The designation “title favourite” hardly interests Colton Herta – Why he nevertheless sees himself in a good position and how he rates team-mate Romain Grosjean
It is foolish to make detailed predictions in the run-up to an IndyCar season. The US formula racing series is simply far too balanced for that. But it’s fair to say that Colton Herta should be in the running for the title in his 26 Andretti Honda.
Interviewing Colton Herta is a pleasure, especially because he can’t help but tell the truth. Okay, he won’t spill his guts or reveal everything he’s thinking. But when he gives an answer, he means it honestly.
For example, in January, during the official media days ahead of the 2022 IndyCar season, young Herta inevitably had to put up with questions about Formula 1. After all, he was part of Michael Andretti’s ultimately foiled plan to take over the Alfa Romeo team.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go into Formula 1,” Herta explains and elaborates: “I still want to do many things in my career. But it takes a certain timing, and that’s especially true for Formula 1. Because when you’re 28, unfortunately you don’t get into Formula 1 any more. That’s just the way it is. The time is ripe for me, if I get the opportunity. I would have to think about it, but I would most likely do it because I want to race in Formula 1 at some point.”
“I’m 21 years old now. I can come back in five years and still drive 15 years in the IndyCar series until I’m 40. Yeah, I definitely want to try [Formula 1] if I get the opportunity. But I’m definitely not disappointed with the IndyCar Series. I like this racing series more than any other in the world and I really enjoy racing here. But yes, there are a lot of things I still want to try in my racing career outside of IndyCar,” said the son of Bryan Herta.
With that said, we understood exactly what Colton Herta was thinking. When I broached the subject again this week and asked him if he was bored of questions about F1, a simple, chuckling “Yes!” was enough. That finally said it all.
As for the part of his answer about trying different things, Herta has kept his word. Many of us, fans and media alike, appreciate versatile drivers. Shortly after the IndyCar Series media days, Herta teamed up with IndyCar rival Patricio O’Ward, his own new Andretti teammate Devlin DeFrancesco and Eric Lux for DragonSpeed to drive the 24 Hours of Daytona and win there in the LMP2 class. It was Herta’s second class win in the prestigious IMSA season opener, having been part of the winning RLL-BMW line-up in the GTLM class in 2019.
The weekend after his recent Daytona triumph, Herta filled in for the injured Travis Pastrana at the Race of Champions (ROC) in Sweden, engaging in thrilling duels in the different cars on snow and ice with, among others, four-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel and finishing second in the Nations Cup with NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson as Team USA.
But Herta is not distracted by these sidelines or his future career prospects. Right now, it’s all about the 2022 IndyCar season for him, and he’s delighted to have completed the winter test at Sebring International Raceway’s short track fastest in just a few days.
“Yeah, that was good because that’s a track where I really struggle in IndyCar,” Herta openly admits. “I’m glad it’s not on the race calendar because it’s a track where I’m not usually that fast. I don’t know what it is, but it’s hard for me to judge the speed for the corner entrances properly there. From that point of view, the result was a nice surprise. “
“But in preparation for a season, I don’t see the tests at Sebring as particularly useful. The street circuits are very different from Sebring because even the slow corners there are even faster. Since we don’t spend much time on the track during the winter break, the test drives are an opportunity for me to get in the car and take a spin! Because then I don’t have to do that at St Pete, where there are walls and you can’t get away easily.”
“It also gives us a chance to change the set-up and see what we like. Nathan and I have gotten really good at breaking everything down and understanding what we need and don’t need on a race weekend. It’s about understanding whether what we’re doing is actually relevant or not,” said the Andretti driver.
If Andretti Autosport has been considered the top team on street circuits for a number of years, Herta and O’Rourke deserve credit for that. Last year, Herta scored a convincing win at St. Petersburg, came from midfield to win at Long Beach and would have won at Nashville had he not been caught on the wrong foot by the timing of the caution periods.
It would surprise no one to see the Gainbridge-sponsored 26 Andretti Honda in Victory Lane after Sunday’s 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. That’s because few of Herta’s experienced rivals have had more testing time than himself over the winter. And the cars haven’t changed much since 2021.
“What we are driving is almost exactly what we had last year, very similar,” says Herta, noting, “In terms of progress with the dampers, our focus has been deliberately not on the street circuits. I would say that we already have the best cars for street circuits 95 per cent of the time. Last year I could have won Detroit, I could have won Nashville, and I won St Pete and Long Beach.”
