Colton Herta, a driver who has won seven IndyCar races and finished third and fifth in the 2020 and 2021 championships respectively, has just 32 of the 40 points needed to earn the FIA superlicence.
Therefore, he would only have been able to get an F1 seat in 2023 if the governing body had granted him a unique exception to date.
“I can understand the position of the FIA,” Herta told Motorsport.com. “I just think IndyCar is undervalued in the superlicence points structure.”
“But from his point of view, with the current points structure, I understand. And I don’t want to come into F1 as ‘an exception’ .”
In reference to whether he had thought to add up the missing points by competing in the Asian Regional Formula during the off-season and if he was trying to contest some F1 FP1 before the end of the year, Herta replied: “I think it was possible to do something like that ( Asian Regional Formula), but I think I shouldn’t race in a junior class when I’m already a professional driver.”
” Zak Brown said that he was interested in giving me an FP1, but he would see normal that he does not want to get behind the wheel of a McLaren if I have a contract with AlphaTauri: it’s like going against your team!”
“I appreciate everything Zak has done for me, he’s been really good to me. There’s been a lot of things in the news, but he’s been completely transparent with me.”
Assuming that the rules of the super license do not change, Herta is going to have to reach the necessary 40 points through a combination of results in IndyCar and participating in some FP1 sessions in Formula 1, since each one gives an extra point.
Considering that no Andretti Autosport driver has won the championship in 10 years, and that Herta and teammate Rossi have only been 10th and 9th this year, setting that target seems almost impossible for the 22-year-old Californian. .
However, Herta said he was confident that he and his team could improve enough to become title contenders.
“There are some things that we have to improve, and there are things that I have to improve myself, because I think I’m not a regular driver for a whole year, or at least I haven’t been this year.
“But that’s something we can work on during the break and I’m confident I can pull it off, and I’m also confident Andretti can build really competitive cars.”
Herta also explained that his dream of making it to F1 is far from over , and that he also thinks team owner Michael Andretti’s dream of bringing his team to F1 lives on.
“I think Michael is ready to take me to F1, and there is some longevity in that offer,” said Herta. “I would understand that when I am 26 I don’t want to put myself in an F1 car anymore.”
“But look at (Nyck) de Vries for example, right? He is 27, he will be 28 at the start of next season, and it seems that what he did in Monza could give him a seat in a team.”
“If you get an opportunity, you have to make the most of it and he did, so I’m happy for him.”
“In the next few years Andretti could have opportunities to buy a team,” said Herta, who saw his boss’s attempts to get his F1 team up and running were thwarted by the other teams as they didn’t want the money divide by 11 instead of 10.
“Someone could be looking to sell or share a team. If an engine manufacturer comes along and the owner has an opportunity to sell or something like that, they could look at it very differently.”
“But as for my future, in the end it’s up to the FIA. They listen a lot to all the teams and they don’t want to upset their owners just by accepting one more person. It’s a big puzzle with a lot of moving pieces.”
Despite everything, Herta also assured that if the opportunity of F1 never materializes and instead he is forced to spend the next two decades driving in IndyCar, he would be happy too, although he does not rule out other disciplines of motorsport either.
“I would never be disappointed if I complete my entire career in IndyCar. But as I’ve always said, there are other things I want to try in my career and not all of them are based on IndyCar.
“I also like endurance racing, I would love to have a chance at Le Mans, and I wouldn’t be against doing the Daytona 500 or a NASCAR race on a mixed circuit. To be able to drive a wide variety of different cars would be amazing.” , he concluded.
