For Marcus Ericsson, "no doubt, Colton Herta has the talent" to go to F1

Will Colton Herta's future be written in Formula 1 ? The chances are getting bigger and bigger since the acceptance of Cadillac's arrival in Formula 1, for the 2026 season. The American manufacturer, which "took over" Andretti's candidacy, will become the eleventh team on the grid next year and obviously, several names are circulating concerning the potential candidates for the two new seats. Among them, the name of the American driver is perhaps the one placed at the top of the list: moreover, last November, Mario Andretti had also affirmed to NBC that the Californian was "a considered candidate" by Cadillac for 2026.

Colton Herta, who will be 26 in 2026, no longer needs to prove himself in IndyCar : 3rd in the championship in 2020, vice-champion last year, The American is now just one point away from obtaining his Super License which would allow him to drive in Formula 1. A point that can be obtained by competing in a Free Practice session elsewhere. Three years after the saga Alpha Tauri in summer 2022 – when Red Bull had tried to place him at AlphaTauri for the 2023 season in order to replace a Pierre Gasly leaving for Alpine – Colton Herta seems close to reaching the premier class.

Herta is "one of the best teammates I've ever raced against" Ericsson estimates

In any case, his supporters are not lacking in IndyCar. The latest: Marcus Ericsson. The Swede, Colton Herta's teammate at Andretti in IndyCar, praised the young Californian... and the ex-F1 driver knows what he's talking about, he who was teammate of a certain Charles Leclerc in 2018, at Sauber. According to the 500 Indy2022 winner, Colton Herta is a true “raw talent”.

"I think he himself sometimes doesn't know how he can be so fast in certain corner combinations, said Marcus Ericsson on the Speed ​​Street podcast. He just has a great feel for things. I also feel like Colton adapts really well to different situations. Like, the track changes, the conditions are different, the grip on the track goes up or down, he's really good at adapting to different situations and I think that's what makes him really, really good. When he's in his zone, he can do things with a race car that very few people can do. So he's definitely one of the best teammates I've ever raced against."

Still according to Marcus Ericsson, Colton Herta definitely has the level to drive in Formula 1 given his performances in IndyCar. I think there's no doubt about it, he's got the talent for it. We all know that F1 and IndyCar are two very different types of cars to drive, with the tyres, the circuits and everything else, but I have no doubt he could do a very good job there." The question is whether Cadillac will risk hiring an inexperienced F1 driver to launch its new team in the sport, and whether Colton Herta can compete with the best drivers on the planet. Few have succeeded first in IndyCar and then in F1: Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya are certainly exceptions, both having had success in both disciplines.

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