Colton Herta is closing in on finally earning his F1 superlicence, but he still remains two points away from finally achieving it after his latest FP1 outing.
Herta took over Sergio Perez's Cadillac for his fourth FP1 outing of the year on Friday of the United States Grand Prix, and has now moved to what RacingNews365 has calculated as 38 superlicence points, with 40 required to obtain the document to enable him to potentially race in F1.
However, a Cadillac team spokesman, when asked by RacingNews365, indicated that Herta was on 39 points following the Austin session, but did not answer when asked where this extra point had been added to Herta's tally.
The simplest method for Herta to achieve his superlicence, with the maths to get to the magic 40-point mark, is explained below.
- One point from 10th place in 2023 IndyCar standings
- 30 points from 2nd place in 2024 IndyCar standings
- Four points from 7th place in 2025 IndyCar standings
This brings Herta to 35 superlicence points.
The American can then add three points achieved in the Barcelona, Austria, and United States FP1 sessions he completed as he racked up over 100km in running.
Herta also took over Perez's car in Italy, but he only completed five laps of Monza for 25km of running, and therefore does not earn a 39th point as this was below the required 100km.
He can achieve his superlicence by the end of the year if Cadillac use him in at least two more free practice sessions, one of which is mandatory, as Valtteri Bottas has only missed one FP1 session for Herta thus far, with each regular race driver being required to miss two sessions.
When asked about the possibility of Herta taking over the MAC-26 for more sessions between now and the end of the season to get to the 40-point mark, the same team spokesman added that it would be "remiss to not give him the opportunity to secure his superlicence."
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Herta addresses latest superlicence point situation
After his outing at Austin, Herta spoke of his commitment to still making it to F1 with Cadillac, as soon as possible.
"It is super important to pick up the points when I can," Herta told media, including RacingNews365.
"I hope [I'll be in the car again], and I think we're still figuring some stuff out with the team, and they'll have a better idea.
"To be honest, I don't know where I am at [in terms of superlicence points]. I've spent so many years thinking about it and worrying about it that I let other people do it for me.
"My goal is still to be in Formula 1, and the goal is to get there as soon as possible with Cadillac, with GM, with TWG, and this is where I want to be.
"So I am focused on trying to get here as soon as possible."
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