Thanks to the Andretti-McLaren tie-up and new F1 rules, IndyCar driver Colton Herta will test a 2021 McLaren later this year
That IndyCar youngster Colton Herta is eyeing Formula 1 alongside further success in the US has been known since he was seriously mentioned in connection with Andretti Autosport’s Formula 1 entry, which has not (yet) materialised. Now Herta has the certainty of being allowed to test a Formula 1 car before the end of the year.
Because there is no Formula 1 racing car from Andretti yet, Herta will get the opportunity from McLaren. The Woking-based racing team announced on Friday that Herta will be part of the 2022 testing programme with the 2021 MCL35M. Thanks to fundamentally new technical rules for 2022, teams will be allowed to use their previous year’s car for testing with up-and-coming talent from this year onwards.
“I would like to thank McLaren for the opportunity to do my first laps in a Formula 1 car. This is something that has always been on my wish list as a racing driver,” said Herta, looking forward to a “great opportunity to learn valuable experience in a new form of motorsport. “
Herta’s IndyCar team boss Michael Andretti still harbours the plan to enter Formula 1 with his team. The current plan is to handle the project on his own after the planned takeover of the Sauber and Alfa Romeo teams in autumn 2021 fell through.
Why Herta may now test for McLaren? There has been a connection between Andretti and McLaren for years. In May 2017, for example, Andretti Autosport was the entry team for McLaren’s Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso when he first competed in the Indy 500. And the McLaren/Andretti connection goes beyond formula racing. McLaren boss Zak Brown is involved with Michael Andretti in the successful Walkinshaw Andretti United supercars team in Australia.
And after Brown had already announced plans to give other IndyCar drivers a testing opportunity following the Formula One test for McLaren’s IndyCar driver Patricio O’Ward in December 2021, this is now confirmed with the announcement of the test for Herta.
“Colton has proven his talent in the IndyCar Series. It will be interesting to see how he can adapt to a Formula 1 car,” McLaren’s Formula 1 team boss Andreas Seidl is also looking forward to the test, for which there is currently no date. It is also not yet confirmed whether it will be just one test or whether there will be several tests. According to the regulations, Herta can also collect points for his super licence during tests.
Seidl currently says only this much: “We believe that this test programme will give him valuable experience and at the same time it shows how it is an advantage to extend the test drives with earlier cars in order to test promising drivers for the future”.
Herta, who is currently driving his fourth IndyCar season, made himself the youngest IndyCar race winner ever in March 2019 when he won at Circuit of The Americas in Austin. Since then, he has won five more races and finished third and fifth overall in the standings the past two years.
