Colton Herta admits he enjoys driving in the IndyCar Series but doesn’t rule out a future move to Formula 1.
Herta drives for Andretti Autosport in IndyCar and has taken the American racing series by storm. The 21-year-old is entering his fourth season in the sport and has already won 6 races in his career. At the 2019 IndyCar Classic, he became the youngest person ever to win an IndyCar Series race at just 18 years old.
The young American driver has been linked with an F1 move ahead of the 2022 season when talks arose about Michael Andretti (owner of his team at IndyCar) who would complete a takeover of the Alfa Romeo F1 Team. However, the deal did not materialize.
YES YES YES! Win at home in Long Beach! Thank you to my team for everything and have a great cap for this year! #Gainbridge // #PoweredByHonda // #AllAndretti pic.twitter.com/bgIUnaIkwk
— Colton Herta (@ColtonHerta) September 27, 2021
Andretti admitted he wanted things to be right and would have happily brought Herta into F1 as one of his new drivers.
In a pre-season media session, Herta spoke about his F1 dreams in an interview with MotorsportWeek.com. He was asked if he was disappointed at staying in the series after being linked to an F1 seat.
“No. No. You know, I would be lying if I said I don’t want to be in Formula 1. I want to do a lot in my career, but a lot of it also takes timing,” he replied.
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Colton Herta realizes his chances of getting into F1 diminish as he gets older
Herta is one of the most promising young drivers in the world. Still, he recognizes the fact that his chances of getting into Formula 1 will diminish as he gets older.
Nowadays F1 teams prefer drivers who are young and talented so that they can be an asset to the team in the long run. The California native feels ready to join the sport and wants to give it a try before it’s deemed too old.
“Formula 1 is one of those things. Unfortunately, when you’re 28, you don’t go into Formula 1. That’s how it works. The time is ripe for me when I get the opportunity,” Herta continued.
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“I would have to think twice about it, but I would most likely do it because I want to drive in Formula 1 at some point. I think people forget that I’m 21 years old. And the thing that I can’t come back in five years and still be in IndyCar for 15 years and be 40.”
“I definitely want to give F1 a chance if I get the chance. But definitely not disappointed in IndyCar. I like this series more than any other series in the world and I really enjoy racing in it.”
“But there’s just a lot of things I want to try in my racing career outside of IndyCar,” he concluded.
