Colton Herta is likely one of the greatest drivers within the American IndyCar sequence. In 2023, he’ll begin racing on the 24 Hours of Daytona in a BMW LMDh. SPEEDWEEK caught up with him in preparation for the IMSA Classic.
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If there’s a “little one prodigy” within the American Indycar Series, it must be Colton Hertha. The son of longtime CART driver Brian Gerta, he turned the primary Indycar winner born within the 2000s and the youngest winner in 2019 when he received simply days earlier than his nineteenth birthday in Austin. Since then, he has been seen by many in Formula 1, however his present Indycar boss, Michael Andretti, has to struggle for a license and should compete towards all of the established groups, an try and safe a place within the AlfaTauri with Red Bull failed as a result of a lack of tremendous license factors.
Herta, now 22, defined in entrance of Bobby Rahal and BMW newcomers on the 24 Hours of Daytona: “It’s arduous to say whether or not I’ll come to Formula 1 or not. I felt like I used to be so shut, I wasn’t. Of course, there will likely be a likelihood, however I can discuss it now. If Michael (Andretti, be aware) can get into his crew, I may be on the shortlist.” And with a smile he added: “But I do not know the way excessive or how low.”
Daytona will not be certainly one of Hertha’s favorites as a result of potential climate fluctuations. In the IndyCar circus, the seven-time race winner sees much less road programs and circuits and extra ovals: “But there are execs and cons for each driver.”
Regarding the brand new job, he says, “The transition from IndyCar to prototype has its ups and downs, however the problem can also be thrilling. You can solely be taught what is sensible for any profession. As a driver, you at all times need greater than what a check program gives. But I really feel in very effectively skilled and secure palms with a crew I do know very effectively. I’m prepared.”
For now, Herta is just for Daytona in IMSA, nothing extra is deliberate: “I want to drive extra typically within the prototype, however after all the Indycar occasions take precedence.” With Philip Eng and Augusto Farfus, his present teammates, he received the GT class at Daytona in 2019. The American describes Eng as “a quite simple, very Austrian and really quick man”. He at all times will get the utmost out of the automotive.”
The 32-year-old additionally has reward for the American star, who’s ten years youthful than Salzburg: “He’s a actually nice man. We’ve been at Daytona since January eleventh, and the drivers have been residing collectively in a rented home for constructing an excessive crew. Not solely is Colton some of the proficient guys within the race, he is a very nice man.”