Hot on the heels of the announcement of their range of pilots from Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez for 2026, Cadillac revealed that the runner Indycar Colton Heta will fulfill the team’s test role.
The American driver Herta, whose name had been pronounced compared to a seat in Cadillac before the announcement of the Bottas / Perez range came on August 26, was the youngest winner of Indycar in 2019 and won nine victories and 16 poles with his name from his 116 career starts in the series.
Think about the announcement, Herta, 25 years old – son of the former Indycar and runner of Champcar Bryan Herta – said: “It is a dream opportunity, and the one I have worked for a long time. Being part of the entrance to Cadillac F1 at this time, I could not be part.
“My dream has always been to run in Formula 1, and I see this decision as a huge step towards this goal. For the moment, I focus on everything I can at Cadillac F1, helping to build a competitive team. ”
The director of the Cadillac team, Graeme Lowdon,, as for him, added: “Colton is an exceptionally talented runner with a proven speed, racing crafts and maturity far beyond his years.
“The fact that an American pilot joins an American Formula 1 team is an extremely important moment, not only for our team, but for the American motorsport as a whole.
“Colton represents the passion, the ambition and the competitive spirit that define the Cadillac Formula 1 team, and we are proud to make it carry the American flag with us on the world scene.”
Herta has an previous F1 experience, after having tested an McLaren MCL35M from 2021 in Portimao in 2022 – with the CEO of McLaren Racing, Zak Brown, saying at the time: “We are very serious about anyone we put in our Formula 1 car … The first door to pass is: we think that this driver is the world champion.
Meanwhile, this decision will mark a return to European races for Herta, which contributed to the continent of 2015-2016, including time as a teammate of Lando Norris in the MSA 2015 Formula Championship, before returning to the United States.
