"I'll piss in your pool": Alexander Rossi jokingly pressurizes Colton Herta to uphold IndyCar drivers' reputation in F2

2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi has hilariously pressurized former IndyCar teammate Colton Herta to uphold the American racing series' image by succeeding in his unusual move to race in F2. Herta will take a step down from IndyCar to join Hitech GP on the F2 grid in 2026 as part of realizing his ultimate F1 dream.

His former Andretti Global teammate, Alexander Rossi, jokingly highlighted on the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast how the 25-year-old needs to perform well in F2 to uphold the reputation of IndyCar drivers. The driver quality in IndyCar versus F1 has been an ongoing debate between motorsport fans on social media, with F1 usually considered to have the better drivers, at least among casual fans.

However, it is tough to compare the two series until overlapping events exist. Colton Herta's move could definitively swing the debate in one direction, depending on his performance in the F1 ladder. Light-heartedly touching upon this, Alexander Rossi said:

"All of our collective internet self-worth given to us by the old faithful on Twitter is dependent on Colton's success. Because I tell you what, every single IndyCar driver is going to get lit up the first bad weekend Colton has, which is bound to happen," the Ed Carpenter Racing driver said.

Rossi also jokingly threatened Colton Herta about the consequences if he failed to ace the F2 challenge.

"If you suck, lose my info. I'll come to Vegas and beat your scrawny. I'll piss in your pool," he added.

Colton Herta is IndyCar's youngest race winner and has won nine races and earned multiple more podiums in the premier American open-wheel racing series. Though he was born in America, he moved to Europe as a teenager to race in the European junior Formula and always dreamt of getting to F1. However, fate had different plans, as he returned to his homeland and joined the IndyCar ladder and eventually made it to the top step with Andretti Global.

Colton Herta absorbs social media criticism about F2 move to make America proud in F1

Colton Herta at the NTT INDYCAR Series Java House Grand Prix of Monterey - Source: Getty

Being in IndyCar, a non-FIA-governed series, Colton Herta struggled to earn an FIA Super Licence to be eligible for an F1 seat. Former Andretti Global owner Michael Andretti wanted to bring Colton Herta to F1 with the Cadillac F1 project, which his business partner Dan Towriss is bringing to fruition.

However, that includes a year or two of racing in F2 so that the 25-year-old, who will also serve as Cadillac F1's test driver, 'earns' an F1 seat by learning the tracks and tires through experience in the junior category.

Earlier this week, Hitech GP announced the signing of Herta. In an interview with RACER posted after the announcement, he highlighted how reactions on social media about his unusual F2 move have been bittersweet. But he remains driven to make America proud on the global stage.

"A lot of people have said a lot of nice things on the internet… Well, a lot of people also said some not-so-nice things, but you've got to take the good with the bad!" Herta said. "But I think it's cool because I really would love to get to Formula 1. And a lot of that's for my country, too. I think people would love to see an American back in Formula 1."

"But the most important thing is we have to be good. We have to be strong. For it to be successful, I have to be fast. So taking these steps is really pivotal and really important," the Cadillac F1 test driver added.

Only two American drivers in F1 history have won championships - Phil Hill and Mario Andretti, who is now the director of Cadillac F1. The last American to race in F1 was Logan Sargeant with Williams, before the team sacked him in mid-2024 after an underwhelming 1.5-year stint.