Colton Herta
Herta at the2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Nationality	American
Born	Colton Thomas Herta (2000-03-30)March 30, 2000 (age 25) Santa Clarita, California, United States
Relatives	Bryan Herta (father)
Racing licence	FIA Silver(2018) FIA Gold(2019–2024)[1] FIA Platinum(2025–)[2]
IndyCar Series career
116 races run over 8 years
Best finish	2nd (2024)
First race	2018Grand Prix of Sonoma (Sonoma)
Last race	2025Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix (Nashville)
First win	2019IndyCar Classic (Austin)
Last win	2024Music City Grand Prix (Nashville)
Wins Podiums Poles 9 19 16
Previous series
2017–2018 2016 2016 2015 2014	Indy Lights Euroformula Open BRDC British Formula 3 MSA Formula U.S. F2000
Championship titles
2013	Pacific Formula F1600

Colton Thomas Herta (/ˈhɜːrtə/; born March 30, 2000) is an Americanracing driver who is set to compete in theFIA Formula 2 Championship forHitech TGR with support fromCadillac. Herta competed in theIndyCar Series from2018 to2025.

Herta is the son ofIndyCar andChamp Car driverBryan Herta, and the youngest person ever to win anIndyCar Series race.^[3] He is set to be a test driver for theCadillac Formula One Team whilst competing inFIA Formula 2 for 2026 withHitech Grand Prix.^[4]

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Herta made his competitive karting debut in 2010 at the age of ten, racing karts in the SKUSA and IKF series, although he had been karting since the age of six. He made hissingle-seater racing debut at the age of thirteen, finishing second in the SBF2000 Winter Series.^{[citation needed]}

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In 2014, Herta made his professional racing debut in theCooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, finishing fifteenth in the championship despite missing the opening weekend due to age requirements. In the same year, Herta made his international formula racing debut at theSepang International Circuit in Malaysia with theMeritus-run AsiaCup Series, taking part in one event where he won one race win and three podium finishes. Herta also made a one-off appearance in theGlobal RallyCross Championship Lites, being the youngest driver to compete in the series.^{[citation needed]}

In2015, Herta made his debut in the UK-basedMSA Formula series, as the youngest driver and the only American on a grid that consisted mostly of Britons, and got his first win in the second race atSnetterton Circuit in August, thus helping the United States win the Nations Cup. He went on to collect three more victories throughout the season, finishing third overall.^[5]

For 2016, Herta was planning to move to the newly renamedBRDC British F3 series, but was too young to compete at the opening round.^[6] Wanting to complete a full season, he made the switch to theEuroformula Open Championship, staying withCarlin and finished third in points, with four victories, six podium finishes, and five pole positions. Herta went on to compete in six British F3 events, earning three podium finishes including a victory atBrands Hatch.^{[citation needed]}

In2017, Herta joined forces with the newly formedSteinbrenner Racing to pilot the No. 98 car in theIndy Lights Series.^[7] He started the year strong with a second place finish in the first race atSt. Petersburg street circuit and followed it up with a Sunday victory; Colton's first win in Indy Lights. He got his second victory at the next event atBarber Motorsports Park, the series' four-hundredth race. Herta won Rookie of the Year and finished third in thedrivers championship.^{[citation needed]}

In2018, Herta remained in Indy Lights. He won four races, including all three held atIndianapolis Motor Speedway (both races of theGP of Indianapolis and theFreedom 100 on the speedway). Herta finished second inpoints to his Andretti teammatePatricio O'Ward.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2018, Herta made hisIndyCar Series debut at the season finale inSonoma, driving forHarding Racing.^[8]

For the2019 IndyCar season, Herta signed to drive the No. 88Harding Steinbrenner Racing car. Herta was the first IndyCar Series driver born in the 2000s to start a race. On March 24, 2019, at the age of eighteen, Herta became the youngest-ever winner inIndyCar history by winning theIndyCar Classic atCircuit of the Americas.^[9] He qualified fifth for theIndianapolis 500, but retired after just four laps after a gearbox failure. On June 22, 2019, at the age of nineteen, Herta became the youngest-ever pole-sitter at Road America. He won again atLaguna Seca, and finished seventh in the overall standings, just five points behind Rookie of the YearFelix Rosenqvist.^{[citation needed]}

