Colton Herta might still somehow be one superlicence point short of a Formula 1 superlicence after a bizarre error, but his latest Cadillac F1 outing was an important audition to replace Valtteri Bottas next year.
๐ The Core Development
An incorrect calculation of his superlicence points (verified at the time by the FIA) means Herta erroneously thought completing 30 laps in his fifth FP1 outing of the season in Mexico would be enough to take him to the 40-point threshold required to finally earn him the superlicence heโs been chasing for years.
โI was literally walking to go do the media stuff [after FP2], that was like the first time I had heard about it,โ Herta said on Friday evening.
๐ Background & Sector Context
โObviously, we were still doing our meetings and whatnot, so I haven't talked to anybody about it. As far as I was concerned, going into the weekend, if I did 100km here, I would have 40 [points].
โSo, I'm not sure what's changed, or why stuff has changed, or if it even has. I have to wait and see. I think a lot of the people that I want to talk to about this are still in the meeting. Maybe I'll have a little bit more clarity this evening.โ
๐ Industry & Real-World Impact
Cadillac has gone beyond the mandated four rookie practice outings and given Herta a fifth session in Mexico to get him an extra point. Cadillac will run him again to get the final point, and had planned to anyway before the bizarre calculation error emerged.
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๐ฎ Strategic Outlook & What Lies Ahead
But his Mexico outing wasnโt a case of Herta simply cruising around to get the mandated 100km of running to get the point. He was given an extensive programme that wasnโt too dissimilar from Perez's, his 2027 team-mate, should he secure Bottasโs race seat.
Hertaโs FP1 starts with an 11-lap stint on the hard tyres with a best lap of 1m22.452s, 1.067s slower than Perezโs on the same tyres.
