On the face of it, Friday at Interlagos might hardly have gone any higher for Colton Herta. The Cadillac check driver changed Sergio Perez in first observe for the 2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, accomplished 24 laps and secured the ultimate level he wanted for his FIA tremendous licence. On paper, the American is now eligible to race in Method 1 in 2027.
Former F1 driver turned pundit Ralf Schumacher, nevertheless, is having none of it. Requested whether or not Herta may very well be a candidate for the second Cadillac seat alongside Perez, the Sky Germany pundit replied: “Provided that Easter and Christmas fall on the identical day. Critically, it is pointless. He is simply burning gas, to borrow a phrase from Franz Tost. I do not even know what the purpose of it’s. You would possibly as effectively put another person within the automotive, give some younger drivers an opportunity.”
Schumacher was significantly vital of Herta’s Method 2 marketing campaign: “He was actually that unhealthy in Method 2. So far as I am involved, he hasn’t earned it in any respect. I believe it is nice that they are making an attempt to advertise American drivers. But it surely has to make sense, and he has no place in Method 1.”
As a substitute of Herta, Schumacher would favor to see younger drivers given a possibility. For instance, he factors to McLaren junior Leonardo Fornaroli, who has gained championships in each Method 2 and Method 3, describing him as “an extremely robust driver”. In any other case, nevertheless, discovering the best associate for Perez could be “very, very troublesome”.
Ralf Schumacher
Photograph by: Kym Illman / Getty Pictures
A troublesome season in Method 2
Herta had moved to Method 2 to show himself worthy of a Method 1 seat and accumulate tremendous licence factors. However he at present sits simply nineteenth within the championship standings with 26 factors, having failed to assert a victory or perhaps a podium end to date. Even Method 2 CEO Bruno Michel admits that Herta has struggled greater than anticipated.
The American due to this fact secured his tremendous licence by an alternate route. Along with the factors he earned in IndyCar, the place he gained 9 races and completed runner-up within the 2024 championship, he collected additional factors by his Friday observe appearances for Cadillac.
One in every of Cadillac’s 2027 seats is already confirmed: Perez prolonged his contract till 2029 on the finish of October. Whether or not Valtteri Bottas will stay with the crew, nevertheless, remains to be unclear. A number of different names have been talked about alongside Herta, with George Russell, for instance, placing Mercedes expertise Frederik Vesti ahead as a candidate.
Of their head-to-head comparability throughout Friday’s observe session at Interlagos, Herta was round 9 tenths of a second slower than Bottas.
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