IndyCar's reigning Toronto king Colton Herta reveals secret behind Andretti Global's superiority at the track

Colton Herta has shared what has made Andretti Global a 'force' in Toronto and street circuits in general in the recent past. IndyCar is currently in Toronto for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, which the 25-year-old dominated last year.

Herta led both practice sessions of IndyCar's three-day race weekend on the streets of Toronto last year, took pole position in qualifying, and converted it into a magnificent victory over teammate Kyle Kirkwood. It was his first win of the 2024 season.

On Friday, when asked what makes Andretti a "force" in Toronto, Herta jokingly replied:

"Can't give away the trade secrets."

He then elaborated on the X-factor behind the team's strengths at the 11-turn, 1.786-mile circuit, saying:

"The biggest answer would be damping and how we go about our race weekend and in the offseason, how we prepare the dampers and the stuff that we find. It's ever-changing. IndyCar is so competitive, so you need to be like that. You always need to be on top. Obviously, all three of us are doing well. So it's not like one driver is outperforming the car. The car's just that good."

Colton Herta has yet to win a race this season. He was in contention for a victory on the streets of St. Petersburg in March, but a botched pit stop by his No. 27 crew threw him into the mid-pack, with Alex Palou eventually winning. His teammate, Kyle Kirkwood, however, won the other two street races in Long Beach and Detroit.

Colton Herta is "confident" of going back-to-back at Toronto

Colton Herta at the NTT INDYCAR Series Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto - Source: Getty

This year, Andretti Global has been even better on street circuits than in 2024. Though Colton Herta isn't having an equally good season, the No. 27 Honda driver is confident of making it two wins in a row in Toronto.

"This has been a really good place for us. Don't think anything has changed too much, looking at some of the street course results we've had this year. So I feel confident," he said about his expectations (via FronstStretch).

Herta was only the 10th-quickest in practice 1 on Friday, just over eight-tenths slower than Kyle Kirkwood, who led the session with a lap time of 1:01.2054. Third Andretti driver, Marcus Ericsson, struggled to find pace on the street circuit and was 21st. Many drivers, including Kirkwood, complained about a severe lack of grip on the circuit.

Colton Herta also jokingly said that he would want the 85-lap race on Sunday to be a "hopefully boring race with me up front". The contention for pole position in IndyCar qualifying on Saturday will likely be between him and Kirkwood.