While real test days are severely limited in the IndyCar Series, there is plenty of simulator work to be done over the winter break – although Herta says that has its limitations: “I still don’t believe 100 per cent in simulations. I think there are still crucial differences between the simulation and the real car. But as far as ovals are concerned, I think HPDs simulator is the best in this area.”
“I think you can get the feel you need there, similar to real life. You can make changes and really feel the difference they make. That then helps us focus on what we actually want to do. I don’t get that feeling on street circuits in the simulator,” the Andretti driver explains, giving an example.
“Last week I drove Barber [Motorsports Park] and Texas [Motor Speedway] for a day because we will do ‘real’ testing on those two tracks before the races. Texas was important because although we didn’t really have any problems there, we weren’t really good there either. We have to improve. I certainly think as a team we are focusing on the right areas, the ones we felt we were missing some speed from. “
With Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe no longer part of the Andretti Autosport line-up for the 2022 IndyCar season, replaced by Romain Grosjean and Devlin DeFrancesco, Herta is aware that there could be a different pecking order within the Andretti team.
Alexander Rossi is a known quantity – a damn good racer, albeit one that Herta is ahead of in qualifying at most tracks. Grosjean, on the other hand, is something of a mystery, although he was very fast in F1, even if his car didn’t allow him to be for the last five years of his career there. In his first IndyCar season, the Frenchman impressed with a pole and three podiums.
At the Sebring test a few days ago, Grosjean was the Andretti driver who came closest to Herta’s best time. He finished the day just 0.17 seconds behind the 21-year-old Californian, despite being unfamiliar with the Andretti Autosport way of working and not having refined and adjusted his car down to the last detail. In fact, Grosjean and his race engineer Olivier Boisson didn’t even change the front wing throughout the day.
It is far from impossible that Herta could face a new, very strong opponent in the same team in the fight for the 2022 IndyCar title. That should be a strength for Andretti Autosport as a whole – not because either driver needs to be pushed to peak performance, but because time can be saved in practice sessions.
After all, if both drivers are actively looking for the same handling of their cars, there is less risk of getting lost in dead ends during set-up. Still, Herta cannot yet say for sure how similar or different his own preferences and those of Grosjean will be.
“I think we are quite similar in terms of driving style,” muses Herta, “but it’s hard to judge at the moment. For some reason there are not many different driving styles to go by at Sebring, except maybe at turn 8. He seemed strong on the brakes and handled the corners well. But I think it’s too early to say what similarities or differences there might be”
“Anyway, I’m really happy that Romain is with us,” said Herta, who is convinced, “He will give really good input and insight and bring a new perspective. And he will be fast for sure. We also know that Alex will be fast. In fact, if Andretti Autosport continues to have an advantage on the street circuits, I think those two drivers will be the ones to beat for me.”
But Herta must also expect strong competition from elsewhere, including Meyer Shank Racing, Andretti Autosport’s technical partner, as well as Team Penske, Arrow McLaren SP and perhaps most of all Chip Ganassi Racing, the employer of current champion Alex Palou.
Palou and Herta combined for six wins last year. For many, they are the title favourites for 2022, because even if Herta’s accident in Nashville was caused by a momentary lapse of concentration while chasing leader Marcus Ericsson, his other slipped-through-the-fingers victories or podium finishes anno 2021 were due to bad luck – be it mechanical problems or simply unfortunate timing.
This young American is clearly mature enough to take the title. And he is also mature enough to shrug off the burden of “title favourite”. “When people say that, or when it’s said in the media or on social media, it’s kind of irrelevant to me,” Herta says, a touch of boredom creeping in.
“But when it comes from Michael or Mario, people who have a lot of experience in racing, it carries a bit more weight. They just know what to look for in a rider and their circumstances when they assess the situation. But otherwise…”, Herta shrugs, “I don’t care. Yes, it’s nice to hear. But it doesn’t change anything for me. It doesn’t change my goals or increase the pressure or whatever. “
Would anything less than the title be a disappointment? “That depends on the reason why we don’t win,” Herta answers. “If we have technical defects, for example by engines blowing up in our faces, and still finish the season third or second overall, then I wouldn’t see that as a total disaster. But if we don’t make it because we’re not fast enough, then I would see that as disappointing. Because the goal must always be to win the title. Anything less than that sucks.”
Herta may not be interested in the title favourite label…. and in truth it may be inaccurate. It’s not like the Palou/Ganassi combination deteriorated over the winter break. But let’s put it this way: it would be a real shock if Herta didn’t race for the title in the season finale at Laguna Seca in September – at the track where he won the two previous IndyCar races.
