Herta earns F1 superlicence as Bottas insists Cadillac seat is still his

Colton Herta completed his F1 superlicence requirements during Friday practice at Interlagos, earning the 40th and final point he needed after logging more than 100km in Cadillac’s MAC-26 at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The milestone clears the last formal barrier between the 26-year-old Californian and a race seat in the series.

Cadillac had believed Herta crossed the threshold a week earlier in Mexico, only for a review of his previous IndyCar results to reveal he was still one point short. The team responded by giving him a second FP1 outing in São Paulo, this time in Sergio Perez’s car, to close the gap.

The effort Cadillac has invested in Herta — six Friday practice sessions across the 2026 season — signals serious intent to promote the former IndyCar driver as early as 2027. The American would partner Perez if he earns the call-up, leaving Bottas’s place in the squad in question.

Bottas, however, was unequivocal in his confidence about his future with the team. Speaking on Thursday, the 37-year-old Finn said he had been caught off guard by the volume of speculation surrounding his seat.

“I’ve been quite surprised about the amount of noise on that,” Bottas said. “Because I know what my situation is. And all I’ve heard, the team has been happy with what I’m doing.”

He added that no final decision has been made at board level. “Everything needs to be approved by the board. And I believe that meeting is still yet to happen. I’ve been convinced nothing has changed.”

Bottas has trailed team-mate Perez in the standings this season, though his campaign has been complicated by reliability issues with Cadillac’s debut car. The most serious came in Mexico, where a suspension failure triggered a high-speed accident. The 10-time race winner acknowledged the team faces bigger structural challenges than the driver line-up question.

“I think the people who know, they know,” he said. “I’ve got good support on that side. We have bigger problems to solve than the drivers at the moment.”

Alongside Herta, other candidates have emerged for the seat. Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti is among those who have publicly expressed interest, while several others are reported to have held private discussions with the team. Cadillac has not confirmed a timeline for its 2027 driver announcement.