Cadillac F1 Names Colton Herta Test Driver for 2026
The Cadillac Formula 1 Team announced that nine-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner Colton Herta will serve as a Test Driver as the team prepares to join the F1 grid for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.
Herta, 25, will return to European racing in 2026. He made his European debut in 2015. Over two years, he secured four victories, six podium finishes and five pole positions in the Euroformula Open Championship. He then competed in six British F3 races and earned three podium finishes, including a victory at Brands Hatch, before returning to America in 2017. He follows in the footsteps of his father, IndyCar and ChampCar driver Bryan Herta.
Herta comes off his seventh INDYCAR season. He has recorded nine wins, 16 pole positions, and led over 1,000 laps across 116 career starts. He also holds the record as the youngest driver to win an INDYCAR SERIES race and claim pole position. He achieved that feat in 2019 at the Circuit of the Americas, which hosts the F1 United States Grand Prix. He has also built a strong endurance racing record. He has scored multiple IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship class wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019 and 2022, and he took an overall win at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2024.
Herta will take on the new role within TWG Motorsports. He becomes the first Test Driver named by the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. The team announced last month that the experienced F1 duo Valtteri Bottas and Sergio “Checo” PerPérezll form the team’s first-ever race driver lineup in its debut season next year. The team will announce Herta’s 2026 racing programme in due course.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Cadillac Formula 1 Team as a Test Driver,” Herta said. “This is a dream opportunity, and one I’ve been working towards for a long time. To be part of Cadillac F1’s entry at such a pivotal time is something I couldn’t pass up. My dream has always been to race in Formula 1, and I see this move as a huge step towards that goal. For now, my focus is on giving everything I can to Cadillac F1, helping build a competitive team.”
“We are delighted to welcome Colton Herta as a Test Driver,” said Graeme Lowdon, Team Principal, Cadillac Formula 1 Team. “Colton is an exceptionally talented racer with proven speed, race craft, and maturity well beyond his years. His experience in top-level American motorsport as part of the TWG Motorsport family makes him an ideal fit for this role, and he will bring valuable and fresh insight, perspective, and energy to our team as we continue to build for the future. “
General Motors President Mark Reuss added, “Colton is an accomplished young driver with solid roots in American motorsports who will bring sharp insights and a relentless drive to push performance forward to the team. Colton is the latest addition to our crew of drivers, joining Valtteri Bottas and Sergio PérPérezs announced last week. This lineup, supported by our engineering hubs, combines world-class talent, innovation, and determination that will accelerate our progress as Cadillac F1 moves toward Melbourne in March.”