Cadillac Leaves Door Open for Colton Herta in F1 2026

Valtteri Bottas might need to be a tad worried about his Formula 1 seat in 2027.

Cadillac is reportedly giving Colton Herta another opportunity to earn the final Super Licence point he needs to step up to F1 next year. The 26-year-old driver will participate in Free Practice 1 in the upcoming Sao Paolo Grand Prix in Brazil. 

It will be Herta's second straight FP1 appearance, and his sixth overall this season. To secure his FIA Super Licence, he needs to reach 40 points. Currently, Herta has 39 points. If he completes at least 100 kilometers of running in Brazil, the former IndyCar star will get that final point.

Herta made the transition to Formula 2 this year to prepare for a potential F1 seat in 2027. The timing couldn't be better, with American outfit Cadillac becoming the 11th team in the F1 grid.  

However, the American driver has been struggling mightily in his debut season in F2. Through 13 races for Hitech, Herta has only totalled 26 points. That puts him 19th in the Drivers' Standings, way behind Hitech teammate Ritomo Miyata, who is in 12th with 70 points.

It has been so bad that the American confirmed he won't be returning to F2 in 2027. 

And yet, Cadillac is not giving up on Herta. After the 2026 United States Grand Prix, where Cadillac showed off a Texas-themed livery, team principal Marcin Budkowski admitted that they want an American driver. Here is his direct quote:

"Look, it is important. It's an American team. It races under an American flag. You've seen it in Austin, and we're building a strong American identity as well. It's great to have an American driver. It increased the hype. But it's also a question of timing. The right driver when the team is ready for it. And so we're assessing this." 

Along with the FP1 appearances, Herta is also doing simulator work for Cadillac, as Budkowski also mentioned.

Cadillac brought in Bottas and Sergio Perez, two seasoned drivers, to help a new team cope with the new generation of F1 cars. The two drivers haven't scored a championship point yet this season, which is understandable in the current state of their car. 

With the team recently extending Perez's contract through 2029, Bottas' seat might be redundant now. Perez is already there to provide leadership and experience, so Cadillac might look for someone to bring more sponsorships and money to the table, and to "increase the hype" as Budkowski mentioned.

Herta, an American driver, could be that "someone" for Cadillac, an American team.