Some decisions in motorsport are made knowing the risk is total. Colton Herta made his seven months ago when he left behind nine victories, eight seasons and the affection of an entire nation to climb into a Formula 2 car in Europe with one single objective: reaching Formula 1. This morning that decision cost him something nobody had anticipated. Not through lack of speed. Not through a strategic mistake. Through a war.
Formula 2 has rescheduled two of its rounds cancelled due to the Middle East conflict, adding events in Miami and Montreal in May. The Montreal round on May 22nd clashes directly with the Indianapolis 500 on May 24th. And that means Colton Herta, the man who won on the Indianapolis road course before he was old enough to drink legally, will not be on the grid of the greatest race in the world this year.
Andretti Global confirmed on Thursday it will not enter a fourth car in the Indy 500. Herta was the only reason to do so.
Who is Colton Herta and where does he come from
Colton Thomas Herta was born on March 30, 2000 in Santa Clarita, California. He did not choose motorsport. He inherited it. His father Bryan Herta was an IndyCar and CART driver for almost two decades, reaching the Indianapolis 500 podium and later founding his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport. For Colton, growing up surrounded by single-seaters, circuits and the technical language of the American paddock was as natural as learning to ride a bike for any other child.
He started karting at six. By ten he was winning national championships. In 2010 and 2011 he took the SKUSA TAG Cadet title, and added two IKF championships. At thirteen he was already winning ten races in a single season in Pacific F2000. The trajectory was that of a driver who had not yet learned what losing felt like when he truly lost.
In 2014 he climbed into a single-seater for the first time in USF2000. In 2015 he crossed the Atlantic to race in the British Formula 4 championship, finishing third. In 2016 he competed in Euroformula Open and the European F3 championship, accumulating wins and learning circuits that years later proved crucial in understanding why the F2 adaptation has not been straightforward.
2017-2018: Building a champion in the Lights
In 2017 came Indy Lights, the series immediately below IndyCar, with Andretti-Steinbrenner. He finished third in the championship in his debut year. In 2018 he was second, with four victories, seven poles and the recognition of the entire industry. Herta was the name everyone pronounced when talking about the future of IndyCar.
The same year Herta dominated the Lights, a certain Lando Norris won the Formula 3 championship in Europe. They had been in the same British Formula 4 series barely a year earlier. The paths of the American and the Englishman would cross years later in ways neither of them could have anticipated.
2019: The record nobody expected so soon
On March 24, 2019, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Colton Herta won his first IndyCar race. He was 18 years, 11 months and 25 days old. He became the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history. A record that still stands today.
What many people forget is that he also won at Laguna Seca that year, finished seventh in the championship and came second in the Rookie of the Year vote by just five points. An extraordinary debut for a driver who was not yet old enough to celebrate it with alcohol in his own country.
2020-2024: Building a career, chasing a title
The following years were years of consolidation. In 2020 he was third in the championship, with a Mid-Ohio win and eleven top 10s. In 2021 he won at St. Pete, Laguna Seca and Long Beach, finished fifth and began generating the speculation that would accompany the rest of his career: will he ever reach Formula 1?
In 2022 the question became urgent. Andretti tried to enter F1 with their own team and Herta was the natural name to drive it. AlphaTauri came close to signing him. But the Superlicence points did not add up to 40, the FIA threshold required to race in the top category, and the dream was postponed. Again.
In 2024 he came as close as possible to a title without winning one. Runner-up in IndyCar, with four victories including his first on an oval at Nashville. Alex Palou won eight of seventeen races and effectively sealed the title before summer. But Herta proved he was capable of consistency, speed across all circuit types and the maturity to manage a full season at the highest level.
2025: The last American season
In 2025 Herta finished seventh. Two podiums, two poles. No wins. And for the first time in his career, the feeling that the ceiling in IndyCar was visible. Palou was unreachable. McLaren and Penske had resources and drivers that Andretti’s team could not match. And in September, before the season ended, the announcement came.
Cadillac Formula 1 Team confirmed Herta as their test driver for 2026. TWG Motorsports, the parent company behind both Andretti and Cadillac F1, completed the circle. And Hitech confirmed his Formula 2 seat. All in the same month. All part of the same plan.
In his final appearance with Andretti, the team published a farewell video with words that summed it all up: “116 starts, 9 wins, 16 poles, 40 top 5s, 64 top 10s and so many memories.”
2026: The biggest bet in American motorsport
Herta arrived in F2 knowing exactly what was at stake. He needs to finish inside the top eight in the championship to accumulate the Superlicence points he still needs. If he manages it, Cadillac has an American driver ready for 2027. If he fails, he will have left behind eight years of a career built from scratch for an adventure that did not work out.
His Melbourne debut was bittersweet. He qualified from a complicated position, had difficulties in practice and finished seventh, scoring his first points but grading his weekend a “C minus” to the press. The honesty of someone who knows exactly where they stand.
Pato O’Ward, his generational counterpart in IndyCar, summarised it from the American paddock with more eloquence than anyone: “We want him to do well because it would be a win for us. If Colton does well, it proves IndyCar produces drivers capable of competing at the highest level worldwide.”
April 9, 2026: The calendar clash that changed everything
This morning, the Associated Press published the news nobody wanted to read in Indianapolis. F2 had added a Montreal round on May 22nd to compensate for the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia cancellations. That round clashes with the Indianapolis 500 on May 24th.
Herta was in advanced talks to race a fourth car with Andretti Global in the greatest race in the world. It was the perfect opportunity to come home, compete in the race he has never won, and maintain the bond with the country that made him a star. All of that ended this morning.
Andretti Global confirmed it will not field a fourth car. Without Herta, there is no reason to do so. The team will go to Indianapolis with Will Power, Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood. Three drivers. No fourth entry that for months had seemed inevitable.
Herta has not yet commented publicly on the news. But in January, when asked about the risks of his F2 move, he said something that carries its full weight today: “I think a lot of people feel it would be embarrassing if I fail, but I don’t care what everybody thinks or if it’s going to tarnish my career.”
That is the phrase of someone who already knew the road was going to be difficult. What he did not anticipate is that a war on the other side of the world would take away his chance to say goodbye to Indianapolis the way it deserved.
Quotes and curiosities
“It’s now or never, and he knows that, and he’s willing to take that chance. That’s how important it is to him. And that is a beautiful commitment I would support 3,000 percent.” Mario Andretti on Herta’s F2 move.
“My dream has always been to race in Formula 1, and I see this move as a huge step towards that goal.” Herta on announcing his Cadillac signing.
“I think it’s great if it gets me to Formula 1 and I would be incredibly grateful I took the leap.” Herta to the Associated Press, January 2026.
Among the lesser-known curiosities: Herta competed in the same British Formula 4 season as Lando Norris in 2015. He won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the GTLM class in 2019 with BMW. He is a two-time Daytona winner and won the 12 Hours of Sebring outright in 2024. Outside of racing, he is a hardcore punk music fan and enjoys cycling, surfing, running and golf. The dream of F1 continues. The Indianapolis 500 will have to wait.
Sources: Associated Press, ESPN IndyCar, IndyCar.com official, Coltonherta.com official, FIA Formula 2 official, RacingNews365, WTHR Indianapolis, ABC News, ESPN F2, Wikipedia Colton Herta, Last Word on Sports, Motoringresearch, Cadillac F1 Team official statement
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