F1 legend Andretti praises driver for his courage after a remarkable decision

12:15, 20 Jan

Updated: 13:26, 20 Jan

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Co-author:Kada Sárközi

byLudo van Denderen

Mario Andretti thinks it’s "brave" that IndyCar star Colton Herta is moving to Formula 2, even though the American driver had hoped to jump straight into Formula 1.

From the very first day Andretti targeted to enter the sport with a Formula 1 team bearing that name—something that later materialized with Cadillac—the former world champion wanted to see Colton Herta in the car. That might have happened if the IndyCar driver had held a Super License, which would allow him to compete in Grands Prix.

Andretti praises Herta for his decision

However, Herta has not accumulated enough points for that yet, which he hopes to make happen in Formula 2. The experienced driver will therefore compete there next season, to the surprise of many racing fans.

"I honestly think you could use “brave" because his career is in play here. He's stepping backwards a little bit to go forward," Andretti says in an exclusive interview with GPblog.

The advisor to the Cadillac F1 team continues: "The fact that he was not able to gain enough points in IndyCar to earn the license puts him in a difficult situation. What I really applaud is the fact that he's showing true passion to become a Formula 1 driver by doing what he's doing."

Colton Herta would love to race for Cadillac – Photo: Cadillac

'Herta deserves a chance in F1'

Andretti expects Herta to perform well in the feeder series to earn a spot in F1.

"I think he qualifies very well to be considered on a team. There's so many things that I like about him, that I think is very good for Formula 1 as far as the approach and how he quickly usually comes up with qualifying times."

The 1978 F1 world champion has known Herta for many years and says the American deserves a place in Formula 1. "He's doing everything he needs to do to try to make that happen and you can see the team (Cadillac, ed.) is trying to make the situation possible for him to do that.

“That's another area that's going to be interesting to watch, how he does in Formula 2. There's so many things in play here, there's a lot of anxiety, to wait for the season to get going and see how it unfolds,” Andretti concludes.

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