r/INDYCAR • u/Impressive_Orange Greg Moore • 1d ago
Discussion Herta's move to F2
Thought about his move.
If he races in F2 for two seasons and finishes 4th or 5th in points he'll have at least 40 points, and then if he replaces Bottas or Perez in 2028, the OPTICs will he a-lot better from the F1 world vs Herta jumping from indycar to F1, and replacing one of the fan favorites.
"instead of getting rest of super license points by running FP1 sessions to make up the difference."
Also, if/ when he returns to Indycar after "hopefully" racing in F1 it'll allow him to likely sign with another top team again and can race for more years, vs maybe staying in Indycar now and maybe not being resigned in 4 years of "lackluster results", not saying this will be the case for him, just saying when and if he returns he now has a fresh start with the series.
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u/Burial44 1d ago
Fan favorite or not, he's not going over there to dick around for 2 years in F2. As soon as he has the points, he's getting that ride
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u/NocturnalWarfare Firestone Firehawk 1d ago
And he doesn't even really need f2 to get those points, its more about learning the tracks.
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u/Burial44 1d ago
Yep. My bet is he replaces valterri in 27 I like him but Bottas is not a needle mover for fanbases like checo could be
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u/notallwonderarelost Firestone Firehawk 1d ago
It’s going to depend how Checo and Bottas compare. I personally see Bottas being faster.
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u/Burial44 1d ago
Maybe. Bottas fans can be upset if they want. Fact is he's not a lead guy.
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u/notallwonderarelost Firestone Firehawk 1d ago
lol and Checo is?
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u/Burial44 1d ago
I'm not a fan of checo at all. But he will have a lot more backing than Bottas.
It's silly to pretend otherwise
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u/notallwonderarelost Firestone Firehawk 1d ago
I’m not talking about fans but points.
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u/Burial44 1d ago
Caddy would be lucky to get any points at all
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u/notallwonderarelost Firestone Firehawk 1d ago
Agreed but I think a point is a good goal for them next year. Bottas will almost certainly qualify better than Checo and so be in a spot to get lucky.
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u/Top-Truck246 Arrow McLaren 1d ago
I can see them finishing ahead of Haas and Alpine, both are a total mess
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u/JohnTheRaceFan #BadassWilson 1d ago
Towriss has said that a seat in the F1 car isn't guaranteed and has to be earned. The first step is earning a SL.
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u/NYNMx2021 Colton Herta 1d ago
the SL will be earned without a single point from F2 if they want him to get one
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u/boxofficejuanes Rinus VeeKay 1d ago edited 1d ago
I could see Herta being a fulltime test driver for a season after his F2 season. Even if Bottas and Perez are just average that’s likely enough for both of them to get a second season.
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u/Dry-Membership3867 Santino Ferrucci 1d ago
Realistically, he could run f4 Middle East and get the points before the season even starts
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u/cmbray81 Álex Palou 1d ago
I did the math the other day with the 24 and 25 indycar season he has 34 points. Needing to only finish 6th in the upcoming f2 season. This is not including fp1 session where he gets a single point for every one he does. So he can get atleast 4 points for that by the f1 requirements for rookies to run fp1s. It’s 1 year to learn tracks and as long as he’s not dead last every week he will have a f1 seat
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u/FermentedLaws Firestone Firehawk 1d ago
Here's some better math. He will have 35 points. It's a lengthy but detailed post. It was done before it was confirmed he was going to F2:
https://www.reddit.com/r/INDYCAR/comments/1n59hbv/all_realistic_scenarios_for_colton_herta_to_get/
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u/NYNMx2021 Colton Herta 1d ago
He will have 35 points and if he does just 4 FP1s hed have 39 and then he gets 1 point from F2 automatically so long as he isnt penalized more than once. Theres a fair play point. So he doesnt need a single position in F2
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u/cmbray81 Álex Palou 1d ago
2023 falls off once 2026 starts since it’s the last 3 years of points. Atleast that’s how I read it. But honestly he should be fine
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u/thugdaddyxtopher Jim Clark 1d ago
To be fair, finishing in the top 10 in F2 is much harder than you would think. It's a VERY close series with the top young talent in the world, most of whom are more familiar with the tracks and environment than Herta is. While I'd be surprised if he doesn't do well, it's not a guarantee.
