Confusion over Colton Herta F1 status after strange mix-up

Colton Herta has not yet done enough to secure his FIA superlicence, after Cadillac erroneously claimed he was just one point away before his FP1 outing at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Taking part in the first free practice hour at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was supposed to help the American reach the required threshold of 40 points, which is needed to race in F1.

This is because rookie stand-in drivers for those sessions earn a solitary superlicence point if they complete 100km. Herta therefore needed to complete 24 laps, and racked up 30.

However, it has now been established that a mistake on the IndyCar website incorrectly listed him as finishing sixth in the standings last year, when, in actuality, he finished seventh.

Therefore, he earned two fewer Super Licence points than the six that were originally thought. The FIA has confirmed that Herta remains on 39.

This highlights that Cadillac's maths was wrong when approached last week by RacingNews365, with the team insistent that he was on 39 points and one away heading to Mexico.

In reality, the nine-time IndyCar winner secured one point in 2023, 30 in 2024 when he finished second in the American championship, and four last year.

Those 35, coupled with the four he has earned for first free practice sessions for Cadillac in 2026 — in Barcelona, Austria, the United States, and now Mexico — bring the F2 driver to 39 of 40 required.

The good news for Herta is that he has multiple opportunities to secure the necessary points, with rounds in São Paulo and Las Vegas coming up on the F1 calendar before the schedule turns to either Qatar and Abu Dhabi or Imola.

The 26-year-old is believed to be in contention for Valtteri Bottas' seat alongside Sergio Perez for the 2027 season, despite his underwhelming performances in Formula 2.