Colton Herta will race in Formula 2 next year as the American eyes a future seat in Formula 1 with Cadillac.
IndyCar star Herta, 25, has been linked with a switch to F1 for several years and was announced last month as a test driver for American-owned Cadillac, who next year will become F1’s 11th team.
Herta has recorded nine wins over seven IndyCar campaigns, and is the youngest driver to win a race and record a pole position, but will step down to F1’s feeder series in 2026 with the target of obtaining the prerequisite number of superlicence points to race in F1.
The American, who has raced previously in Europe in British F3 as a teenager, will race for highly-rated junior team Hitech TGR in F2.
“I’m incredibly excited to officially be joining F2 for the 2026 Formula 2 season,” said Herta. “This is an amazing opportunity to develop my skills in European racing and to measure myself against some of the best young drivers in the world.
“Racing on the same weekends as Formula 1 will give me first-hand experience of that environment and help me grow as part of the Cadillac F1 family. I’m very grateful to Cadillac and Hitech for their trust and support and I can’t wait to get started.”
The likes of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar have recently stepped up to F1, having raced for Hitech in F2.
Herta will also take part in testing sessions for Cadillac in support of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, the team’s experienced driver line-up for 2026.
“Colton has already shown exceptional talent and professionalism throughout his career,” said Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports and Cadillac F1 Team.
“His move into Formula 2 with Hitech is a natural and important next step in his development towards Formula 1. Competing in F2 will not only strengthen his racecraft in the European environment, but also allow for greater integration with our team as he continues to support us with his testing and simulator duties.
“We are proud of Colton’s commitment to success in European racing, and we look forward to seeing him take on this exciting new challenge with Hitech – a team with a proven history of success in junior categories.”
Next season’s F2 calendar will see the series race at 14 F1 race weekends, starting in Australia in March and ending in Abu Dhabi in December.
