Colton Herta's bid to race in Formula One is not over despite a disappointing season in Formula 2, as he may still secure the superlicence points needed through free practice appearances.
The 26-year-old, a nine-time winner in IndyCar, gave up his place on the American series grid to race against junior drivers in F2 this year, hoping to earn the points required for an F1 superlicence. That gamble has not paid off so far, with Herta 19th in the F2 championship and just 26 points scored with two race weekends remaining. He has finished in the points only five times in 23 races.
Promising start fades
Herta made a relatively promising start, scoring in each of the first three feature races and securing his best result of the season with fifth place in the Barcelona sprint race. However, he has scored only once in his last 14 starts, leaving the 10th-placed finish or higher that Cadillac were targeting out of reach.
In recent weeks, there have been suggestions Herta is looking for a way back to IndyCar, having potentially accepted defeat in his F1 bid. He said he was "not interested in another year in Formula 2", though he later clarified that his focus is "still on getting into F1".
Superlicence points tally
A driver needs 40 points to qualify for a superlicence, with results from the last three years used to calculate the total. Herta scored 30 by finishing second in the IndyCar championship in 2024, adding one for finishing 10th the previous year and four more for ending 2025 seventh in the standings.
Those results put him on 35 superlicence points, topped up through FP1 appearances. He has driven four times in first practice sessions for Cadillac this year, earning points at Barcelona, Austria and Austin on Friday this week. He also took part in FP1 at Monza but completed only five laps in Sergio Perez's car, falling short of the 100km of running required to earn a point.
Path to qualification
So there are 38 superlicence points accounted for, though Cadillac believe he has 39, without explaining where that extra point is from. If they are right, Herta needs one more free practice appearance this year; if wrong, he would need two. No further appearances are scheduled as it stands, but it is understood Cadillac hope to give him the chance to earn his superlicence.
Herta said after his Circuit of the Americas drive on Friday: "It's super important to pick up the points when I can. I hope [to drive another FP1 session this year] and I think we're still figuring some stuff out with the team, and they'll have a better idea. To be honest, I don't know where I'm at [in terms of superlicence points]. I've spent so many years thinking about it and worrying about it that I let other people do it for me. My goal is still to be in Formula One and the goal is to get there as soon as possible with Cadillac, with GM, with TWG, and this is where I want to be. So I am focused on trying to get here as soon as possible."
If Herta were to win a superlicence, it would give Cadillac another option should they choose to change driver amid Valtteri Bottas' ongoing struggle to find race pace. Their other option is Esteban Ocon, who is seeking an F1 seat for 2027 having been axed by Haas.
