Colton Herta rejects Romain Grosjean IndyCar vs F2 comparison

Colton Herta does not share the opinion once expressed by Romain Grosjean, that an Indy car is comparable to Formula 2 machinery.

Having made his name racing in IndyCar, Herta made the switch to Formula 2 in 2026 with Hitech, as he went all in on his Formula 1 dream. Herta has noticed a plethora of differences between an Indy and F2 car.

Colton Herta rejects Romain Grosjean IndyCar comparison

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Named Cadillac F1’s first test driver, Herta is hoping that it is a case of third time lucky, as he bids to make it onto the Formula 1 grid.

Herta enjoyed a points-scoring F2 feature race debut in Melbourne, claiming P7.

“I didn’t really have an expectation going in,” Herta said of his F2 move while appearing on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

“I didn’t know what it was going to be like. I didn’t know exactly what the car, what the tyre combination with the engine, was going to be like, or was going to feel like.

“So I didn’t set any expectations, as far as how this is going to feel or how it’s going to look mentally, in my head.

“It’s been enjoyable so far. Very important for my learning, as far as learning tracks, and more importantly, how the tyre kind of reacts is a big part.”

Herta was informed that Romain Grosjean – who headed for IndyCar after 179 grand prix starts – had previously, on this podcast, said that an Indy car is a bit more like F2 machinery.

He pointed to simplicity and lower aerodynamic sensitivity as common traits.

Herta was asked if he also sees the comparison which Grosjean is getting at.

“I do not,” he stated.

Herta was asked, therefore, what he sees as the main differences between Indy and F2 cars.

“Just the feel of the car, and how the power is put down and how the gears shift.

“The tyre deg that you have over here is greater.

“The seating position is different. How the power is put down is different. The sound is different.

“So there’s a lot of differences that don’t really kind of key into… The back of my brain is like, ‘Oh, this isn’t IndyCar’.

“But that’s just me personally.”

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Herta branded his F2 debut in Melbourne “unsatisfactory”. Despite his recovery to the points, he was left frustrated over a heavy crash during the sole practice session.

F2 drivers have only 40 minutes of practice to work with before qualifying gets underway.

Herta was asked whether the F2 format came as a bit of a wake-up call to him.

“Yeah it is,” he confirmed. “Especially if you throw the car in the wall in practice in Melbourne!

“Practice time is so, so important when you have 40 minutes of it. Not only do you have 40 minutes of it, you have one set of tyres. You can’t do that many laps in 40 minutes, and then the added pressure of you only have one set, so then you can do even less laps.

“So you’ve got to get up to speed quick. Need to learn fast. The name of the game in Formula 2 is, if you can get on the weekend with your best foot forward, you’re probably going to have a good weekend, because there’s very little time to catch up and recover.

“So that’s kind of the learning process of what it is.”

Herta, at the age of 26, is by no means old in racing driver terms.

Yet, he feels like the elder statesman at times, competing against fellow – and mostly younger – F1 hopefuls in the top junior category.

Herta, for example, shares the grid with Prema Racing’s Sebastian Montoya. Herta has competed against Sebastian’s father Juan Pablo Montoya – a seven-time F1 grand prix winner – in IndyCar.

“I was thinking about this,” said Herta of his F2 elder vibe, “I was like, ‘Wow’.

“It made me feel old now that I raced against Juan Pablo Montoya in IndyCar, and now I race against his kid in F2, even though I’m still only 26. It’s still not old.

“But, when you’re racing everybody and they’re like, 18 years old, it makes you feel a little bit older.”

Formula 2 returns to action this weekend in Miami. It marks the first time ever that the series has gone racing in North America.

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