Colton Herta

Colton Herta, born on 30 March 2000 in Santa Clarita, California, is the son of former IndyCar and Champ Car driver Bryan Herta. He first sat in a kart at the age of six and began racing in California’s karting series in 2010. In 2013 he won the Pacific Formula F1600 championship before heading to Europe to continue his development: in 2015 he finished third in the British MSA Formula with Carlin, and in 2016 he was third in Euroformula Open.

Back in the United States, he spent two years in Indy Lights with Andretti Steinbrenner, finishing third as Rookie of the Year in 2017 and runner-up behind his team-mate Pato O’Ward in 2018. In March 2019 he made history in only his third IndyCar race: by winning the IndyCar Classic at the Circuit of The Americas, he became the youngest winner in the series’ history at the age of 18.

In 116 IndyCar races for Harding Steinbrenner and Andretti, he collected nine wins and 16 pole positions. His best championship result came in 2024, when he finished second behind Alex Palou. In endurance racing he won the GTLM class at the 2019 Daytona 24 Hours and the LMP2 class in 2022. He came close to a move to Formula 1 several times, most notably in 2022, when Red Bull wanted to bring him to AlphaTauri for 2023. The FIA, however, refused to grant an exemption for his missing super licence points.

In September 2025, Cadillac signed him as test driver for its 2026 debut season. To earn the points he needed for a super licence, Herta left IndyCar and moved to Formula 2 with Hitech, where he has struggled and sat only 19th in the standings in September. For Cadillac he takes part in four Friday practice sessions in 2026, with Austin following Barcelona, Budapest and Monza as his fourth outing and his first Formula 1 appearance on home soil. Away from racing, he plays drums in his band The Zibs.