Colton Herta took part in his first official Formula 2 test with Hitech TGR this week. The former IndyCar star was the only American among the 22 drivers on the grid to take part in post-season testing at the Yas Marina circuit, where F2 and F1 concluded their 2025 seasons on Sunday, December 7.
F1 was first in line for its nine-hour post-season testing on Tuesday, December 9, with drivers from all 10 teams testing the Pirelli 2026 tire range. On Wednesday, F2 took to the track for three days of testing until Friday, with two sessions, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, each day.
At the Yas Marina circuit this week, Colton Herta struggled to get used to the Hitech TGR F2 car. The 25-year-old was unable to make the Top 10 in any of the six sessions spread over three days. His best result, a P11 among 22 drivers, came in the morning session of the first day, while his worst result, a P19, came in the afternoon session of the final day.
Here are the former Andretti Global driver’s results and lap times from the three-day F2 test at Yas Marina:
Wednesday December 10
Morning session (11th after 32 laps) – best lap time 1:39.792, almost a second slower than leader Oliver Goethe (1:38.979)
Afternoon session (17th after 51 laps) – best lap time 1:39.416, over 2.2 seconds slower than leader Oliver Goethe (1:37.203)
Thursday December 11
Morning session (14th after 36 laps) – best lap time of 1:38.115, ahead of leader Oliver Goethe (1:37.049)
Afternoon session (18th after 53 laps) – best lap time of 1:42.263, over 4.5 seconds slower than leader Rafael Câmara (1:37.646)
Friday December 12
Morning session (14th after 45 laps) – fastest lap time of 1:37.761, more than half a second slower than leader Alexander Dunne (1:37.153)
Afternoon session (19th after 63 laps) – best lap time of 1:41.672, almost 3.5 seconds slower than leader Oliver Goethe (1:38.274)
It’s important to note that Colton Herta reportedly had different race plans with Hitech TGR compared to his rivals, which could have contributed to his vast loss of lap time during the everyday afternoon sessions. He was faster than teammate Ritomo Miyata in all but one session – the morning session of the third day.
Colton Herta shares his results from his first F2 test with Hitech TGR
For Colton Herta, who will move from IndyCar to F2 in 2026, the Yas Marina qualifying test was his first official test on current-generation machines. The Cadillac F1 test driver tested an F2 car in early November at Monza, but it was an older generation car.
The American driver’s first experience behind the wheel of the F2 car with Pirelli tires (as opposed to IndyCar’s Firestone tires) was not the most comfortable.
“It was all about being comfortable, and I’m still quite far from being very comfortable in the car,” Herta said after the first day of testing. “It’s a good first step, it’s a very important three days for us, it’s important to maximize everything we do here. It’s fun to be here, fun to be in a car in the offseason, and I’m looking forward to the next two days.”
The 2026 F2 season will begin in the first week of March, with the Australian GP taking place from March 6-8.
Edited by Yash Kotak
