ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Colton Herta was the center of speculation during the early part of the offseason.
Team owner Michael Andretti came very close to purchasing the majority interest in the Alfa Romeo-Sauber Formula 1 team and Herta was going to be his driver in the Formula 1 World Championship.
Despite Andretti and his partners making a $600 million purchase that would have made them the majority owner, Sauber officials refused to give up control of the team. If the sale had been completed, Sauber would have owned 80 percent of the operation, but wanted full control.
Andretti did what any smart businessman would do and walked away from the deal.
Instead of preparing for his first season in Formula 1, Herta is focused on winning the NTT IndyCar Series championship.
Herta is perhaps one of IndyCar’s brightest stars. The young American driver from Santa Clarita, Calif., is 21 and ran away from the field to win the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg last year.
Herta has the talent and potential to win a lot of races and contend for championships in the highly competitive NTT IndyCar Series. So why would he want to go to a lower-tier Formula 1 team, where a mid-pack finish would be considered a success?
“I think people forget that I’m 21 years old and I can come back in five years and still run 15 years in IndyCar and be 40,” Herta said. “I definitely want to give it a crack if I get the opportunity. But definitely I’m not disappointed at all in IndyCar. I like this series more than any series in the world, and I enjoy racing in a it a lot.
“There are a lot of things that I’d like to try in my racing career outside of IndyCar, also.”
Formula 1 is at the top of that list. Herta has the support of his team owner, Michael Andretti. Also, 1978 Formula 1 World Champion, 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1967 Daytona 500 winner Mario Andretti thinks the world of Herta as a race driver. Mario in particular would like to see Herta in Formula 1.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to do Formula One, and I want to do a lot of stuff in my career,” Herta said. “But it needs certain timing. Formula One is one of those things. If you’re 28, you’re not going to Formula One, unfortunately. That’s just how it works. The time is right for me if I got the opportunity.
“I’d have to have a good think about it, but I most likely would do it because I want to run in Formula One at some point.”
On Jan. 13, Andretti started a SPAC to raise $200 million with the intent to create business outside of his existing racing operation based in Indianapolis.
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) created for this purpose, named Andretti Acquisition Corp., had an initial public offering (IPO) of 20,000,000 units at a price of $10 per unit setting a target of raising $200 million.
For 2022, Formula 1 can wait for Herta. He has his eyes set on the NTT IndyCar Series championship.
“We ended off last year strong and got two wins on two different types of tracks, and got our first street course wins this year, which was also nice,” Herta said. “I’m still looking for that first oval win, that short oval and superspeedway win, but I think we’re getting closer and closer. We had a good run at Gateway this year for that.
“But those superspeedways, I still need a little something there.”
Herta was expected to challenge for both the Indianapolis 500 victory and the IndyCar championship last year. He did not meet those expectations and returns to the cockpit in 2022 fueled with determination.
“Last year was a good year but not really the year that I wanted,” he said. “Fifth in the championship was okay. We really didn’t do well at the 500.
“There’s still that improve off on, and we know what to improve on for next year, so looking forward to kind of implementing that. I think Gateway this year was our race to lose. Unfortunately, with the half-shaft breaking, it took us out of it.
“Without that, I thought that we had really good pace. We were making better fuel mileage than anybody and pulling away. Yeah, it was our race to lose there, and unfortunately, we did that.
“It showed the confidence that I gained on the ovals. I think for a long time that’s kind of where Andretti struggled with short ovals. It’s good to see that the teams made big gains there, as well.”
Herta wants to win a race on an oval this year. He believes that, along with his continued progression and expertise on street and road courses, can help him win the championship.
The fact that he didn’t win the title in 2021 doesn’t bother him, because he hasn’t lost sight that he is closer to the beginning of his career than the end.
“I’m 21, so I think I have plenty of time,” Herta said. “But I do want to win it earlier rather than later.
“I don’t feel the pressure from that aspect. I don’t feel like I need to get it done this year.
“But that’s not to say I don’t want to get it done this year. That’s my goal.”