Herta again drove the No. 88 car for Harding Steinbrenner Racing in 2020, with additional backing fromAndretti Autosport. Herta finished seventh in the opening round of the2020 IndyCar season atTexas Motor Speedway. He finished eighth at the Indianapolis 500. On September 13, 2020, Herta won the second of two races held atMid-Ohio. He scored a runner-up finish at the Indianapolis road course's Saturday race. With seven top-fives in fourteen races, he ranked third in points.^{[citation needed]}

Going into2021, Herta was seen as the strongest challenger in the Andretti stable toScott Dixon for the IndyCar title. Herta would also move from the No. 88 Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Racing car to the No. 26 Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian car with backing from Indianapolis 500 title sponsor Gainbridge. Herta started his season caught up in an accident caused byJosef Newgarden inAlabama but earned his first win of the season atSt. Petersburg, his first win on a street circuit.^[10] He would secure two podium finishes before his second win of the season; a second-place atRoad America and third place at the second round on the IMS Road Course. He was frequently beset by poor strategy, mechanical issues, and driving errors. Most notable of these was at the inaugural round inNashville; Herta would qualify on pole position for the race,^[11] lead most of the race, lost the lead under caution toMarcus Ericsson, and crashed out of the race attempting to take the lead back from Ericsson in the closing laps.^[12] Herta was in place to win the race atGateway but would have to retire the car due to a broken half shaft that happened during a pitstop. Herta would pick up his second win of the season atLaguna Seca, where he led all but one lap of the race to win from pole.^[13] He finished the season off with a come from behind victory onThe Streets of Long Beach when he started fourteenth and worked his way rapidly through the field to take the lead from Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon to win his third race of the season. He ultimately finished the season fifth in the championship standings.^[14]

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After intense speculation that he would be making a move toFormula One, Andretti Autosport and Herta announced that he would be racing in IndyCar in2022, partneringAlexander Rossi,Romain Grosjean, andDevlin DeFrancesco. Herta struggled in the initial rounds of the season, including crashing after losing the lead at Long Beach, but picked up his first win of the season at theGMR Grand Prix. Herta was in place to win the second race at the IMS road course before a mechanical failure would cause him to have to retire the car for the day and his teammate Alexander Rossi would win.^{[citation needed]}

Herta initially signed a multi-year contract to remain withAndretti Autosport,^[15] though this would be later to be extended to 2027.^[16] Herta's 2023 would end with three top-five finishes, including a podium atToronto. He also took back-to-back poles atMid-Ohio andRoad America, where he would also lead the most laps. Road America proved to be the closest Herta would come to a win in 2023, dominating the race before dropping to fifth due to a poor strategy call forcing him to save fuel to reach the finish. The season concluded with Herta tenth in the standings again after a tough second half including two DNFs atNashville Street Circuit and the finale atLaguna Seca.^{[citation needed]}

Herta started the season with five top five finishes in the first five races, including podiums at St. Petersburg and Long Beach. He struggled with bad luck and performance issues after the Indianapolis 500, though did manage to pick up another podium finish at Laguna Seca and his first pole position on an oval at Iowa. Herta finally broke through atToronto, qualifying on pole and winning his first race in two years. At the final race of the season at theNashville Superspeedway, Herta broke through and took his first win on an oval, securing second place toAlex Palou in the2024 IndyCar Series championship standings, his highest points total yet. Herta also became the highest scoring Andretti Autosport driver in the modern IndyCar era sinceRyan Hunter-Reay in 2012.^{[citation needed]}

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Following the season's end, Herta would leave Andretti and the IndyCar series altogether, transferring toFormula 2 while becomingCadillac's test driver inFormula One, withWill Power replacing him after getting released fromTeam Penske.^[17]

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Herta participated in the2019 24 Hours of Daytona in aBMW M8 GTE forRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in theWeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He, along with co-driversConnor De Phillippi,Augusto Farfus andPhilipp Eng, won the race in theGTLM class.^{[citation needed]}

Herta returned toDaytona participate in the2022 edition, partnering fellow IndyCar driversPato O'Ward andDevlin DeFrancesco along with Eric Lux in anLMP2 entry forDragonSpeed.^[18] The quartet won after Herta took the lead in the final eleven minutes of the race.^[19]

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In late 2022, Herta was confirmed as one of the drivers for the newBMW M Hybrid V8 prototype to be fielded by Rahal Letterman Lannigan racing during the2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship.^{[citation needed]}

