{"id":15556,"date":"2022-09-27T16:23:54","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T15:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/formula1news.co.uk\/?p=15556"},"modified":"2022-09-27T16:23:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T15:23:57","slug":"colton-herta-could-still-race-in-formula-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formula1news.co.uk\/colton-herta-could-still-race-in-formula-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Colton Herta could still race in Formula 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chairman of the Circuit of the Americas, Bobby Epstein, believes that the door to Formula 1 has not completely closed on Colton Herta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young American has won four races since he joined IndyCar proper in 2018 with Harding, who have since adopted their Andretti guise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herta has claimed four race wins in as many years, and he finished 10th<\/sup> in the championship in 2022, while performing testing duties for McLaren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was tipped as a potential replacement for Daniel Ricciardo at the British side, but they have instead signed Alpine reserve driver, Oscar Piastri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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READ: Helmut Marko reveals Red Bull failed to poach driver due to \u2018McLaren complications\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Australian gained enough super license points from his Formula 2 exploits last season, but Herta only has 32 of the required 40 points to qualify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another season in the American should do the trick, but in general, IndyCar holds less value than F2 and Formula 3 in the eyes of the FIA, who grant Formula 1 super licenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a bone of contention for many, particularly those in the American series, who feel that their championship is being undermined by the world motorsport governing body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red Bull were scouting Herta as a possible replacement for Pierre Gasly should he leave AlphaTauri for Alpine, but the FIA would not budge when the Austrian side asked them to grant Herta a super license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, there will be no place on the grid for the Andretti driver, but Epstein sees no reason why he cannot fight his way into the paddock in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the final chapter has been written on that story yet,\u201d he told the Race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo I hope we see him in Formula 1 in the future, even though it may not be next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to see him on the grid, especially in a team that\u2019s competitive, that\u2019s equally important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Herta\u2019s team-mates, Alexander Rossi, finished second in the 2015 GP2 series to Stoffel Vandoorne, and he is set to join McLaren\u2019s IndyCar project next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His career path has worked differently to that of Herta, who returned to America after finishing third in the MSA Formula Championship in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been asked like 1,000 times or whatever the question about the American driver,\u201d explained Epstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd nobody has pointed out the difference! It\u2019s a big difference if you come through [the American junior ranks].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause Alexander came through the other direction and wound up in IndyCar, right? And people didn\u2019t notice Rossi there [in F1].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo that would be unique. And that would be really helpful if they came through IndyCar rather than the traditional F1 feeder series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alpine CEO reveals if he\u2019s holding a grudge against McLaren as he sends Oscar #Piastri<\/a> warning https:\/\/t.co\/M8MKpgwnBE<\/a><\/p>— Formula1News.co.uk (@Formula1newsUK) September 26, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>