F2 boss says Herta underestimated the step from IndyCar as debut season stalls at 19th

Colton Herta’s Formula 2 debut season has fallen well short of expectations, with F2 CEO Bruno Michel acknowledging the 26-year-old American “maybe underestimated the difference” between the European feeder series and IndyCar, where he spent seven years as a frontrunner.

Herta joined Hitech for the 2026 F2 season as part of his broader push toward Formula 1, having secured a test and development role with Cadillac’s new F1 programme. The plan was straightforward: master F2, earn the superlicence points, and position himself for a potential graduation to the world championship. Instead, Herta sits 19th in the drivers’ standings, and his pace has actually deteriorated as the year has gone on — a trend he has publicly struggled to explain, with a series of crashes adding to his difficulties.

“It’s been more difficult than what I thought it was going to be, because Colton is a very strong driver, there’s no doubt about that,” Michel said. “He and we maybe underestimated the difference of working environment that we had compared to IndyCar teams, but I don’t think it has to be settled as an example, and I really hope that he’s going to finish the season on a high.”

Michel pointed specifically to F2’s compressed weekend format as a likely factor. With only a 45-minute free practice session and a 30-minute qualifying round before each race weekend’s two races, drivers have minimal time to find the window on unfamiliar tyres — a stark contrast to the more expansive preparation time available in IndyCar.

“He had some good races as well, he had more difficulties in quali, and maybe also that’s one of the limits that we were having, because in 30 minutes you come up with the right timing, you have two flying laps on sets of tyres on which you have very limited track time,” Michel explained. “So, probably he struggled for that and he suffered from that a bit more than what he expected. Now I really hope, sincerely, that he’s going to finish the season on a high — he deserves it.”

Michel also confirmed that the season’s remaining rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi — which had been under threat due to the conflict in Iran — will not be cancelled, giving Herta at least two more opportunities to salvage some momentum.

As for what comes next, Herta has made clear he has “no interest” in a second F2 season, though he has stopped short of ruling it out entirely if Cadillac decides that is the right path for his development ahead of a potential F1 seat.