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In the2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship, Herta drove the No. 40 Acura forWayne Taylor Racing withAndretti Autosport and earned his first overall win in the series at the12 Hours of Sebring.^{[citation needed]}

Alongside hisFormula 2 campaign andFormula 1 duties, Herta will compete part-time in theIMSA SportsCar Championship withCadillac Wayne Taylor Racing.^[20]

With the attempted purchase ofSauber byAndretti Autosport in 2021, Herta was the favorite candidate to joinFormula One withAlfa Romeo for the2022 season. This led to both a seat mold made for him and a test with the simulator at the team's base inHinwil, Switzerland—whereMario Andretti and various other reports claimed he set faster times thanKimi Räikkönen andAntonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo's 2021 lineup.^[21] A preliminary agreement was reached withFerrari to hold a 300 km (186.41 mi) test with Herta to allow him to participate in free practices at theUnited States,Mexico City andSão Paulo Grands Prix. However, negotiations between Andretti and Sauber broke down at the end of 2021, resulting in Herta never participating in the test sessions.^[22]

Herta was later signed byMcLaren in 2022 as a development driver to test theMCL35M–McLaren's2021 car.^[23] He took part in his first test drive from July 11–13 around theAlgarve International Circuit inPortimão.^[24] Later that year,Red Bull began to show interest in having Herta as anAlphaTauri driver in2023.^[25] Herta however, lacked enough points to obtain anFIA Super Licence—necessary to be able to contest in Formula One. Red Bull began efforts to obtain one for Herta, asking theFédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to consider an exception for Herta.^[26] Red Bull then reached an agreement withAlpine for Herta to test their Formula One cars in September at theHungaroring—an event the French team organised to aid effort to choose their 2023 driver—in an effort to earn Herta more super licence points.^[27][28] Alpine would accept on the condition that then AlphaTauri driver,Pierre Gasly, was free to join the French team.^[29] Ultimately, the FIA refused to make an exception for Herta,^[30] forcing Red Bull to abandon its efforts to bring the American driver to Formula One, with Herta not participating in the tests with Alpine.^[31]

In late 2024, Herta became heavily linked to a drive at the newly-formingCadillac Formula One Team after their bid to join Formula One in2026 was accepted.^[32][33]Mario Andretti—a member of the board of directors—stated that one of their two seats would "most likely" go to him, but added that "you have to keep your options open."^[34] Cadillac later announced that their two seats would be filled bySergio Pérez andValtteri Bottas in August 2025 as Herta fell short of the fourth place finish needed to secure a Super License for 2026. The next month, Herta was later announced as Cadillac's test driver for 2026, leaving Andretti's IndyCar outfit to fulfill this role. Cadillac CEODan Towriss also announced that Herta would aim for a seat inFormula 2, in an attempt to obtain enough super license points to be eligible for a spot in Formula One.^[35] Herta would need an outright top-eight finish in Formula 2 to reach the 40 points required for an FIA Super License for 2027, or a top ten finish with free practice sessions. Cadillac andHitech Grand Prix confirmed Herta would join their Formula 2 outfit for the2026 season.^[4] He was then selected as the Cadillac Formula 1 team's test and development driver for the 2026 season.^{[citation needed]}

Outside of racing, Herta is a member of theindiepunk rock band The Zibs, where he plays the drums. He formed the band in 2018 with his high school friends Jon Graber and Chris Broadbent.^[36]

^* Season still in progress.

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

(key)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.^* Season still in progress.

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

• Colton Herta driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• 2000 births
• Living people
• People from Valencia, Santa Clarita, California
• Racing drivers from Santa Clarita, California
• International Kart Federation drivers
• U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers
• Euroformula Open Championship drivers
• British F4 Championship drivers
• BRDC British Formula 3 Championship drivers
• Indy Lights drivers
• IndyCar Series drivers
• 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Carlin racing drivers
• Harding Steinbrenner Racing drivers
• Andretti Autosport drivers
• WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
• Global RallyCross Championship drivers
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers
• DragonSpeed drivers
• BMW M drivers
• Team Meritus drivers
• Algarve Pro Racing drivers
• 21st-century American sportsmen
• FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers
• Hitech Grand Prix drivers
• 12 Hours of Sebring drivers
• Wayne Taylor Racing drivers

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