Colton Herta, son of former IndyCar driver Bryan Herta, is currently the rising star in American motorsports. Last weekend he dominated the IndyCar race in St. Petersburg. The American press is desperate for a home-grown driver in Formula 1 and sees the 21-year-old Herta as a suitable candidate.

Herta himself is open to that as well, but doesn't want to speculate too much. He also has his own demands, though he doesn't want to come across as arrogant. "I would be interested, of course. I think it would be quite unrealistic and almost arrogant to just say, 'Well, I have to end up in a top three team then.' I think you have to work for it," Herta told Racer.com.

Andretti would protect Herta

So he would have no problem joining the American Haas, but then he also wants a chance at promotion through a deal with Ferrari. The bugbear of many a driver who switched from IndyCar to Formula 1 is to go from a winning car to a hopeless back row. Team boss Michael Andretti knows all about that.

"If a team like Ferrari calls him, I'm not going to get in the way of that. But if one of the teams in last or second last place in the championship calls there, I might say, 'Yeah, I'd like to keep you here.' I'd do him a favor by keeping him away from those teams," Andretti said.