Cadillac has introduced that nine-time IndyCar race winner Colton Herta as a check driver because the group prepares to hitch the F1 grid for the 2026 season.
For Herta, 25, the 2026 season will mark a return to the European racing ranks, because the second-generation racer – the son of IndyCar and ChampCar driver Bryan Herta – made his European racing debut in 2015. Over a two-year interval, he secured 4 victories, six podium finishes and 5 pole positions within the Euroformula Open Championship and went on to compete in six British F3 occasions, incomes three podium finishes, together with a victory at Manufacturers Hatch, earlier than returning to America in 2017.
Coming off his seventh IndyCar season, Herta has recorded 9 wins, 16 pole positions, and led over 1,000 laps in his 116 profession begins. He additionally holds the title of youngest driver to win an IndyCar collection race and pole place, a feat he achieved in 2019 on the Circuit of the Americas. Along with a profitable IndyCar profession, Herta has scored a number of IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship class wins on the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2019 and 2022) and an general win on the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2024.
Transitioning into a brand new function inside TWG Motorsports, Herta is the primary check driver named by Cadillac following the announcement final month that Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez will type the group’s line-up throughout its debut season. Bulletins on Herta’s 2026 programme will probably be made sooner or later.
„I am extremely excited to be becoming a member of the Cadillac group as a check driver,“ stated Herta. „This can be a dream alternative, and one I have been working in the direction of for a very long time. To be a part of Cadillac F1’s entry at such a pivotal time is one thing I could not go up.
„My dream has at all times been to race in Method 1, and I see this transfer as an enormous step in the direction of that aim. For now, my focus is on giving every part I can to Cadillac F1, serving to construct a aggressive group.“
„We’re delighted to welcome Colton as a check driver,“ added Graeme Lowdon. „He’s an exceptionally gifted racer with confirmed pace, race craft, and maturity properly past his years. His expertise in top-level American motorsport as a part of the TWG Motorsport household makes him a great match for this function, and he’ll carry helpful and recent perception, perspective, and vitality to our group as we proceed to construct for the long run.
„Having an American driver be part of an American Method 1 group is a vastly vital second, not just for our Staff, however for American motorsport as an entire. Colton represents the fervour, ambition, and aggressive spirit that outline the Cadillac group, and we’re proud to have him carry the American flag with us on the world stage.“
