Herta to Drive Bottas' Cadillac in Hungary Practice

Colton Herta is getting another Formula 1 chance with Cadillac, as the team confirmed he will drive Valtteri Bottas’ car in Friday’s first practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The run will be Herta’s second F1 practice appearance of the season and comes six weeks after his official grand prix weekend debut in Barcelona, where he replaced Sergio Perez. Herta, Cadillac’s official test, reserve and development driver, also races in Formula 2 for Hitech, and the Hungarian session will mean he has driven both of Cadillac’s cars on grand prix weekends.

Herta said the outing will give him more experience and help Cadillac’s car development and long-term progress. Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon said the team is still working to improve reliability and gather mileage on the MAC-26. The team has yet to score a point after 10 rounds of its first Formula 1 season, with Bottas’ 13th place in China still its best finish. Perez came close to delivering Cadillac’s first point in Monaco before a penalty dropped him to 15th, and Bottas and Perez still each need to sit out one more practice session later in the season to complete the team’s mandatory rookie running.

Herta’s bid for a future Cadillac race seat is tied to his progress in Formula 2, where he has yet to win, stand on the podium or take pole position this season. He has scored five points finishes through eight rounds, with his best result coming in Barcelona, and by mid-to-late July he was around 13th to 17th in the standings with roughly 20 to 26 points. Cadillac’s next decisions on its driver lineup will likely depend in part on whether Herta can produce stronger, more consistent results in the second half of the season.