Peter Lyon
September 4, 2025
The Cadillac Formula 1 Team announced that nine-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner Colton Herta will serve as a test driver as the team prepares to join the 2026 F1 grid.
For Herta, 25, the 2026 season will mark a return to the European racing ranks, as the second-generation racer – the son of IndyCar and ChampCar driver Bryan Herta – made his European racing debut in 2015. Over two years, he secured four victories, six podium finishes and five pole positions in the Euroformula Open Championship and went on to compete in six British F3 events, earning three podium finishes, including a victory at Brands Hatch, before returning to America in 2017.
Coming off his seventh INDYCAR season, Herta has recorded nine wins, 16 pole positions, and led over 1,000 laps in his 116 career starts. He also holds the title of youngest driver to win an INDYCAR SERIES race and pole position, a feat he achieved in 2019 at the Circuit of the Americas – home of the F1 United States Grand Prix. In addition to a successful INDYCAR career, Herta has scored multiple IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship class wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2019 and 2022) and an overall win at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2024.
Transitioning into a new role within TWG Motorsports, Herta is the first Test Driver named by the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, following the announcement last month that experienced 10-time F1 race winner Valtteri Bottas and 6-time winner Sergio “Checo” Perez will form the team’s first-ever race driver line-up during its debut season next year.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Cadillac Formula 1 Team as a Test Driver,” Herta said. “This is a dream opportunity, and one I’ve been working towards for a long time. To be part of Cadillac F1’s entry at such a pivotal time is something I couldn’t pass up. My dream has always been to race in Formula 1, and I see this move as a huge step towards that goal. For now, my focus is on giving everything I can to Cadillac F1, helping build a competitive team.”
“We are delighted to welcome Colton Herta,” said Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal, Cadillac Formula 1 Team. “Colton is an exceptionally talented racer with proven speed, race craft, and maturity well beyond his years. His experience in top-level American motorsport as part of the TWG Motorsport family makes him an ideal fit for this role, and he will bring valuable and fresh insight, perspective, and energy to our team as we continue to build for the future. “
General Motors President Mark Reuss added: “Colton is an accomplished young driver with solid roots in American motorsports who will bring sharp insights and a relentless drive to push performance forward to the team. Colton is the latest addition to our crew of drivers, joining Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, as announced last week. This lineup, supported by our engineering hubs, combines world-class talent, innovation, and determination that will accelerate our progress as Cadillac F1 moves toward Melbourne in March.”
CARLIST THOUGHTS
Paired with the right team principal and lead engineer, and aerodynamicist, Bottas and Perez could do well in the first half of the season and finish in the top 10. And now with Herta as a backup test driver, the Cadillac team is looking stronger by the day.
