Colton Herta Leaves INDYCAR, Becomes First Test Driver for Cadillac F1 Team

EDDIE KALEGI - STAFF WRITER

Colton Herta zooms around Nashville Superspeedway in his final INDYCAR start with Andretti Global, finishing 11th. (Photo Credit: Casey Shepherd, Motorsports Today, August 31st, 2025)

After more than a year of rumors and speculation, Colton Herta’s move to pursue an eventual spot on the Formula One grid is official. The nine-time NTT INDYCAR Series race winner, who had spent the past half decade in the American open-wheel division with Andretti Global, will head abroad to serve as the first test driver for American-based Formula One newcomer Cadillac.

“This is a dream opportunity, and one I’ve been working towards for a long time,” Herta said in an official statement released by Cadillac. “To be part of Cadillac F1’s entry at such a pivotal time is something I couldn’t pass up.”

Herta scored 64 top tens in 116 starts as part of Andretti’s INDYCAR operation, finishing second to Alex Palou in the 2024 standings. He also became the youngest winner in series history in 2019, crossing the finish line first at Circuit of the Americas at just 18 years-old, a track that ironically also finds itself on the annual Formula One calendar. Herta struggled this past season though, going winless, leading just 24 laps and scoring only five top five finishes en route to a seventh place points finish, three positions behind teammate Kyle Kirkwood.

The second generation driver will take a backseat behind two competitors with a wealth of F1 experience in Cadillac’s camp next spring, as the team previously announced last week that former Grand Prix winners Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will pilot their entries as the eleventh constructor during the 2026 campaign.

It is unknown at this time whether Herta will pursue a full-time seat on the F2 grid to help accumulate superlicense points and supplement his test driver experience. Herta will seek to become just the fifth American driver since 1993 to start a World Championship Grand Prix, attempting to join the company of former boss Michael Andretti, former teammate Alexander Rossi, Scott Speed, and most recently, Logan Sargeant.

Meanwhile, Andretti Global has options as it attempts to retool its driver lineup, with the headlining free agent being two-time series champion Will Power, who departed Team Penske after 17 years with the organization on Tuesday morning.