INDIANAPOLIS — Late last year, Andretti Autosport appeared to be in the closing stages of securing the purchase of the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team, but in the eleventh hour, the deal fell through.
Colton Herta was likely to be tapped as Andretti’s driver in Formula 21 had the deal come to fruition. At IndyCar Content Days in Indianapolis this week, Herta said the deal falling through was disappointing, but at the end of the day, he’s not losing sleep over it.
You know, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to do Formula 1, and I want to do a lot of stuff in my career, but a lot of it’s also — needs certain timing,” Herta said. “Formula 1 is one of those things.”
Herta will once again be in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Autosport in the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season. He was a distant contender for the championship in 2021, finishing fifth in the points despite winning three races.
In regards to his career pursuits outside of IndyCar, Herta mentioned that the clock is ticking for him to try and get an opportunity to compete in Formula 1.
“If you’re 28, you’re not going to Formula 1, unfortunately,” Herta said. “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 1 at some point.”
Herta is 21 now.
He is also quick to clarify that his disappointment in Andretti’s F1 deal falling through does not mean he is upset to be in IndyCar.
“Definitely not disappointed at all in IndyCar,” he said. “I like this series more than any series in the world, and I enjoy racing in it a lot.”
Andretti Autosport had a lackluster year by the team’s standards in 2021 with Herta being the only driver to win races from the team of four full-time cars and finishing fifth in the team standings. The team is looking for a rebound year with an overhaul of its driver lineup.
The team is scaling down to three full-time cars in 2022 with Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta, and adding Formula 1 veteran Romain Grosjean to the No. 28 replacing Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Grosjean ran his rookie year with Dale Coyne Racing in a partnership with Rick Ware Racing, and plans to run both ovals and road/street courses in the upcoming season.
