Herta departs IndyCar for Cadillac F1 test role

Credit: Joe Skibinski

Colton Herta is leaving IndyCar for a role as test driver for Cadillac Formula One Team, which debuts as an 11th team on the F1 grid in 2026.

The 25-year-old is a nine-time race winner and 16-time pole-sitter across seven years in IndyCar but is now rumoured to be targeting a drive in FIA Formula 2 next year as he works towards securing his Super License and targets a career in F1.

Official announcements on his 2026 race programme will be made in due course.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Cadillac Formula One Team as a test driver,” Herta said. “This is a dream opportunity and one I’ve been working towards for a long time. To be part of Cadillac F1’s entry at such a pivotal time is something I couldn’t pass up.

“My dream has always been to race in Formula One and I see this move as a huge step towards that goal. For now, my focus is on giving everything I can to Cadillac F1, helping build a competitive team.”

Cadillac’s F1 effort comes under the TWG Motorsports banner, which is led by CEO Dan Towriss and is also the parent company of Andretti. There was known interest in Herta for the team but the absence of a Super License has been an ongoing stumbling block. 

Cadillac ultimately opted for the double-veteran lineup of Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas for its first season in F1 next year.

But as much as Herta had admitted to having grown tired of long-standing F1 talk, still at only 25 years old, he has now taken the decision to pursue a test role with Cadillac with a view to racing in F1 in the future.

Credit: James Black

“We are delighted to welcome Colton Herta as a test driver,” said Graeme Lowdon, team principal at Cadillac F1. “Colton is an exceptionally talented racer with proven speed, race craft, and maturity well beyond his years. 

“His experience in top-level American motorsport as part of the TWG Motorsport family makes him an ideal fit for this role and he will bring valuable and fresh insight, perspective, and energy to our team as we continue to build for the future. 

“Having an American driver join an American Formula One team is a hugely significant 

moment, not only for our team but for American motorsport as a whole. Colton 

represents the passion, ambition, and competitive spirit that define the Cadillac Formula One 

Team and we are proud to have him carry the American flag with us on the world stage.”

Herta’s surprise departure - while still under contract at Andretti in IndyCar - marks the end of a seven-year full-time IndyCar career. 

He arrived on the scene in 2019 and instantly made waves as a rookie with Harding Steinbrenner Racing, becoming IndyCar’s youngest-ever race winner after securing victory at Circuit of the Americas in only his third career race at 18 years old.

Herta ended that year with two victories and finished seventh in points, backing this up with third in the standings as Harding partnered with Andretti for the 2020 season. Moving to Andretti’s No.26 entry in 2021, he won three times en-route to fifth in the championship.

But in the years since, it felt as though promise started to go unfulfilled. Herta won only once and stood on the podium only three times in the next two seasons. He finished both years 10th in the standings.

Credit: Chris Jones

After a winless 2023, he rebounded to deliver a career-best runner-up finish in the championship in 2024, albeit never being in true title contention. Nevertheless, he won twice and logged a career single-season high six podiums. But 2025 has been challenging again, with inconsistency returning and Herta going winless, finishing seventh in points.

Herta’s departure leaves a surprise opening at Andretti Global’s IndyCar team - one day on from two-time champion Will Power departing Team Penske.

There is yet to be confirmation of rumours that Herta will spend next season in F2, where he would be able to learn many of the tracks on the F1 calendar, get accustomed to the Pirelli rubber and work towards securing the final remaining Super License points.

Herta requires six more points to obtain his Super License. He could earn those six points by finishing eighth in the F2 championship, whereas he would have had to have finished, at worst, eighth in IndyCar. One point is also on offer for completing 100km in an F1 free practice session (while avoiding a penalty).

He previously raced in Europe in 2015 and 2016, competing and winning races in Euroformula Open and British F3. He made the move back stateside to race in Indy Lights, IndyCar’s premier feeder series, in 2017 and 2018 before graduating to IndyCar.

He has previous experience testing a previous McLaren F1 car in 2022.