McLaren star Lando Norris says IndyCar is "one of the toughest series in world" amid Colton Herta moving to F2 to fulfill F1 dream

Colton Herta’s switch from IndyCar to Formula 2 has sparked plenty of debate about whether the Californian is ready to step onto the Formula 1 ladder. But McLaren star Lando Norris stepped in to defend his former teammate.

With Cadillac entering the grid in 2026, Herta has been confirmed as the team’s reserve driver and will run a full F2 campaign to collect the points he needs for a superlicence. The 25-year-old’s move comes with pressure. Cadillac has already signed two proven Grand Prix winners in Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, meaning Herta must impress in the feeder series to prove he belongs.

Questions about his F1 credentials have lingered in the paddock, and Norris has now taken a stand for Herta. Speaking to IndyStar, the McLaren driver said:

“I think he’s probably capable of driving a Formula 1 car and driving it at an incredibly high level. He’s probably better than most drivers that are in the ranks and coming up in F3 or F2, so I don’t think he should need to race in F2, if I was the boss."

"IndyCar is one of the toughest series in the world. I think it’s an incredibly tough car to drive and I’ve driven it myself. But you can tell those things, and the level of those drivers is incredibly high. So I don’t know how many points they get in IndyCar, but I would put them above the level of Formula 2," Norris added.

For Cadillac, Colton Herta is more than just a backup option. Backed by General Motors and led by Graeme Lowdon, it will be F1’s 11th outfit in the 2026 grid. Veterans Perez and Bottas have 527 starts and 16 wins between them. Their strategy is clear: experience in the cockpit, with Herta learning in the wings.

Sergio Perez (C) addresses the media after announcing his return in Mexico City. Source: Getty

This isn’t his first taste of European racing. Colton Herta competed in Britain’s MSA Formula in 2015 as Lando Norris’ teammate, and in 2016 ran in the EuroFormula Series on tracks like Spa, Monza, and Barcelona. That could make the F2 transition smoother as he works to sharpen his skills before any future promotion.

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"This has always been a dream of his": Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss backs Colton Herta’s risky path to Formula 1

Colton Herta of Andretti Global in the NTT INDYCAR Series at The Milwaukee Mile. Source: Getty

Cadillac’s entry has been years in the making, but the decision to place Colton Herta in F2 next season marks a bold step. He has tested F1 machinery before, logging time with McLaren and running simulator programs with Alpine, Red Bull, and Sauber. But 2026 is when the apprenticeship begins in earnest.

Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss told Sky Sports F1:

"For Colton, this has always been a dream of his, to drive in F1, but to do that, this is the path he had to take. He has to take a huge risk, a huge amount of risk, no seat is guaranteed. This is F1, so he wants to learn tracks and tyres and show that respect to European open-wheel racing... The entitlement model from the US hasn’t worked out that well in the past, so we really want to build that body of work, the knowledge that’s necessary, to see if he has what it takes to drive in Formula 1."

The road ahead will not be easy. Earlier IndyCar standouts like Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward have struggled with F1 opportunities despite their success in the US.

For Colton Herta, leaving a comfortable IndyCar seat behind for a European path reflects both ambition and sacrifice. Whether it pays off will depend on how quickly he adapts to the unforgiving world of F2 and how much patience Cadillac shows as they build for the future.