Red Bull F1 adviser Helmut Marko has said IndyCar driver Colton Herta is set to make his F1 debut at AlphaTauri in 2023 if he gets an F1 super licence.
Colton Herta, who races in IndyCar for Andretti Autosport, has been linked to F1 driving for months. This came mainly from the Andretti Group, who have publicly admitted they are looking to enter F1 on their own.
This year, Colton Herta has played a development role with the McLaren F1 team and recently drove the 2021 F1 at the Portimao circuit in private testing.
Colton Herta, who has won seven IndyCar races, currently has 32 of the 40 superlicence points required to race in Formula 1, but is currently under FIA scrutiny.
If the FIA approves the bid, Colton Herta will join Scuderia AlphaTauri on the F1 grid in 2023.
“Amazingly all parties and teams have come to an agreement,” Helmut Marko told SiriusXM’s SpeedCity Broadcasting after the F1 Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.
“First, we need to get a clear answer[de la FIA]. We should have it by Monza…I think Monza.”
Colton Herta, 22, will join AlphaTauri F1 as the successor to Pierre Guthrie, who is expected to transfer to the Alpine F1 team to replace Fernando Alonso who has joined Aston Martin.
If so, Colton Herta would become the first American driver to enter F1 since Alexander Rossi (Herta’s current IndyCar teammate) in 2015.
F1 teams are divided over Colton Herta’s F1 superlicense exemption, but Helmut Marko believes there are good reasons for his request to be approved.
“We have looked at the regulations and spoken to the FIA. There are special regulations where you can choose three years[sur quatre]because of Covid and if a result is out of the driver’s hands, not maximum points, I can give them your points,” said Helmut Marko.
“So it’s not unreasonable. He’s won seven IndyCar races and I think that’s comparable to a Grand Prix, so it would be a shame if he didn’t get a super license.”
Category: F1 / Colton Herta / indy car / Alpha Tauri
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