Colton Herta completed 30 laps for Cadillac in Friday’s Mexican Grand Prix first practice session, his fifth FP1 outing of the season, The Race reports. The outlet describes the run as an audition to replace Valtteri Bottas in 2027. Asked whether he was a realistic contender for the seat, Herta replied, “I hope so. I don't know why I'd be doing this [otherwise].”
The gap to Perez
Herta’s best lap was 1 minute, 21.365 seconds, 0.970 seconds slower than Sergio Perez’s best, according to The Race. Those laps came on medium tyres of different ages: Herta’s were seven laps old, while Perez’s were three laps old. Herta told The Race that Turn 12 had been a particular difficulty on his faster runs, though he said he improved there on a longer run.
A licence question remains
The Race reports that an incorrect calculation of Herta’s superlicence points, verified at the time by the FIA, might still leave him one point short of the required 40. Herta said he had expected 100 kilometers of running in Mexico to bring him to 40 points. “I'm not sure what's changed,” he said.
The Race says Cadillac plans to give Herta another FP1 outing and had planned that session before the calculation issue emerged. It reports a further run as a plan, not a completed step toward his licence or a decision on the 2027 seat.
