Herta: If Formula 1 doesn’t happen for me, I’ll be all right in Indycar

While the popular 24-year-old Herta may still dream of competing at the pinnacle of the sport (aka Formula 1), he spent the first of two IndyCar media days this week explaining that he’s focusing solely on a successful 2025 IndyCar season, not whether he could move to Europe.

Californian native Herta told reporters: “I’ve kind of been dragged around in this talk for, it feels like half a decade now, and I’ve had to carry it in front of me for a while. So I’m kind of tired of that being the case. I just want to drive at this point and focus on IndyCar this year and focus on winning the championship. If something arises out of that, I’d have to think about it.”

It’s unlikely Herta can quash the talk that quickly or easily, especially now that the FIA has announced it will add an 11th team, Cadillac F1, to the F1 grid starting in 2026. Herta was always the American driver tied to the effort.

Michael Andretti, the long-time IndyCar team owner who carried the banner for an American F1 team, won’t be calling the shots. He stepped away from the bid in September, allowing Andretti Global majority owners Dan Towriss and Mark Walter to run motorsports.

Towriss is the CEO and president of Group 1001 and entered motorsports when his financial savings platform, Gainbridge, joined Andretti’s IndyCar team as a sponsor. Towriss is now a major part of the motorsports scene, with ownership stakes in both Spire Motorsports’ NASCAR team and Wayne Taylor Racing’s sports car team.

Gainbridge just happens to also be the primary sponsor of the No. 26 Honda. Before Herta would be eligible to run in F1, though, he would need an FIA super license, which is based in part on the points drivers accumulate over the previous three seasons.

Would he have enough to qualify after this season? Perhaps Herta replied, “I guess the answer to that is I don’t even know what the math is to get a super license. So if it happens, it happens, and great, I’ll have a decision to make—if I’m still wanted. If it doesn’t happen, then for me, I’m stuck racing in IndyCar. I’ll be all right.”

Winning the IndyCar championship would be more than enough for a super license, and after six full seasons and 99 career starts in IndyCars, Herta could be poised to make that big jump.

He finished last season with six top-five finishes and two wins in the final seven races, showing he could be equally competitive on ovals, streets, and road courses as he surged into second in the final standings. Herta fell 31 points shy of champion Alex Palou, who has won three of the last four titles.

If he had not crashed in Indianapolis and Detroit, or had a tire mishap in Milwaukee, or some bad luck in Iowa by pitting one lap before a crash brought out a yellow flag, Herta reckons he might already own that elusive title.

“I’m not happy. It really sucks to finish second. As nice as it is, for that being my best finish, it really sucks to be that close and not do it," Herta said.

But Palou is ceding nothing. He has already overcome some self-inflicted distractions over contract questions, which team he would eventually land with, and questions about his own F1 hopes. Yet he begins this season chasing a three-peat.

Palou reckoned, “It’s going to take a lot of effort; the competition is really tough." You’re fighting against multiple teams. We’ve had a lot of work on short ovals. It’s going to be fun. We won the last championship with only two wins, so that shows how tough it is.”

And it won’t get any easier with Herta pursuing his first series crown and possibly a chance to drive in F1—even if he’d rather not discuss it. “It’s not a for-sure thing. All my friends and family are still here in the U.S., and I don’t know anybody where I’m going. So, it’s a big, big decision to make if I have to make a decision.”