Cadillac Formula 1 confirmed today that nine-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner Colton Herta will serve as the team’s first official Test Driver as preparations continue for its entry into the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship.
For Herta, 25, the role marks a return to European motorsport, nearly a decade after his teenage stint racing in the Euroformula Open and British F3. Between 2015 and 2016, the Californian claimed four victories, six podiums, and five poles in Euroformula, before adding three British F3 podiums, including a win at Brands Hatch. He returned to the United States in 2017 and quickly rose to prominence in IndyCar.
Since making his IndyCar debut in 2018, Herta has scored nine race victories, 16 poles, and led more than 1,000 laps across 116 starts. He remains the youngest driver ever to win an IndyCar race and pole, both achieved in 2019 at Circuit of the Americas — also home to the U.S. Grand Prix. His résumé also includes IMSA success, with class wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019 and 2022, and an overall triumph at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2024.
Herta becomes the first American named to Cadillac’s F1 program under TWG Motorsports, joining the project one month after the team announced its inaugural race line-up of experienced Formula 1 veterans Valtteri Bottas and Sergio “Checo” Pérez. His role will focus on simulator development, engineering feedback, and potential testing as the team accelerates its build-up to 2026. Details on Herta’s wider 2026 racing program will be announced later.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Cadillac Formula 1 Team as a Test Driver,” Herta said. “This is a dream opportunity, and one I’ve been working toward for a long time. My dream has always been to race in Formula 1, and I see this move as a huge step toward that goal. For now, my focus is on giving everything I can to Cadillac F1, helping build a competitive team.”
Team Principal Graeme Lowdon called Herta’s signing a landmark moment for both the team and American motorsport.
“Colton is an exceptionally talented racer with proven speed, race craft, and maturity well beyond his years,” Lowdon said. “Having an American driver join an American Formula 1 team is hugely significant. Colton represents the passion, ambition, and competitive spirit that define the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, and we are proud to have him carry the American flag with us on the world stage.”
Cadillac’s entry expands the Formula 1 grid to 11 teams for the first time since 2016, with the organization already ramping up staff and infrastructure ahead of its debut season. By pairing race-winning veterans in Bottas and Pérez with a rising American talent in Herta, the program is signaling both immediate ambition and long-term vision as it prepares to join the sport’s elite.