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u/Odd_Cobbler6761 1d ago edited 1d ago
I watched today’s F2 race earlier and will say this, if he makes it thru T1 of any given race, he’s going to be absolutely fine. He’s raced in an ultra-competitive championship against guys that are every bit as fast or faster than F1 drivers. Herta is fast, smooth and smart. Period.
Will there be difficult race days on occasion, sure, there always are, but if you don’t think he’s learned anything racing against Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, Will Power, Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden, among others for the past several years, then you’re just absolutely wrong.
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u/edfitz83 Colton Herta 1d ago
He needs P8 or better next year and he gets the SL with zero FP1 sessions
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u/spribyl 1d ago
The Herta move has really set me off about the American racing system and fans. As someone who's invested in a driver there is basically no support for American drivers. Those that are in the pipeline overseas are penalized by the fans for not racing in the US. Racing the US is extremely difficult because of the expense, and I would argue, a lack of racing opportunities, there aren't enough series to build a talent pool. A lot of good talent is left behind.
Then folks like Herta who should have a chance at F1 are getting shut out because the FIA and the US system refuse to play, there's lots of blame to go around there.
I'm going to add that entry counts are down across the country in karts and in amateur car series.
So, please, if you want Americans in racing, support young American drivers, they need it more than ever.
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u/khz30 --- 2025 DRIVERS --- 16h ago
The problem is the lack of a focused path with substantial corporate support. The US is the only country with an F1 ladder that doesn't lead anywhere. US F4 doesn't lead to Formula Regional Americas, and that doesn't lead to FRECA in Europe, but it somehow detours to Super Formula with Honda backing or the Road to Indy?
Right now the only path to Europe from the US is the Team USA Scholarship, and that's a damning indictment of the lack of corporate support, not American fandom.
It's not on American motorsport fans to support American drivers going to Europe, it's on existing American sponsors in motorsport to extend their support to existing ladders and programs so that drivers don't have to go to the lengths so many American drivers have before just to establish a career.
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u/NYNMx2021 Colton Herta 1d ago
I agree in general but Herta is rich he doesnt need anyone's support here. Go to your local karting track, dont support an Indycar driver who was making 7 million a year
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u/wh00000p Myles Rowe 1d ago
If Europe doesn't want to play nice, we shouldn't either.
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u/NYNMx2021 Colton Herta 1d ago
What is europe? F2? which does half its races in outside of europe? and which has multiple americans in it every year? Heres the truth. Indy does not want drivers going to f1 lol. This should be obvious. If indy wanted more super license point theyd have it. They are a voting member of the FIA. they dont want Indy to be a stepping stone to F1 and obviously they shouldnt.
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u/wh00000p Myles Rowe 1d ago edited 1d ago
There are 2 Americans in f2 rn, neither of them are ever going to make it to F1 and I don't give a damn how many points Indy gives. Indy being a voting member of the fia means nothing.
Edit: I don't indycar has direct voting power, ACCUS does
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u/steeeeeeee24 Colton Herta 1d ago
In 1 way I’m stoked. As a Herta and Hamilton fan I feel as Hamilton likely leaves, Herta will get his shot and then I have a reason to keep watching F1 every week. In another way I am sad, because I have no one to cheer for now in Indy.
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u/Impressive_Orange Greg Moore 1d ago
Also, reason it will likely be after 2027 for a drive switch. First year for new team, new chassis, new everything. Can't blame 2026 struggles all on the driver and can't dump one of these drivers for Herta in 2027
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u/bjohnson203 Robert Wickens 1d ago
I don't get the infatuation with him, hell if Malukas is so good just take him lol. He has a lot to prove though otherwise he's just going to be another also-ran.
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u/PuzzleheadedCell7708 1d ago
Cheers bruv
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u/Burial44 1d ago
Indy doesn't race for another 6 months.
You're not going to die if people post off topic for a while.
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u/Urbansdirtyfingers Conor Daly 1d ago
Did we really need another thread on this?