Cadillac has announced that nine-time IndyCar race winner Colton Herta as a test driver as the team prepares to join the F1 grid for the 2026 season.

For Herta, 25, the 2026 season will mark a return to the European racing ranks, as the second-generation racer - the son of IndyCar and ChampCar driver Bryan Herta - made his European racing debut in 2015. Over a two-year period, he secured four victories, six podium finishes and five pole positions in the Euroformula Open Championship and went on to compete in six British F3 events, earning three podium finishes, including a victory at Brands Hatch, before returning to America in 2017.

Coming off his seventh IndyCar season, Herta has recorded nine wins, 16 pole positions, and led over 1,000 laps in his 116 career starts. He also holds the title of youngest driver to win an IndyCar series race and pole position, a feat he achieved in 2019 at the Circuit of the Americas. In addition to a successful IndyCar career, Herta has scored multiple IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship class wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2019 and 2022) and an overall win at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2024.

Transitioning into a new role within TWG Motorsports, Herta is the first test driver named by Cadillac following the announcement last month that Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez will form the team's line-up during its debut season. Announcements on Herta's 2026 programme will be made in due course.

"I'm incredibly excited to be joining the Cadillac team as a test driver," said Herta. "This is a dream opportunity, and one I've been working towards for a long time. To be part of Cadillac F1's entry at such a pivotal time is something I couldn't pass up.

"My dream has always been to race in Formula 1, and I see this move as a huge step towards that goal. For now, my focus is on giving everything I can to Cadillac F1, helping build a competitive team."

"We are delighted to welcome Colton as a test driver," added Graeme Lowdon. "He is an exceptionally talented racer with proven speed, race craft, and maturity well beyond his years. His experience in top-level American motorsport as part of the TWG Motorsport family makes him an ideal fit for this role, and he will bring valuable and fresh insight, perspective, and energy to our team as we continue to build for the future.

"Having an American driver join an American Formula 1 team is a hugely significant moment, not only for our Team, but for American motorsport as a whole. Colton represents the passion, ambition, and competitive spirit that define the Cadillac team, and we are proud to have him carry the American flag with us on the world stage."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Chester, 17/09/2025 11:17

"@KKK, just how do you know Herta is not good enough? "

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2. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 04/09/2025 0:41

"Good luck to Herta, also, welcome to Formula 1's purgatorio. Rarely does one meet their Beatrice and is guided out to that coveted seat on the grid. But its a clever way appeases corporate and fan optics I suppose, so there's that."

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3. Posted by KKK, 03/09/2025 19:26

"You will never he good enough for f1. Sray in tge US. "

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Herta joins Cadillac as test driver

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