Whether Colton Herta's future lies in F1 or IndyCar, he's a threat in the present at Daytona
Thrown to the hounds at Rolex 24 media day last Thursday, Colton Herta knew he could no longer ignore the questions.
“It’s very easy for me in the offseason because I just don’t answer my phone and you get here and you have to start talking to people and you can’t really duck out easily,” Herta said.
Herta has made international racing headlines over the last few months after reports of his desire to move from IndyCar to Formula 1. However, in September, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) denied Herta a Super License, rendering him ineligible for the F1 series despite reported interest from Red Bull Racing.
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Super License points are acquired throughout the season but as IndyCar, an American open-wheel series, is not under the jurisdiction of the FIA, fewer points are awarded to its drivers than European feeder series like F2 and F3.
In recent days, reports have surfaced claiming that Herta had explored other ways to overcome those hurdles, including possibly competing in the Formula Regional Americas championship. But, for now at least, Herta’s future seems to be in IndyCar, where he signed a four-year extension with Andretti Autosport in October.
Even put in front of the media on Thursday, Herta remained largely mum on the subject.
“It’s not really that big of a deal, it’s just people talking,” Herta said. “It doesn’t make much difference to me.”
Wherever Herta’s racing future lies, a couple of things are clear in the present: One, he’s among the most talented drivers on the planet. Two, He’s going to be a busy man in Daytona this weekend.
The 22-year-old from Santa Clarita, California, is the only driver in the event’s premier Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) classification who is serving double duty, listed as a driver in both prototype BMW entries for Rahall Letterman Lanigan. It will be Herta’s first venture in the top class at the Rolex 24, but he’s been a part of a class win twice, earning a watch in a GTLM entry in 2019 and last year in an LMP2 ride for DragonSpeed USA.
To be sure, Herta is jumping in with both feet.
“It doesn’t really change too much,” Herta said. “Obviously, I’ll do a little bit in both cars, but in theory they’re both the same car. They may have minor setup changes, but nothing I shouldn’t be able to get adjusted to quite quickly.”
Herta has seemingly adjusted quickly every step of the way thus far. He won in just his third IndyCar start, picking up a victory at the Circuit of the Americas in March of 2019, becoming the youngest driver to ever win in the series just a few days shy of his 19th birthday. Six more wins have followed and his third-place showing in the final points standings in 2021 remains his career best.
He took to Daytona immediately as well with his 2019 class win coming in his first Rolex 24 start.
So, while there are certainly unknowns surrounding the new LMDh cars in the GTP class this week, Herta is accustomed to succeeding quickly. He doesn’t envision that changing, now.
“It’s going to be a lot of unknowns,” Herta admitted. “It’s going to be a true endurance race. I think it’s going to be more about taking care of the car and making sure nothing breaks than about being the outright fastest, which is how the race has gone the last few years in the DPi car (the premier class in recent years).
"It’s going to be a little bit of a different formula, but I’m excited for it. I have two chances because I’ll be driving both cars. So, that’ll be a really cool thing to do. I’m looking forward to it.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Rolex 24: Colton Herta leaves F1, IndyCar talk behind for Daytona
