Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss has handed Colton Herta firm instructions about his F2 season in 2026 as he attempts to land an F1 superlicence.
Herta is trading IndyCar to become the reserve driver for Cadillac in 2026 as it joins the F1 grid, and will be racing in F2 to acquire the points he needs to finally land a superlicence.
The Californian will head into 2026 on 35 points, with 40 required to obtain the licence to be able to compete in F1, with Herta switching to F2, which is more generous in its points allocation than IndyCar.
The top-three finishers in the F2 championship earn 40 points, thus automatically being a superlicence immediately.
Herta has had previous experience of driving on European circuits when he competed in the MSA Formula in 2015, finishing third as Lando Norris won the championship on tracks such as Brands Hatch and Silverstone, whilst in 2016's EuroFormula season, he raced at Spa, Paul Ricard, Silverstone, the Red Bull Ring, Monza, Jerez, and Barcelona.
As he prepares to make the switch, Towriss believes Herta serving his apprenticeship in F2 will end the "entitlement" model of drivers coming from America to Europe.
"Colton has shown a lot of promise for a Formula 1-type car, and he's done a lot more testing and had a lot more sim time than maybe what people know," Towriss told Sky Sports F1.
"He's excelled every single time he's been given an opportunity, and for Colton, this has always been a dream of his to drive in Formula 1, but this is the path he's had to take.
"He's had to take a huge amount of risk; no seat is guaranteed for Colton, this is Formula 1, and so he wants to learn the track and the tyres again and show respect to European open-wheel racing.
"The entitlement model from the US hasn't really worked out that well in the past, so we want to build that body of work and get the knowledge to see if he has what it takes to drive in Formula 1.
"He'll adapt to the tracks very quickly; he's raced on a number of them earlier in his career, but the experience around the tyres is going to be important for him."
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