Colton Herta hopes to 'make magic happen' after a career-first at Alabama Indy GP qualifying

Colton Herta has continued his impressive qualifying streak in the 2025 season by claiming another top-three starting position during the Alabama GP qualifying. While the 25-year-old has not had great luck on Sundays in the ongoing season, he hopes to change this trend at the Barber Motorsports Park as he revealed his intentions to "make magic happen."

The Andretti driver started the season off with a front row start in St. Petersburg and showcased his prowess whenever he was required to extract single lap pace. He continued the trend of starting on the front row in Long Beach and has now qualified in the top three for the Alabama Grand Prix by making his way into the Fast 6 at the track for the first time in his career.

On the other hand, Colton Herta's magic has not worked during the race day, as he has run into operational problems and other issues. Hoping to end this streak at the Alabama Grand Prix, the 25-year-old said:

"I'm very happy. This is a place where we struggled at in the past. It's the first time I have ever been in the Fast 6 at Barber [Motorsports Park]. I think that it's the only track that I have been to, that's the case. So, we had some ideas in the off-season that we were going to try here. We had a really productive sim day before this, so seemed like everything was working and then we got to the track and it's even better when it all works in reality."

"Super excited to be starting up front again, hopefully we make some magic happen tomorrow."

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Colton Herta is happy with Andretti's work

Colton Herta at the NTT IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey - Source: Getty

Herta has had an average qualifying position of 2.75 this season. While this has been due to his impressive performance behind his racecar, a part of the appreciation also goes to the Andretti squad.

The team often tweaks the setup of the reigning vice-champion's car to help him get in a working window with the machinery underneath him. Reflecting on how the Indianapolis-based squad has worked tirelessly, Colton Herta said (via IndyCar):

"The team really made a statement to roll off the trucks with speed. I do think we have some more left in the tank, but I’m not sure what everybody else has."

On the other hand, Herta qualified less than two-tenths of a second behind the pole laptime. Alex Palou clinched the pole position for the first time in 2025.

The Spaniard dethroned Scott McLaughlin from the provisional pole position at the very end of the session and will aim to claim another victory under his belt. He has already won two races this season and would want to extend his lead in the championship standings to put up a stern title defense.