Cadillac could now give Colton Herta the Kimi Antonelli treatment for his F1 debut in 2027

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Cadillac could now give Colton Herta his Formula 1 debut in 2027 regardless of his lack of results as a rookie in F2 this term, provided that he qualifies for an FIA superlicence.

Herta gave up his leading drive in the IndyCar Series to move to Formula 2 this year with the full backing of Cadillac and part-owners TWG Motorsports. The 2024 IndyCar title runner-up is also spending his 2026 campaign as Cadillac’s F1 test driver during the team’s debut term.

Many in the F1 paddock had expected Herta would be a contender for a Cadillac race seat in 2026. But the 26-year-old failed to secure enough qualifying points to clinch a superlicence, which is a necessity to race in F1, so Cadillac signed Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas instead.

Should Cadillac give Colton Herta a shot next year?

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Cadillac could now give Colton Herta his F1 debut in 2027 if he earns an FIA superlicence

Perez and Bottas were both believed to have agreed multi-year contracts with Cadillac, too. Yet Aston Martin, Alpine and Williams are all interested in signing Perez for 2027, as he may be open to a move to a more competitive team with Cadillac yet to take a point this season.

READ MORE: All to know about General Motors’ Cadillac F1 team from engine to drivers

Cadillac may need one of Perez or Bottas to leave, too, as RACER reports that the American outfit are unlikely to wait to place Herta in Formula 1 if he secures an FIA superlicence. The Californian’s lack of results in F2 also do not put Cadillac off, given he has still learned a lot.

Moving Herta into F1 in 2027 would be more beneficial than a second year in F2, as he can then learn Formula 1 and develop as a driver alongside Cadillac’s car. Herta also only needs to feature in four more FP1 sessions to amass enough points to earn his FIA superlicence.

At present, Herta has 36 of the 40 required superlicence points thanks to having one from his 2023 IndyCar season, 30 from his 2024 IndyCar season and four from his 2025 IndyCar season. Herta also gets an additional point each time he does 100km in an F1 FP1 session.

A top-10 finish in the 2026 Formula 2 standings would also earn at least three superlicence points, rising to 40 points for the top three drivers. But after seven of the 14 rounds, Herta only ranks 18th in the F2 standings with 20 points. Rafael Villagomez in 10th has 30 points.

Herta has also scored points in just four F2 races so far, albeit after he saw a podium finish fall through his fingers in Barcelona in June. After entering the last lap of the Sprint Race in Barcelona in third place, and fighting for second, Herta fell to fifth after going off at Turn 5.

Colton Herta could follow Andrea Kimi Antonelli by debuting in F1 after a mixed F2 season

Cadillac still hasn’t managed to score a point in 2026 😩 How long before they get their first top 10?

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Cadillac would not be the first team to overlook a driver’s difficulties in Formula 2 and offer them an F1 seat, though, should Herta replace Perez or Bottas next year. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have all overlooked a rising star’s struggles in the past few years when Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad graduated from Formula 2 to Formula 1.

PREMA struggled when F2 introduced a new car in 2024 during Antonelli’s rookie season in the category. Ultimately, while Antonelli won F2’s Silverstone Sprint and Hungarian Feature Race, he was P6 in the standings on 113 points as Gabriel Bortoleto won the title on 214.5.

Bearman also drove for PREMA in the 2024 F2 season and he only sealed P12 on 75 points, despite taking Sprint wins in Austria, Italy and Qatar. Lindblad, meanwhile, debuted in F2 in 2025 for Campos and only ranked P6 in the standings after taking Sprint Race wins in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi plus a Feature Race win in Barcelona before moving up to F1 in 2026.

Now, if Herta gets a superlicence, Cadillac may give him the same treatment that Mercedes gave Antonelli when he replaced Lewis Hamilton in 2025, Ferrari offered Bearman when he joined Haas in 2025 and Red Bull gave Lindblad with his F1 debut with Racing Bulls in 2026.