Colton Herta on track with McLaren this week
The young American IndyCar driver will experience driving a Formula 1 car during a testing session at the Portimao circuit in Portugal.
In 2022, the regulations require teams to give young drivers the opportunity to participate in two separate free practice sessions during the season. Some teams have already started conducting these kinds of tests, such as Red Bull with Juri Vips and Williams with Nyck de Vries, both during the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
At the beginning of the year, McLaren had indicated that it might allow the young American IndyCar driver, Colton Herta, to participate in an official testing session this season. The British team has not yet announced the date or location of this possible session, but it is already making a Formula 1 car available to the 22-year-old driver.
In order for Herta to gain experience behind the wheel of an F1 car, McLaren is organizing a two-day testing session at the Portimao circuit in Portugal at the beginning of this week. Since they cannot have the American try out the current season’s race car, a McLaren MCL35M, the 2021 race car, will take to the track in the Algarve.
In Spielberg, as part of the Austrian Grand Prix, McLaren’s Team Principal, Andreas Seidl, confirmed that the Portimao test could be decisive for the future. We would like to see Colton behind the wheel of one of our Formula 1 cars during free practice sessions this season. With these two days of testing, he will be able to show what he is capable of with such a car.
Colton Herta needs to show that he is comfortable in an F1 car. The difficulties that Daniel Ricciardo is facing this season could make the current 10th place driver in the IndyCar championship a serious candidate for the Australian driver’s seat next season.
