According to Dan Touris, Colton Hertha must prove he is ready to race in Formula 1 through his move to race in Formula 2 alongside his Cadillac F1 Test role.
Cadillac announced Herta as a test driver last week. In addition to that confirmed position, Herta is set to compete in F2 and gain more experience to keep racing, with Towriss saying it will be the 25-year-old shop window looking to win a future F1 race seat.
“This is Formula 1. He needs to show that he is ready to race on this big stage from that perspective,” Touris told the racers. “And I think it’s both what he’s learning and what he’s showing confidence and showing it in the team and management that he’s ready to go.”
Although she hasn’t finalized that Herta has secured a drive in F2 for next year, Towriss says timing was a challenge when the end of the IndyCar season and most of the F2 seats were confirmed.
“You had to work in the back and think a bit from our perspective, and then choose and announce the Formula 1 driver.
“Colton has big shoes to fill IndyCar. There was Willpower. It really can’t happen until the end of the season. These two things have to happen at the same time. We can’t just have an open seat.
“So there was definitely this choreography that wasn’t easy to pull off from this perspective.
Team Principal Graeme Lodon says the Herta news has been informed of recently announced race drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, who understand that Cadillac already has plans for the future.
“Yes, they fully understand,” Lodon confirmed to the racer. “And there is none here or anything like that.
“I know that both Valtteri and Checo have been around for a long time in Formula 1 and there are drivers who want to replace them every year and 20 other drivers on the grid. This doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t mean that your race driver should not do anything else.
“There’s no Given here. There’s nothing pre-determined in this. We said from the start that everything we do is based on merit. And Colton is an American, and that’s a huge plus for our fans as an American team and us.
“It’s kind of a plus plus. But he has a benefit here. And we look at his track record and make sure it’s the case.”
