Colton Herta’s potential as a Formula 1 driver is underappreciated, according to one of the senior figures behind Cadillac’s new team.
Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports which runs Cadillac’s F1 team, described how the IndyCar driver impressed them in an earlier F1 simulator test.
“It was something that we were looking at a few years ago when Michael [Andretti] and I were looking to acquire Sauber,” Towriss told Off Track with Hinch and Rossi. “That deal didn’t happen, things kind of fell through at the last minute. But it really kind of started Colton on this journey where he really started to show a lot of promise in Formula 1.”
Towriss and Andretti looked into buying Sauber in 2021, when its team was branded as Alfa Romeo, and its drivers were 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi. “He went over to Switzerland, got on the simulator and within an hour was faster than the two Formula 1 drivers with the team at that time,” said Towriss.
“So he’s built up an actual body of work that not everybody knows about in Formula 1 in terms of some of the tests that he’s done from that standpoint, even to drawing interest from Red Bull later on from there.”
Red Bull attempted to sign Herta to drive for its junior F1 team. However he did not have the necessary 40 superlicence points needed to race in F1 and the FIA refused to grant him an exemption.
Herta is now seeking another route into F1. He has joined Cadillac as a test driver and will race in Formula 2 next year in a bid to score the necessary superlicence points.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“We’ve been fortunate to keep Colton at Andretti in the IndyCar team and now he’s going to pursue that dream in Formula 1,” said Towriss. “So to do that, he’s going to take a pretty big risk.
“He’s leaving IndyCar, he’s not going directly to Formula 1 – this is a test and development driver role – he’s going to be going into F2.
“He’s got to learn tracks, he’s got to learn tyres. Tyres are a big part of that, they’re very different from IndyCar from that standpoint. I just couldn’t be more proud of Colton to be willing to take that risk to pursue his dream.”
Towriss said Herta has “shown very high potential in a Formula 1-type car.” He had his first real-world F1 test in a McLaren in 2022.
“I think he’s very good at high-commitment corners,” said Towriss. “He’s done very well on street and road-type courses. Generally in IndyCar that’s been a specialty of his of just seeing a different way around the track from other people.
“I think Colton also adapts to new information very, very quickly. And his driving style has been adapted to doing a lot of complex things in the car. And I think all of those are going to be skills that are needed in Formula 1.
“He’s historically done very well with tyres, but he’s going to have a new challenge in that as well.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
