each of those FP1 sessions carries an extra incentive: complete at least 100km and Herta becomes eligible for additional Super Licence points — up to four across the year if he ticks every requirement. In a paddock where careers can hinge on fine print, that’s a tidy little margin of safety.
There’s also a broader logic at play for Cadillac. The team has installed Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as its race drivers for 2026, but it’s clearly building a pipeline behind them, not merely filling a regulatory obligation. Giving Herta all four rookie sessions is a statement that he isn’t just a name on a paperwork line — he’s the nominated test driver and a genuine option being prepared for the future.
“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team car for the first time,” Herta said, framing Barcelona as the start of a proper apprenticeship rather than a ceremonial run. “I am looking forward to working closely with the team in a full Grand Prix environment and am fully focused on learning from every appearance. I hope I can contribute to the overall race weekend and help the team, Checo and Valtteri as much as possible.”
That last line matters. Rookie FP1s can be awkward for teams trying to get their own programmes done — especially at a new operation that needs every lap it can get. Herta’s job won’t be to chase headlines; it’ll be to hit his marks, deliver clean feedback, and make the engineers’ lives easier during the one hour they’ve handed over.
Team principal Graeme Lowdon, unsurprisingly, is talking him up. “Colton is a top talent,” Lowdon said, pointing to Herta’s IndyCar résumé and what he’s already shown since switching focus to F2. “Completing all four of our young driver FP1 sessions is a natural next step in his Test Driver role, and I look forward to seeing what he can bring in terms of development and focus.”
The subtext is hard to miss: Cadillac is treating this like proper due diligence. Herta’s IndyCar race-winning pedigree has never really been the question. The challenge has been converting that into a licence, then into credible European single-seater form, and finally into the kind of F1-relevant weekend work that convinces a team it can trust him with more than a Friday morning.
Cadillac hasn’t yet confirmed which of Perez or Bottas will step out for the opening hour in Barcelona, nor which three races will make up the rest of Herta’s schedule. But the selection will tell its own story when it lands. Some venues are chosen for minimal disruption; others are chosen because the team wants a driver to experience a specific type of track, tyre behaviour, or weekend rhythm. Either way, Herta’s 2026 is now structured with a level of intent that wasn’t always present in the earlier, more stop-start phases of his Super Licence saga.
For Herta, it’s a rare thing in modern F1: a plan that isn’t subtle, isn’t dressed up, and isn’t pretending to be anything other than what it is. Get the points. Get the laps. Get the credibility. Then see what doors open.
