The prime candidate for Andretti’s ‘all-American’ F1 team

Last week Andretti and General Motors announced their intention to enter F1 under the Andretti Cadillac banner, and while their bid still faces substantial opposition and hurdles to get over, they are pushing ahead with plans for the future.

Speaking at a press conference outlining their ambitions, Michael Andretti confirmed his team intend to sign at least one US racer for their ‘all-American’ effort. 

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If Andretti’s plan does indeed come to fruition, Colton Herta could well get his F1 shot. 

"We definitely have a plan to have an American driver," Andretti said. " I think you all know who is leading the pack on that one.

"Colton we have under contract right now in IndyCar. We want to make this an all-American effort to make sure we have an American driver in the seat.”

Red Bull were interested in signing Herta to drive for their sister team AlphaTauri alongside Yuki Tsunoda for F1 2023, but the 22-year-old missed out due to a lack of super licence points despite his success in IndyCar. 

With Herta contracted to race for Andretti in IndyCar until 2027, he would be the standout candidate for an F1 drive in 2026, which is the earliest any prospective new teams could join the world championship. 

Despite Herta missing the cut, there will be one American driver on the F1 grid this year in the shape of Logan Sargeant. 

Sargeant will make his debut with Williams, partnering Alex Albon in the team’s 2023 driver line-up, after finishing fourth in the 2022 F2 championship with two victories.  

Herta may have to wait a few more years yet to get his F1 chance, but he would be a logical fit at Andretti-Cadillac.