Why Colton Herta cannot shift from IndyCar to F1 in 2026? All you need to know

Andretti Global driver Colton Herta's name has been linked to the Cadillac seat in Formula One for the 2026 season. However, the 2026 move will not be possible, as the IndyCar driver does not have a super license.

It is a no-brainer that any driver who wishes to enter Formula One needs to obtain a super license, and to do so, they need to score 40 or more points over a period of 3 years in their respective series. The 25-year-old entered the 2025 season with 32 points, but the points scored in 2022 will no longer count at the end of this season. In order to be eligible for a super license, Herta will need to score more than 9 points or finish fourth in the Drivers' Championship. During the race held on Sunday at Milwaukee Mile, Herta finished the race in eleventh place.

With one race to go, Colton Herta currently sits in sixth place in the drivers' championship, 74 points behind Christian Lundgaard, who currently stands in fourth place with 426 points. The maximum amount of points he can score during the upcoming race weekend will be 54 points, which will not be sufficient for him to secure a fourth-place finish. However, if Herta finishes the season in sixth, he will accumulate 37 super license points and will likely be able to obtain a super license by 2027.

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Colton Herta speaks about IndyCar's intentional delay

Last month, Colton Herta spoke about his race at the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey. He also spoke about the delay in throwing a caution period during Rinus VeeKay's incident.

During the race, Kyle Kirkwood made contact with Rinus VeeKay, which sent the driver into the runoff area. VeeKay sat under local yellow until race control threw in a late caution period. While in a post-race interview, Herta was asked his thoughts on the delayed caution. He said: (via ASAP Sports)

"Yeah, they should keep it open as long -- they should keep the pits open as long as they can and allow the leaders to pit at every opportunity. I think it's not fair to be one of the faster ones and qualify well and have your day screwed by a yellow. It's happened to everybody in this series. But when you run up at the front more consistently, it burns you more often. It's something that I think is a real plus from INDYCAR. I think it's fair, and I think it should continue to happen."

Colton Herta had qualified for the race in third place and finished the race in third. With one race to go, he is currently looking to finish his season strong.