Andretti IndyCar driver, Colton Herta, believes that the FIA should be taking the American series more seriously, but he will not push back against the motorsport governing body.
Herta became an IndyCar driver in 2018 with Harding after winning three races in Indy Lights, and he has won four races in as many years in the main series with a combination of Harding and Andretti.
The 22-year-old tested for McLaren this year as the British side tried to prepare him for a possible Formula 1 drive in the future, but their driver pool is now full.
Red Bull became another potential option when Alpine showed interest in signing Pierre Gasly from AlphaTauri to replace the departing Fernando Alonso.
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The Frenchman’s signature with the Enstone-based side would be dependent on Red Bull finding someone to replace him though, and Herta was their driver of choice.
However, the American only has 32 of the required 40 points to qualify for a super license.
Those 40 points need to be collected over a three-year period, and in IndyCar, the only way to obtain enough points from one season is to win the title.
Even finishing second or third would require another year, whereas finishing in the top three in Formula 2 guarantees sufficient points.
Red Bull tried to get the FIA to grant an exception for Herta, who finished 10th in the IndyCar Standings in 2022, but the governing body did not budge.
While Herta appreciates that the current parameters stand in his way, he questions the stringency of those parameters.
“I understand the FIA’s position based on the current points structure,” he told de Telegraaf.
“Personally, I think the points rating for IndyCar is too low.”
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Another of Red Bull’s ideas was reportedly to put Herta into some smaller series over the winter so that he could obtain enough points, but he does not want to belittle himself like that just to get an F1 seat that he arguably deserves anyway.
“I had opportunities to earn extra points by driving in other classes, but I’ve been a professional driver here for four years and haven’t even considered that,” added Herta.
AlphaTauri have Gasly under contract until the end of next year, but they are yet to tie their other driver, Yuki Tsunoda, down to a contract beyond the end of this season.