Red Bull F1 adviser Helmut Marko has said IndyCar driver Colton Herta is set to make his F1 debut at AlphaTauri in 2023 if he gets an F1 superlicence.
Colton Herta, who races in IndyCar for Andretti Autosport, has been linked to F1 driving for months. This was mainly from the Andretti Group, which has publicly admitted that it is looking to enter F1 on its own.
This year, Colton Herta took a development role with the McLaren F1 team and recently drove the 2021 F1 car at the Portimao circuit in private testing.
Colton Herta, who has won seven IndyCar races, currently has 32 of the 40 superlicence points required to race in Formula 1, but is currently under FIA control. seeks exemption from
If the FIA approves the application, Colton Herta will join Scuderia AlphaTauri on the F1 grid in 2023.
“Amazingly, all parties and teams have come to an agreement,” Helmut Marko told SiriusXM’s SpeedCity Broadcasting after Sunday’s F1 Dutch Grand Prix.
“First of all, we have to get a clear answer[from the FIA]. We should have that by Monza… I think Monza.”
Colton Herta, 22, will join AlphaTauri F1 as the successor to Pierre Guthrie, who is scheduled to transfer to the Alpine F1 team to replace Fernando Alonso who moved to Aston Martin.
In that case, Colton Herta would become the first American driver to enter F1 since Alexander Rossi (Herta’s current IndyCar teammate) in 2015.
F1 teams are divided over Colton Herta’s F1 superlicense exemption, but Helmut Marko believes there are strong reasons for his application to be approved.
“We’ve looked at the regulations and talked to the FIA. There are special regulations where you can choose three years[from four]because of Covid and if one result is out of the driver’s hands, not maximum points, they I can give you points,” said Helmut Marko.
“So it’s not unreasonable. He’s won seven IndyCar races, which I think is comparable to a Grand Prix, so it would be a shame if he didn’t get a super license.”
Category: F1 / Colton Herta / indy car / Alpha Tauri