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Red Bull Racing adviser Helmut Marko has told Zandvoort that a deal is imminent to bring IndyCar driver Colton Herta to the Formula 1 grid in 2023, provided the FIA is willing to make an exception around his great license. So the plan still has a few hiccups. Plus, the Austrian outfit have five Formula 2 juniors, so what makes Herta so special?
Colton Thomas Herta is a 22 year old American pilot and is considered one of the greatest young talents of the moment. In 2018, he participated in his first race in the NTT IndyCar Series, the biggest racing series in the United States. A year later, he made his debut as a full-time driver on the grid. He drove for the Harding Steinbrenner Racing team and scored his first out-of-fire win at the IndyCar Classic at Circuit of the Americas. At the age of eighteen, Herta became the youngest driver to claim a victory in this category. Later that year he won another race. In 2020 Herta continued to drive for the same racing team, but now with the support of Andretti Autosport. At Mid-Ohio he won his third race and with seven top five finishes in 14 laps he finished third in the championship.
Success in IndyCar
The following year, he was logically recognized as one of the contenders for the title. Herta switched to Andretti Autosport. It was a difficult season for the young American due to a combination of bad luck and bad strategies, but despite these setbacks he picked up a total of three wins. At the end of last year there was a lot of speculation that Herta would move to Formula 1 in 2022, but in the end he continued his partnership with Andretti Autosport for another year. As of this writing, he is eighth overall and has added a win to his resume. That brings his tally to an impressive seven wins.
chair dance
Herta is backed by the McLaren Formula 1 team, where he has a Formula 1 contract as a test driver until the end of 2024. He completed a three-day test at Portimão in July in the 2021 team car. Now that McLaren have stolen Oscar Piastri, another top talent, ahead of Alpine, the team doesn’t seem to have a seat available at the moment. This isn’t necessarily bad news for Herta, as Red Bull Racing have openly expressed their interest in the young American. They would like to see him drive an AlphaTauri in 2023, provided that Pierre Gasly goes to Alpine. In short, Red Bull Racing is ready to let Gasly (who has been released from Red Bull’s training programme) go, if another big talent takes his place.
Super License
However, the plan to bring Herta to Formula 1 still has a number of hurdles, and the stumbling block is surprisingly not in the contractual area. Marko told Zandvoort that the deals with Andretti and McLaren have already been done, but the green light has yet to come from the FIA. Herta does not have a super license, and it is a requirement to be allowed to drive in Formula 1. Drivers are eligible for a super license if they have accumulated 40 license points. These points can be earned in racing classes recognized by the FIA or by completing free practice sessions in Formula 1.
coupling
The catch for Herta, however, is that although the FIA awards points to IndyCar drivers, it’s much lower than in other racing classes. For example, you only get 10 points on your license if you finish fourth in the American racing class, while you get 30 if you finish fourth in Formula 2. You understand that this way it is much more difficult for foreign drivers to compete in the first class than for drivers using the “traditional route”. He is currently eight points behind Herta and, given his eighth place in the league, it looks like he is fishing behind the net. AlphaTauri or Red Bull could let him do free practice, but a maximum of three points per season are awarded for this.
Creative math
However, there is still hope, as Herta’s arrival would not bode well for the FIA itself. Formula 1 is currently more popular than ever in the United States. This is largely due to the Netflix series Drive to Survive, and an American on-grid pilot would be a nice extra. The motorsport body would be ready to think. With a number of creative calculations, Herta could still arrive at the required forty points.
FIA decision
However, it is yet another kick in the sore leg for a number of Formula 1 teams, as a lot of time and money is invested in training Formula 2 and Formula 3 drivers. Marko expects the FIA to have a definitive answer these days will come. If the motorsport body gives the go-ahead, it will suddenly go fast. As the Austrian himself said, all deals are ready to be signed, so press releases from Red Bull, AlphaTauri, Alpine and Andretti will follow in quick succession.
Red Bull Juniors
Why are Red Bull interested in Herta? Yes, he is a big talent, but there are currently five Red Bull juniors in Formula 2. Liam Lawson, Dennis Hauger, Jehan Daruvala, Juri Vips (excluded from the program but will be supported by Red Bull this year) and Ayumu Iwasa all represent the energy drink giant in the upper class. Lawson is probably the greatest talent of these men. He completed free practice for AlphaTauri at Spa and is a reserve driver for the Formula 1 team, but is currently losing to teammate Logan Sargeant and is yet to win a long distance race. None of these drivers come close to Herta in terms of performance.
