Cadillac has announced that Colton Herta will drive in four free practice one (FP1) sessions during the 2026 Formula 1 season, starting at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on June 12-14. The 26-year-old American, now Cadillac's test driver after leaving IndyCar, aims to gain experience alongside teammates Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas. This fulfills F1 rules requiring teams to allocate two FP1 sessions to novice drivers.
Herta, who ended a seven-year IndyCar career as runner-up in the 2024 standings, moved to Europe to prepare for Cadillac's F1 debut. He will debut at Barcelona, with the other three sessions to be announced later. The programme supports his test driver role and his current Formula 2 stint with Hitech, where he earned six points in the opening weekend. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team car for the first time,” Herta said. “I am looking forward to working closely with the team in a full grand prix environment and am fully focused on learning from every appearance. I hope I can contribute to the overall race weekend and help the team, Checo and Valtteri as much as possible.” Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon praised Herta as a top talent with an impressive IndyCar resume. “Completing all four of our young driver FP1 sessions is a natural next step in his test driver role, and I look forward to seeing what he can bring in terms of development and focus,” Lowdon said. The team, yet to score points after three rounds, sits ahead of Aston Martin in the standings. Herta's appearances align with F1 regulations mandating two FP1 sessions per team for drivers with two or fewer grand prix starts.