When Mario and his son Michael Andretti dreamed of fielding an all-American F1 team, their stated goal was to have an American driver as their standard bearer.
“We want to be an American team that wants to be developing American drivers for the future,” Mario Andretti said. “There’s nobody out there that’s doing that.”
Yet the reality of barging their way into the exclusive private members’ club that is Formula One proved harder than the American racing royalty family expected. Despite the FIA approving the team under its strict entrance criteria, FOM refused to countenance the 11th team until at least 2028, and then only if Cadillac delivered an engine.
DOJ Intervention and the Cadillac Rebrand
However, the long arm of the US Justice Department intervened, threatening F1 with prosecution for breach of anti-trust and anti-competitive actions, which may have threatened the sport’s ability to race in the USA. So, with the latest addition to the F1 calendar, Las Vegas, proving a success, a deal was done quickly over the weekend of the 2024 US Grand Prix.
Andretti became Cadillac, and certain individuals from FOM and Andretti had to go, so the team was slated to join the grid in 2026. Yet its ambition to field at least one American driver was to be thwarted with no obvious candidate available.
Finding an American Driver for 2026
As a new team, experienced drivers would prove a benefit in terms of helping the engineers develop in the right direction. With no American having driven in F1 since the 2016 Indy 500 winner, Alexander Rossi, the pickings were thin.
Given the FIA favors F2 as a route for new drivers to enter F1, most of the best of North America’s single-seater IndyCar stars did not qualify for an F1 Super Licence, so Cadillac decided to sponsor the exciting California-born racer, Colton Herta, for a season in F2. Herta was the youngest-ever winner of an IndyCar race for a minnow team back in 2020, before being picked up by Andretti the following year.
Red Bull’s Past Super Licence Stumbling Block
Red Bull had previously tried to recruit Herta for their AlphaTauri team back in 2022, but due to COVID and a reduced field in IndyCar, the number of points awarded by the FIA was smaller than his finishing position in the 2020 North American racing series would normally attract. Despite an appeal, the FIA refused Red Bull’s request for a pro-rata allocation of points, and so Herta was stranded as Red Bull recruited Sergio Pérez.
The Clock Ticking on Super Licence Points
The Californian currently stands on 34 qualifying points and needs 40 to achieve his F1 dream. To do this, he would need to finish in the top 8 drivers in F2 this season, but all is not going well for the Californian and his Hitech team. Herta is currently 16th in the F2 standings and currently will not make the grade for his F1 licence.
He must qualify this season because next year, the bulk of his IndyCar points for finishing second in their championship in 2024 will fall away. Yet despite things looking bleak for the American, Cadillac has the opportunity to hand Herta those six points in another fashion.
FP1 Outings as a Point-Gathering Strategy
Colton took Sergio Pérez’s seat in Barcelona for an FP1 session which earned him one more point. A driver sitting in for the regular pilot in F1 must deliver 100 km in an FP1 session to earn that extra Super Licence point. For this weekend in Hungary, Herta will again be one of Cadillac’s drivers in FP1. This time, it will be Valtteri Bottas who sits out the first round of action of the weekend.
Ahead of the on-track action in Budapest, Herta told assembled media:
“It’s very exciting to get another chance in FP1. It’s a good opportunity for my personal experience, but the ultimate goal is, of course, to help the team with its development. It’s been six weeks since I was last in the car, and there’s been a lot of evolution in that time.
“My job is to help the race drivers have the best possible Hungarian Grand Prix – but also provide the feedback that will aid the team in its long-term development aims and give me a better baseline in future sessions.”
American Identity and Team Reputation
The Cadillac-Herta experiment has to succeed for two reasons. Firstly, Cadillac remains committed to becoming a team known for its American heritage — something Haas F1 has never really achieved. In fact, Haas sold out to Russian oligarch sponsors in 2022, changing their livery to reflect that of Russia’s national flag. Fortunately, the team never raced in the livery because all this ended with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — but the reputational damage was done.
The Six-Session Workaround and Final Push
Herta will fulfill his F1 duties also in Budapest, but the real purpose of his outing this weekend will be to add another point in quest of his Super Licence. Should his F2 endeavors continue in the doldrums, Cadillac will be forced to offer the Californian an unprecedented six FP1 practice sessions this season.
This is within the FIA’s regulations, which state a non-F1 driver may complete up to 10 FP1 sessions in any given calendar year. Cadillac originally planned to give their reserve driver four FP1 sessions this season, but with the likelihood he will fail to gain a single point from his position in the F2 standings, the team will have to reconsider its schedule.
Herta could have gained an extra point for not being penalized this year in F2 by the stewards. Yet a safety car protocol he failed to follow put paid to that opportunity. Colton will almost certainly feature in the Cadillac car during the weekend of the USGP, but the team is faced with benching its regular drivers on an unprecedented three other occasions before the end of the year to achieve their goals for their all-American driver.
Would you like to see more TJ13 Formula 1 coverage? Add us to your favourites list on Google to receive trusted F1 news.
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
