Cadillac confirms FP1 plan for Colton Herta in 2026 F1 season

Cadillac has confirmed Colton Herta’s free practice programme for the 2026 Formula 1 campaign with the ex-IndyCar star contesting four FP1 sessions this season.

The 26-year-old will make his F1 weekend debut at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on 12-14 June, with his other three appearances to be confirmed at a later date.

This comes amid a year of change for Herta, who ended a seven-season stint in IndyCar to move to Europe and become Cadillac’s test driver for the American outfit’s debut F1 season.

Part of his remit is driving free practice sessions due to a rule that requires F1 racers to skip two FP1 outings during a season for a driver with no more than two grand prix starts to take their place.

“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team car for the first time,” said Herta, who’ll fill in for either Sergio Perez or Valtteri Bottas in Spain.

“I am looking forward to working closely with the team in a full grand prix environment and am fully focused on learning from every appearance.

“I hope I can contribute to the overall race weekend and help the team, Checo and Valtteri as much as possible.”

Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing

Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images

This is all part of Herta’s hunt for an eventual F1 seat, and alongside his test driver role he is racing for Hitech in Formula 2 where he has scored six points after just one race weekend.

“Colton is a top talent, which he has not only proved by building an impressive resume in IndyCar before joining us, but also with a strong start to his Formula 2 season," said Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon of the driver who was runner-up in the 2024 IndyCar standings. 

“Completing all four of our young driver FP1 sessions is a natural next step in his test driver role, and I look forward to seeing what he can bring in terms of development and focus.”

Cadillac is enduring a relatively tough start to life in F1 as it has scored zero points after the opening three rounds, but the silver lining is that it’s above Aston Martin in the championship.