An alliance between three teams to obtain Colton Herta’s super license
Formula 1 teams continue to push to obtain Colton Herta's super license. The interested parties are McLaren, Alpine, and Red Bull. All three constructors have interests in this matter and want Herta to race in F1 next year.
McLaren, Alpine, and Red Bull have decided to join forces to obtain Colton Herta’s super license. He does not have the required number of points to obtain it, and the teams are pushing for an exception to be made for him.
Alpine and Red Bull have already reached an agreement for Pierre Gasly to join the French team in 2023. However, this has to be filled by the arrival of Colton Herta at Red Bull, who will drive for AlphaTauri.
Without the arrival of the IndyCar driver at the German manufacturer, Gasly will be stuck and won’t be able to join Alpine, who will have to find a replacement for Alonso.
McLaren is also in the game. With the Piastri case, the team wants to make a good impression on its competitors and has decided to help the various parties. Moreover, the American driver has obtained conditional release from his IndyCar team, Andretti.
But the main obstacle in this alliance remains the FIA. It is the FIA that will give its verdict regarding the issuance of Colton Herta’s super license. The latter has only obtained 32 points out of 40, so he is quite far from the required amount.
To counter this, the 3 manufacturers have planned several tests for Herta who will be accompanied by other drivers such as Nyck de Vries, Nico Hülkenberg, and Jack Doohan. A first session has been scheduled in Hungary with an Alpine 2021. Other tests will be scheduled.
These tests will allow the teams to show that the IndyCar driver knows how to drive an F1 car and has good skills to obtain the super license.
Testing sessions in a McLaren at Barcelona are expected, as well as free practice sessions during the upcoming Grand Prix. The deal could be quickly finalized if Colton Herta performs well in these tests.
