Cadillac Formula 1 Team CEO Dan Towriss has admitted that the squad’s new test driver, Colton Herta, will be taking a “huge risk” with his planned switch from IndyCar to Formula 2 next year, but feels the American has the ingredients to succeed.
Herta, whose Cadillac testing role was announced earlier this month, is an established racer in the United States-based IndyCar Series, having made 116 starts and scored nine victories, 19 podium finishes and 16 pole positions so far.
While Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez will drive for Cadillac in their debut 2026 season and beyond, Herta is aiming to make a case for a future seat – and score valuable points towards a Super Licence – by swapping America for Europe and tackling the F2 feeder series directly below F1.
At the Italian Grand Prix, where Cadillac’s chiefs made another visit to the paddock, Towriss explained the reasons behind Herta’s upcoming move and noted how racing on the same tracks as F1 – as well as using tyres supplied by Pirelli – are key factors.
“For Colton, this has always been a dream of his, to drive in F1, but to do that, this is the path he had to take,” Towriss told Sky Sports F1. “He has to take a huge risk, a huge amount of risk – no seat is guaranteed. This is F1, so he wants to learn tracks and tyres and show that respect to European open-wheel racing.
“The entitlement model from the US hasn’t worked out that well in the past, so we really want to build that body of work, the knowledge that’s necessary, to see if he has what it takes to drive in Formula 1.”
Herta has already tested F1 machinery with McLaren and been in a simulator with several teams – Towriss keen to point out that, while results in IndyCar have been mixed, the 25-year-old “excelled” at every opportunity.
“He really is a special talent,” added Towriss. “I think a lot of people look at some of the results in IndyCar and say, ‘Well, he hasn’t won a championship, he’s not with [multiple champion] Alex Palou’.
“I think as a team owner I would take some responsibility for that; there have been times where there have been troubles on pit lane or strategy didn’t work out, but Colton’s an immense talent and he really can find speed where others can’t.
“I think any time he’s had a chance to do a test, whether it was with McLaren, or time that he’s been in the sim with Alpine, Red Bull and Sauber, from that standpoint he really has excelled and shown really high potential and promise for an F1 seat.
“Now this is the chance to do it. He’s had to choose this path of taking a big risk to not have that guarantee of the seat. He’s leaving behind what at this point is very comfortable for him, to choose something that’s uncomfortable for him – but no risk, no reward, as they say.”
When he heads to F2, it will not be the first time that Herta has raced in Europe – the California native previously competing on the continent from 2015-16 and spending time as Lando Norris’ team mate in the MSA Formula Championship.
