Herta drives Perez's car in Brazil FP1 to seal final superlicence point for F1 debut push

Colton Herta will drive Sergio Perez’s Cadillac during Friday practice at the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo, completing his sixth FP1 session of the 2025 season in a bid to secure the single FIA superlicence point that stands between him and eligibility to race in Formula 1.

The Californian needs 40 points to satisfy the FIA’s superlicence requirement. Cadillac believed Herta had reached that total after last weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, but it quickly emerged the 26-year-old was still one point short due to confusion over how some of his previous IndyCar results had been counted. A further FP1 appearance, which awards one point, will clear the matter up.

Teams are obliged to run a rookie in only four Friday practice sessions per year, yet Interlagos will be Herta’s sixth such outing — a sign of how seriously Cadillac is treating his development. The squad is weighing whether to retain Valtteri Bottas for a second year alongside Perez in 2026, or hand Herta a race seat for 2027, and keeping his superlicence status current is central to that planning.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the MAC-26 for another FP1 session,” Herta said. “Interlagos is such an iconic, historic track, and driving an F1 car around there is going to be an awesome experience. Every time I’ve stepped into the car this year, from Barcelona to Budapest, COTA and Mexico City, I’ve felt more comfortable and better integrated with the engineering team.”

Herta’s path to the licence has not been straightforward. A breakdown at Monza left him short of the 100km minimum required for that session to count, costing him a point he had expected to bank. His F2 campaign, run in parallel with the FP1 programme, has also been difficult.

Cadillac arrives in Brazil carrying additional concerns after a difficult race in Mexico City, where Bottas suffered a high-speed crash caused by a sudden front-left suspension failure. Team principal Marcin Budkowski confirmed the team has acted on its findings.

“Following our post-race investigations, Valtteri suffered a suspension failure, and we have implemented mitigations going forward,” Budkowski said. “I’m also pleased to see Colton return to the MAC-26 for another FP1 outing, stepping in for Checo. His growth in the car across his sessions has been impressive, and his feedback remains invaluable to our 2027 development programme.”

Herta himself is focused on the practical task at hand. “My goal for Friday morning in Brazil is the same: execute the run plan cleanly, give Checo and the engineers the best possible setup data to start their weekend, and keep building on my progress in the car,” he said.