Colton Herta’s Cadillac F1 hopes hinge on a difficult Formula 2 season

Colton Herta’s bid for a Cadillac F1 seat is under real pressure in his 2026 Formula 2 season. The American driver has openly admitted there is “no hiding” from a disappointing Formula 2 campaign, even as Cadillac F1 continues to back him for a future seat on the grid.

Update, 27 September 2026: after the Baku round Herta is 19th in the Formula 2 standings with 26 points for Hitech. See the full F2 standings 2026.

A Cadillac F1 seat depends on his F2 results

Herta says he is still gaining the experience he needs in Formula 2, despite a lack of results. The Cadillac F1 team’s third driver made the switch from IndyCar to prepare himself for a future F1 seat, using the feeder series to gain knowledge of Pirelli tyres, a number of F1 circuits, and potentially Super Licence points.

Herta has been direct about it: “Obviously the results are disappointing. There’s no hiding from it.” He added that, coming from a background where he has always been able to compete and win, this year has been “a relearning of a lot of emotions.”

Herta has endured a subdued rookie F2 campaign and holds only 15th in the standings after six events, with a best of fifth in the Barcelona Sprint Race. Qualifying has been a particular struggle, with Herta qualifying in the top half of the 22-car field just once so far this season.

The move to F2 was intended to help Herta gain experience of tracks, Pirelli tyres, and other areas that could prepare him for a potential move to Formula 1 with Cadillac, as well as the Super Licence points required for a driver to be F1-eligible. So far, that second goal looks far from certain.

Qualifying has been his weak point

Herta says: “Obviously, as a racing driver, I want to compete for wins, poles, and podiums. We’ve been close, but for the most part, qualifying has been the Achilles’ heel of us at the moment. I think if we can sort that out, our race pace has been much better than our qualifying pace, so that’s kind of goal number one right now. I think if we improve that, we can build on it and hopefully wrap up the end of the season a lot stronger.”

Throughout much of the year, Herta has shown flashes of impressive pace early in race stints before gradually slipping backward as tyre degradation increases. Rather than suggesting a lack of outright speed, it points toward one of the biggest differences between IndyCar and Formula 2.

Tyre management frequently determines race results in F2, making it one of the most difficult skills for drivers arriving from other categories to master. Herta arrived directly from IndyCar, with no time spent in F3 or F4 to ease the transition.

A rival for the Cadillac seat

There is now an unexpected complication. Should Cadillac require a Plan B as Herta continues his Super Licence pursuit, one has emerged. Step forward, Ugo Ugochukwu, a former McLaren junior, aged 19, from New York City, who won the 2026 Formula Regional Oceania Trophy title and is now thriving at the top of the F3 Championship.

Cadillac now has two driver options from its homeland to consider. Herta, of course, but Formula 3 Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu deserves to be mentioned in the Cadillac F1 2027 conversation, as Herta pushes to earn his FIA Super Licence.

In 2024, Ugochukwu became the first American victor of the Macau Grand Prix in 43 years, a result that put him firmly on the radar of F1 team bosses. His trajectory through the junior ranks is clean, structured and impressive. That is exactly the kind of profile that appeals when a team is planning long-term. If you enjoy the junior driver storylines, check out our look at Camara to Haas F1 seat 2027 for another fascinating case study.

Time is short, but the bid is not over

Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss has downplayed the importance of Herta’s outright results. “For Colton it was all about coming here learning tracks, tires, and that’s certainly happening,” Towriss said.

Towriss also pointed to Herta’s work ethic and attitude: “I think everybody has been very impressed with Colton’s work ethic, the way he has come in, just really wanting to learn and soak everything up, there’s been zero entitlement from him.”

Herta currently has 34 Super Licence points earned in IndyCar over the past couple of years, but needs 40. He will earn the remaining points if he can finish the F2 season in eighth or better. That target looks very tough from 17th at the halfway stage.

Herta will combine his Cadillac FP1 duties with F2 racing at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the final round before the summer break. That weekend could be a turning point, and Cadillac fans will be watching very closely. For more on the wider F1 driver market and who might fill future seats, read our piece on why Red Bull is monitoring Bearman as a Verstappen replacement.

The bid is not over. But time, and championship points, are running short. Keep an eye on the full picture by following all the latest on our F1 driver profiles page.