Colton Herta makes intriguing IndyCar and F1 comparison amid F2 struggles

Colton Herta admits that he would not grade his rookie Formula 2 season “very highly at all,” as the American racer battles to force himself into Cadillac’s F1 2027 plans.

Yet to discuss 2027 plans with Cadillac, Herta is due to return to the MAC-26 F1 car, for FP1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. As a challenging adaptation to Formula 2 life continues, Herta suggested that IndyCar and Formula 1 machinery shares more similarities, versus Indy and F2.

Colton Herta yet to finalise Cadillac long-term plans

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

As a Cadillac test driver, Herta is striving to realise his dream of reaching the Formula 1 grid.

The latest ‘silly season’ driver market is poised to race into action. Herta is yet to discuss with Cadillac what his part to play may be.

Herta made his FP1 debut with Cadillac in Barcelona. He returns to the cockpit in Hungary for a second FP1 session. Two further outings in F1 2026 are expected after Hungary.

Asked by PlanetF1.com whether there has been any talks with Cadillac yet about next season, or extra FP1 outings for Super Licence points, Herta replied: “No, we haven’t talked about next year yet.

“My next FP1 will be in Budapest, so I can say that. But the two following, I think, are still being decided on, depending on multiple factors from the team.”

Herta is dovetailing his Cadillac duties with a first season in Formula 2. The top class on the junior ladder to F1, Herta left his successful IndyCar career behind, looking to make an impression, and secure the required FIA Super Licence points to join the F1 grid.

It has been a tough introduction to F2 for Herta. He sits 17th in the standings with 20 points scored, 10 behind experienced Hitech teammate Ritomo Miyata.

Herta had been given a target of top 10 in the championship by Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss.

“I wouldn’t grade my season so far very highly at all. It’s been disappointing from that side of things,” Herta admitted.

“But, I just need to continue to improve and make the small steps.”

Herta has picked up some good results, such as P5 in the Barcelona sprint. But, he is on a run of five races without scoring.

Herta has identified his “goal number one” to start moving up the ranks.

“Obviously, as a racing driver, I want to compete for wins, poles, and podiums. We’ve been close, but for the most part, qualifying has been the Achilles’ heel of us at the moment.

“I think if we can sort that out, our race pace has been much better than our qualifying pace, so that’s kind of goal number one right now. I think if we improve that, we can build on it and hopefully wrap up the end of the season a lot stronger.”

Having pointed to qualifying as a key sticking point, Herta was asked whether this is down to the Pirelli tyre compounds which he is having to learn in F2.

“It’s not extremely clear every time. It’s not like one shoe fits all at the moment.

“Each track is a little bit different, and obviously how the tyres react and how the car reacts is a little bit different, and the setups and packages that we bring are obviously different.

“I think there’s a few things that are within my control to do better, and just kind of focusing on that.

“Obviously, the tyres are a lot more sensitive, I guess we can say, compared to what I’m used to, and any bad thing that you do to them, you kind of get hurt by it really quickly.

“It’s a very, very different tyre, and to learn it just takes time. That’s part of it, but not the whole equation on what I need to work on.”

The F2 car is a unique machine to master, according to Herta.

But, perhaps crucially for his chances of earning an F1 seat, he believes that his driving style developed in IndyCar aligns better with F1 than F2.

Asked where the F2 car is rewarding his style versus punishing, Herta quipped: “Rewards-wise, probably nowhere, as far as where I started at in the wintertime.

“The Indy car is very different for a lot of reasons. The way that you drive and how aggressive you can be with your inputs and multiple inputs, is very different to, I would say, most of the cars in Europe, but specifically the F2 car.

“I would say the F2 car kind of stands alone in its driving style and what it needs, especially compared to the F1.

“There has been a full overhaul that has to go through the mind and the learning process, where you have to learn the tracks, but then kind of understand what I need to be doing inside the car while at these tracks to get the most out of the car for lap time.

“I would say what I’ve learned from IndyCar, there’s not many rewards for it. The good thing is I think in Formula 1 there is a lot more similarities.”

Herta said that the F2 car is “almost like a GT car, you can’t force anything, you can’t force the car to do anything that it doesn’t want to do, because it’ll fight back, and you’ll lose lap time.

“Whereas the F1 and the Indy car, you can be a little bit more forceful on what you want the car to do and how to do it.”

More on Colton Herta from PlanetF1.com

Colton Herta confirms he beat Kimi Raikkonen in Sauber simulator test

Bruno Michel makes Colton Herta prediction after difficult Formula 2 switch

But, Herta’s IndyCar experience is not for naught in the F2 environment.

“I think where it can help is maybe race experience,” he said. “We seem to be very strong compared to most on the starts and first laps.

“But we also qualify near the back, so that helps [laughs]. Hard to move rearwards from there.

“I would say that’s where the experience helps us, is maybe on that first lap.”

Herta will combine his Cadillac FP1 with F2 duties at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the final round before the summer break.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next – F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates