Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
The cupboard is a little more bare. The inevitable happened in Miami. It was a messy end in Monza. Proceedings went off without a hitch in Qatar, though a championship battle remains alive into another race weekend. Mixed conditions mixed up the Brazilian Grand Prix. A few performances started well and then fell off. A few rallied. With the World Drivers' Championship already decided, there has been one story carrying over the final races of the Formula One seasons, and it covers a driver working on his eligibility to take a ride in 2027.
Don't Bother, Colton
While Andrea Kimi Antonelli gets to soak in his historic accomplishment and experiences a global guard of honor, the 2026 season is not over for many, and the work continues for the future. It isn't all happening in the races, but the opening free practice sessions have been carrying consequences to a familiar name in these parts. It has been Colton Herta's only way to earn a Super License for next season.
Prior to 2026, it was decided Herta would continue his chase of a Super License in the Formula One ladder system, moving to Formula Two as a Cadillac development driver after spending seven seasons in IndyCar. In IndyCar, Herta fell short of reaching the 40 points necessary to earn a Super License and enter Formula One this season. At the end of 2025, Herta had 35 Super License points, with one being dropped for his 2026 season result, effectively leaving him on 34 points when this year began.
Those final points could be earned in Formula Two. Any finish of eighth or better in the Formula Two championship would reach the threshold for Herta. There is also the provision where one point would be awarded every time a driver completes at least 100 kilometers in a free practice session, barring there are no reprimands to the driver during the session. A driver can earn up to ten Super License points through free practices in a given season.
Free practice has been the only way Herta has earned any points this season.
With two rounds still on the schedule for the Formula Two season, Herta sits 19th in the championship out of 23 drivers with 26 points. He has yet to finish better than fifth in a race. His best feature race finish is sixth. Herta is 64 points away from where he needed to finish to earn the Super License points necessary from his championship finish. There are only 78 points remaining on the table. It is still possible, but it is high unlikely.
However, this past weekend at Interlagos saw Herta participate in his sixth free practice of the season. It was the third consecutive round in which Herta ran a free practice. Based on the regulations, Herta has achieved enough points for a Super License and could be on the grid in 2027. Rumors circle that Cadillac could drop Valtteri Bottas in favor of Herta next season.
Let's be honest though, Herta shouldn't even bother with Formula One.
Herta isn't wasting petrol as Ralf Schumacher put it, but he hasn't earned an opportunity to run in Formula One even with the worst team on the grid. Running for Cadillac isn't even worth it. What is Herta getting out of battling not to retire the car and maybe finish only two laps down to the winner? Is any other team on the grid going to be so impressed with Herta at Cadillac it could lead to an opportunity elsewhere? Is Racing Bulls going to call if Herta ends up pulling out a 13th or will McLaren consider him should it have a falling out with Oscar Piastri if Herta gets one results in 14th and only a lap down?
He has been on this nonsensical chase for the last few seasons, allegedly chasing a dream but having left Europe at the prime time of development, whilst teammate with Lando Norris, who would become world champion, to return to the IndyCar ladder system. Herta unquestionably was competitive in IndyCar, but for most of his time at that level he could not become a dominant force despite early success. His highest moments were flashes and not the norm. Even when it felt like Herta had finally found a breakthrough after the 2024 season, he regressed to his old form in 2025 and had his second winless season in three years.
It would be one thing if Herta had a fraction of Álex Palou's success, maybe only two championships and an Indianapolis 500 victory, and decided he wanted to challenge himself against the best in Formula One. Herta might not have been the best compared to the other three drivers Andretti Global had in its IndyCar lineup this season. It would be another thing if Herta had been competitive this year in Formula Two and maybe cracked the top eight with a handful of podium finishes and a victory. Then maybe you could make an argument he is ready for Formula One. Herta isn't ready, even if it is to run 19th every race.
Moving into a Cadillac seat in 2027 will only hurt Herta's perception even more. It will undoubtedly lead to a greater restriction on Super License points awarded through free practice. There is no result he can achieve in Formula One that will change the writing on the wall. Even if Herta were to beat Sergio Pérez every week and never retire the car nor have an incident on track, he would still be seen on the level on Max Chilton, minus the father running an insurance company.
What should Herta do then in 2027?
IndyCar is already closed off. There are four open seats among the chartered entries, one of them is believed to be Rinus VeeKay's though Juncos Hollinger Racing remains silent about its future, and none of the remaining three are hiring seats. Herta isn't going to fall to Dale Coyne Racing, nor is Cadillac and General Motors going to shuffle Herta to be in the other JHR seat. Running entirely as a test driver with a few sports car outings in IMSA is an inadequate amount of work.
The best option is to run another Formula Two season and possibly improve. If come the end of June it is clear it will not be better or not good enough, arrangements can start to be made to shuffle Herta back to IndyCar within the Andretti Global operation for 2028, and these two years will be viewed as an unremarkable detour in a career. Herta wouldn't be the first driver to have a few odd years on a résumé.
Formula One should not be an option, but if Cadillac has put him in six free practice sessions to get Herta his Super License, it feels likely he will end up in a race seat in 2027. It might not be at the start of the season, but if the car remains the slowest on the grid it wouldn't hurt to rotate drivers at some point and let Herta be dead last at the British Grand Prix rather than Bottas.
Herta is probably good enough to run a Formula One car. Truth be told, there are dozens of drivers outside of Formula One good enough to be on the grid each week. Think about all the skilled drivers out there. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa all won the World Endurance Drivers' Championship in the #8 Toyota this weekend at the FIA World Endurance Championship finale at Monza. All three have Formula One starts, Buemi and Hartley could still be in Formula One today. There were probably another 12-15 drivers in the Hypercar class that could be in Formula One, and the same number of drivers in IndyCar could probably hold there own in a Formula One car.
It isn't a matter of Herta not being capable enough to drive a Formula One car, it is a matter that Herta hasn't done enough to feel he should move into Formula One after this season. Joining the grid in 2027 will not be a springboard to his career. It will be a dead end. It isn't worth it.
Champions From the Weekend
You know about Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa, but did you know...
Jonny Edgar won the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Drivers with a third-place finish at Monza in the #33 TF Sport Corvette with Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating.
Kyle Larson clinched the NASCAR Cup Series championship with a fourth-place finish in the first stage of the Homestead race.
Justin Allgaier clinched the NASCAR Grand National Series championship with a seventh-place finish in Homestead.
Kaden Honeycutt clinched the NASCAR Truck Series championship with a victory at Homestead, his fifth victory of the season.
The #100 Stanley Team Kunimitsu Honda of Naoki Yamaoto and Tadasuke Makino clinched the Super GT GT500 championship with a victory in the second race from Motegi.
The #56 Kondo Racing Nissan of João Paulo de Oliveira and Iori Kimura clinched the Super GT GT300 championship with finishes of 14th and fourth at Motegi.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about a few winners and a handful of champions, but did you know...
Lando Norris won the Brazilian Grand Prix, his third victory of the season.
Marco Bezzecchi won MotoGP's Qatar Grand Prix, his sixth victory of the sesaon. Marc Márquez won the sprint race. Daniel Holgado won the Moto2 race, his second victory of the season. David Almansa won in Moto3, his fourth victory of the season.
The #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Sébastien Bourdais won the 6 Hours of Monza. The #92 Manthey Racing Porsche of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Yasser Shahin won in LMGT3.
Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR Cup Series race from Homestead, his fourth victory of the season. Brandon Jones won the Grand National Series race, his second victory of the season.
The #12 Team Impul Nissan of Kazuki Hiramine and Bertrand Baguette won the first Super GT race from Motegi. The #96 K-tunes Racing Lexus of Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi won in GT300. The #88 JLOC Lamborghini of Takashi Kogure and Daniil Kvyat won the second Motegi race in GT300.
Brodie Kostecki and Matt Payne split the Supercars races from Sandown.
Coming Up This Weekend
The "Asian" Le Mans Series opens with a doubleheader at Circuit Paul Ricard.
