Former F2 driver Callum Ilott believes Colton Herta can adapt easily to F1 because of the natural pace and intensity involved in IndyCar racing.
Colton Herta is in the 2023 F1 seat race with AlphaTauri. The 22-year-old Indycar racer is the favourite for the seat if Pierre Gasly wishes to move to Alpine for the following season.
Gasly, having been denied a return to Red Bull, wants to move to a more ‘competitive’ seat with Alpine. But Red Bull is adamant about letting Gasly go only if they secure the services of Herta.
Herta has become a sensation with his pace and performance in IndyCar. The American has notched 7 wins in the series and is looking for a move to F1.
Helmut Marko just told me an agreement has already been reached with all parties for Colton Herta to join IF he is granted a Super Licence by the FIA, and he expects a decision by Monza #F1
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) September 4, 2022
McLaren signed him as a development driver in the 2022 season. Herta tested the MCL35 around Portimao. And since then has been under the radar of many teams.
But one thing not in favour of the American is FIA Super License points. He currently has 32 and needs 40 to participate in F1. He can only compete in F1 if he has a Super License exemption by the FIA.
Felipe Drugovich’s conversation with Helmut Marko was about the possibility of him being a reserve driver for Alpha Tauri next year.
Talks are yet to start with Alpha Tauri, but the Brazilian is still negotiating with Aston Martin for a reserve role too.#F1 #F2 #DutchGP
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 3, 2022
In the meanwhile, Marko has essentially started talks with current F2 leader Felipe Drugovich. Drugovich has had a great season so far, winning 4 races and leading the table by 69 points.
Drugovich could possibly be AlphaTauri’s reserve driver, but there is an outside chance that he could be promoted to the main seat if Herta doesn’t receive an exemption.
The Drugovich Vs Herta debate has been stirring fans for the past week. So to decide which driver could be a bigger success in the sport, Callum Ilott gave his verdict.
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Callum Ilott believes Colton Herta can
Callum Ilott competes against Colton Herta in the 2022 IndyCar Championship. He also raced against Drugovich in the 2020 F2 season, where Ilott finished runner-up behind Haas F1 driver Mick Schumacher.
Also, Ilott has beaten both Herta and Drugovich while racing against them. So fans on Twitter asked him which racing category is more difficult and which of the two drivers would perform better in F1.
Ilott was humbled to respond to the post, “I’m surprised people still remember me at this rate.” But he was straightforward in stating the level of competition in Indycar was more difficult than in F2.
he wrote, “Thank you. The average level of competition, races almost twice as long, no tire saving so full attack whole time, physically draining, much more variety of tracks so adaptability is key. F2 has its own quirks which are hard to master, but Indy takes the cake.”
Thank you, average level of competition, races almost twice as long, no tire saving so full attack whole time, physically draining, much more variety of tracks so adaptability is key driver and team. F2 has its own qwerks which are hard to master, but Indy takes the cake.
— Callum Ilott (@callum_ilott) September 5, 2022
Ilott is also a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He claimed that F1 is in a league of its own compared to the two competitions. But in some ways, IndyCar drivers can be better adapted to F1 than F2 drivers.
“The problem is, F1 as a car is so different to anything else that nothing really compares (simulators help nowadays). But any driver who is naturally fast and there are more than a few in Indycar, won’t have a problem getting up to speed in an F1 car.”
Herta won’t be the only driver to make the jump across the pond. But he joins a list of coveted drivers like Mario Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve, who switched to F1 after racing in IndyCar and won the championship seamlessly.
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