Sergio Perez to miss Italian Grand Prix FP1 as Colton Herta steps in
Colton Herta has his eye on a future Cadillac F1 seat
Colton Herta will drive Sergio Perez’s car in FP1 at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the Cadillac F1 team has announced.
It will mark Herta’s third FP1 appearance of the F1 2026 season following previous outings in Barcelona and Hungary.
Sergio Perez out, Colton Herta in for FP1 at Italian Grand Prix
Herta, a nine-time race winner in the US-based IndyCar Series, joined Cadillac as a development driver ahead of the 2026 campaign as he targets a future F1 seat.
The American has combined his Cadillac commitments with a race seat in Formula 2, F1’s official feeder series, recording a best finish of fifth in Barcelona in June.
That weekend saw Herta make his first-ever appearance on an F1 race weekend as he stepped in for Perez in FP1.
He later drove the MAC-26 of Perez’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, in the opening practice session in Hungary in July.
Valtteri Bottas vs Sergio Perez: Cadillac head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season
F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying records between teammates
F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates
Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, Cadillac has announced that Herta will once again deputise for Perez on Friday at Monza.
Herta said: “This is an excellent opportunity to experience different aspects of the MAC-26.
“Having driven on the high-downforce tracks in Barcelona and Budapest, the challenge will be very different in Monza.
“With the car set up for low drag, it will move around more, placing a greater emphasis on accuracy at the braking points and on threading the eye of a needle across the curbs in the chicanes.
“I’m really excited to be able to contribute to the race weekend and to the team’s further development at one of the most iconic circuits in motorsport.”
Under F1’s rules, teams are required to field a rookie driver – classed as a driver who has started no more than two grands prix – in four FP1 sessions (two in each car) across a season.
Herta’s FP1 appearance at Monza will see Perez complete the requirement for each race driver to step aside twice per season, with Bottas still to sit out one more practice session before the season is over.
Herta was slowest of all in his maiden FP1 appearance in Barcelona, lapping almost two seconds slower than Bottas.
He managed to half the gap to the other Cadillac in his next outing in Budapest, lapping a second shy of Perez as he recorded the 20th-fastest time.
The Italian Grand Prix will see Marcin Budkowski take charge of his second race as Cadillac team principal after replacing Graeme Lowdon during the summer break.
As reported by PlanetF1.com last week, Bottas recently denied that the departure of Lowdon will have an impact on his immediate future with the team, insisting that he is “all set for next year.”
Cadillac remains without a point in its debut season. Bottas’s 13th-place finish in China in March remains the team’s best result to date.
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