Among the many stars that descended to Miami for the Grand Prix, none were talked as much as Colton Herta. The 22-year-old Indycar driver has been the latest topic of the Formula 1 paddock. With six career victories to his name, he has been making quite the name for himself. Now all set to drive McLaren’s 2021 MCL35M in a testing program in 2022. The expansion of Formula 1 in the US has only one missing piece in the puzzle, and Colton Herta driving in F1 could be the answer.
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Awesome to be hanging out in the @F1 paddock this weekend. Seeing some familiar faces and meeting some new ones. Let’s see what the weekend brings
pic.twitter.com/8J6HAwlszK
— Colton Herta (@ColtonHerta) May 5, 2022
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Ever since he has graced the paddock of Indycar, the talent of Colton Herta has not gone unnoticed. Driving for Harding Steinbrenner Racing IndyCar until its eventual merger with Andretti Autosport, Herta showed his incredible talent.
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“The kid is for real,” said Mario Andretti in an interview with Racer. “I know what I’m talking about, I know when I see something. I said the same thing about Max when I first saw him. I said the same thing about Sebastian Vettel when he won Monza with Toro Rosso and things like that — I’ve been around long enough to see these things and I haven’t been wrong yet!”
So it seems like Andretti already rates him so highly to make an impact at the high level.
Herta opens up on a possible future in Formula 1
Colton Herta too had a few things to say regarding his debut in F1. “It is a serious ambition of mine,” said the Andretti driver in an interview with Tom Clarkson.
“When I am done racing, I wanna be able to say I did and Formula 1 is pretty high on the list for one of those things.”
And for those who followed the developments in 2021, Herta’s boss, Michael Andretti, had come very close to closing a deal with Alfa Romeo but had to back out. Explaining why this had happened, Michael said, “It basically came down to control issues in the final hours of the negotiations. That’s what killed the deal.”
Apr 10, 2022; Long Beach, California, United States; Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian driver Colton Herta (26) of United States during the Grand Prix of Long Beach at Long Beach Street Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
When asked about the test program with McLaren, Colton said, “I can say that I am going in June to Woking for seat fit, and then some simulator stuff. So I’m looking forward to that.”
Even though he couldn’t disclose a date, but did provide an update, nevertheless.
Colton praises Lando very highly
There are fervent rumors that Colton Herta could be replacing Daniel Ricciardo after 2023; should that happen, it wouldn’t be Herta’s first time racing with Lando Norris. Both Lando and Colton raced against each other when they were in British Formula 4 back in 2015; racing for Carlin. When asked, Herta had nothing but praise for his former teammate. Reunited during the Miami Grand Prix, Colton was impressed with Norris.
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Formula One F1 – Miami Grand Prix – Miami International Autodrome, Miami, Florida, U.S. – May 5, 2022 McLaren’s Lando Norris talks to the media ahead of the Miami Grand Prix REUTERS/Brian Snyder
“Lando’s a great team-mate and he’s gone on to do great things,” he said.
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“I was always very good and still am in the fast corners, Lando is very good with the technical bits, you know, getting the speed down to the apex properly and still getting a good exit. And it is cool to see that it is kind of a trend he is good at,” Colton added.
What do you make of Andretti’s comments and Colton Herta’s chances in F1? Let us know in the comments below.
