Colton Herta’s dream of making his F1 debut in 2023 at AlphaTauri has been dashed. The youngest winner in IndyCar history didn’t want special treatment from the FIA, nor did he want to earn points in the Feeder Series, which is a race for young drivers starting out.
What stood in the way was the F1 super license. With just eight points short of the F1 entry requirement of 40 points, the FIA had to apply a force majeure clause or migrate to the feeder series in order for Herta to drive for AlphaTauri next season as a replacement for Pierre Gasly in the rice field.
Courtesy of Honda
Colton Herta wins the 2019 IndyCar Round 2 COTA
Herta is not the most successful driver in IndyCar, but in 2019, at the age of 18, he became the youngest driver to win the race, and the following year he was able to clinch 3rd place of the ranking against the best professional in the world. Drivers.
Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said it was “incomprehensible” that Herta, with such a track record, had to prove it fit for F1 through a bureaucratic points system.
Former US F1 driver and 2016 Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi, who has five races for Manor Marussia, also criticized the current points system, while fellow IndyCar driver Graeme Rahal denounced “Formula 1 as an elite sport”.
Regarding the force majeure clause, there was a debate on whether to apply it. In the end, the FIA did not approve this exceptional measure, and Red Bull gave up using Herta because it was no longer possible to obtain a super licence.Get in touch with Nick de Vriesdid.
Colton Herta said in an interview with British Autosport that he “understands the position of the FIA” and revealed he did not want to enter Formula 1 with special treatment.
“I think IndyCar is underrated in terms of superlicense point distribution.”
“But I understand that’s the current points system. I don’t want to be an ‘exception’.”
At the top of the hierarchy created by the FIA, with F1 at the top, is the FIA-F2 Championship, the feeder series.
IndyCar, a non-feeder series, gives the champion 40 points, which is the same as F2, but the points at second and below are only about half or less.
One way to make up for the eight points was to compete in the Formula Asia Regional Championship, which will be held from January to February next year. If you can earn 4th place or higher in the leaderboard, you will complete the 40 point requirement.
However, Herta, which already has an established reputation and experience as a professional driver, did not want to make a lot of money training young drivers.
“I had already been a professional driver for four years, so I didn’t really think about it because it was strange to have to race in the Feeder series,” said Herta.
Herta believes he could join Andretti Global on the F1 stage in the future, although the prospect of a debut for AlphaTauri next season has faded.
“There could be an opportunity for (Michael Andretti) to buy the team in the next few years.”
“Someone may be thinking of selling. If a new engine manufacturer comes on the market and the opportunity to sell arises, it could change the minds of team owners.”
“I think Michael is ready to put me in F1, but there will be time commitments for the offer.”
“If, by the time I’m 26, he doesn’t want me in a Formula 1, that makes sense.”
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