How a phone call from GPblog temporarily cost Herta his super licence

In the run-up to the Grand Prix weekend in Mexico, Cadillac was confident. As soon as Herta had completed at least 100 kilometers in the first free practice session without any problems, he would be eligible to apply for his Super Licence, which is required for drivers to compete in F1.

To achieve a super licence, a driver needs to score 40 points in other categories over a three-year period. The number of points awarded depends on their final position in the various championships. In addition, a driver earns one point each time they take part in an F1 FP1 session and, as mentioned, complete at least 100 kilometers without incident.

When Cadillac announced that Herta would earn his 40th point by taking part in Mexico, GPblog ran the numbers, but it did not add up.

Herta had earned one point in the 2023 IndyCar season, 30 points for the 2024 season and four points for finishing seventh in 2025. Before Mexico, Herta had earned three points in FP1 sessions, giving him 38 in total. Adding Mexico would bring his tally to 39.

GPblog then contacted Cadillac, which pointed to the official IndyCar website. Herta was listed there as having finished sixth in the 2025 standings, which would have earned him two more super licence points. In that case, the American would indeed have reached 40 points in Mexico.

GPblog noticed that Herta was listed in sixth place only on the IndyCar website, while earlier documents and other media listed him in seventh. This website then contacted IndyCar to ask which information was correct.

A few hours later, the answer came: IndyCar had made an error on its own website, the series said. In 2025, Colton Herta had scored 372 points, the same as Felix Rosenqvist. However, the Swede finished ahead because he had finished second more often, in accordance with the competition's tiebreaker rules. As a result, Rosenqvist should have been classified sixth and Herta seventh. IndyCar told GPblog that the error had been corrected on its website.

The FIA had used that same website as its source for calculating super licence points. Earlier in the year, the motorsport governing body, like Cadillac, had concluded that Herta had finished sixth in 2025. Both parties therefore believed that Herta would earn the final point he needed by taking part in the free practice session in Mexico.

After the free practice session in Mexico, Herta’s final results were checked again. Only then did the FIA and Cadillac notice that the American driver was now classified seventh. That meant Herta had earned just 39 points, one short of the requirement.

This is extremely unfortunate for Herta and Cadillac, but they can be a little glad that the error on the IndyCar website came to light at this stage of the season, partly thanks to GPblog. Had it only been discovered after the Formula 1 season, Herta would have had no further opportunity to take part in another free practice session.

He still has that opportunity now. Herta will likely be back in the Cadillac this coming weekend in Brazil to earn the 40th point for his super licence. Once he has it, he will genuinely be a candidate to make his debut as a Grand Prix driver. Cadillac sees him as a potential replacement for Valtteri Bottas.