Colton Herta has had an exciting slate since January. Between his run at the Rolex 24 with Wayne Taylor Racing and his F2 debut with Hitech GP, Herta is getting exciting opportunities to not only kickstart his aspirations toward F1 with Cadillac, but also continue racing in American endurance competition.

“It’s been enjoyable,” Herta stated. “I really enjoy doing these races. The endurance races in America are a lot of fun. I think it’s completely different to what I’m used to doing, and it’s quite a different style of racing. So, you know, whenever you get to do something new, it’s a lot of enjoyment. But yeah, it’s been busy, a lot of flights back and forth, a lot of time spent on trying to kind of perfect my craft in different race cars, which has been enjoyable.”

Being a new team in the F1 paddock, Cadillac is getting its feet wet early in the series. The same can be said for Herta.

Jumping from IndyCar to F2, Herta is learning the nuances of his new program.

“It’s very early days, so there’s still a lot to come,” Herta said. “We’re still learning from each other still too. But it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been very enjoyable for me to kind of step back, do something new, and learn something new, and it’s not been easy, but it’s been enjoyable.”

Along with learning the program, the racing style in Formula 2 is a change compared to Herta’s prior experience in IndyCar, something he is continuing to adapt to.

“It’s just so different. There’s so many different things. Although the cars look similar, they’re almost polar opposites about how you get lap time out of it, how the power is put down, and the downforce profile of the car. The overall geometry of the car is quite different to an IndyCar. It’s been a very different kind of style of driving that I’ve had to adapt to, and I’m still learning. But I think it’s been kind of cool to enjoy something brand new and must relearn something that has so many differences.”

Colton Herta, Hitech. FIA Formula 2 Championship – Melbourne – Melbourne, Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne, Australia | Credit: James Gasperotti, Hitech

While Herta’s first race weekend in Australia had its trials and tribulations, success still came, marking a rebound for the American-born driver with his new team.

“I was happy to kind of salvage something out of the weekend. We definitely had higher ambitions going into it and we wanted more. But I think after the crash in practice, it just made qualifying extremely tough. Once you qualify out of the top 10, it’s a fight and a struggle to score points. I think we’ve made the most out of the weekend, especially Sunday’s race, and got something back out of it. But I think going forward, it’s still about learning and progressing through the weekend, which will be the biggest thing. I believe we have the speed and whatnot to contend, but it’s just about progressing the right way through the weekend.”

This weekend, Herta gets his chance to return behind the wheel of the No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R for Wayne Taylor Racing.

While F2 remains the primary focus, racing endurance events for one of the premier teams in sports car racing provides a welcome return to the United States.

“Not much, to be honest,” Herta said on translating endurance racing to his F2 efforts. “It’s very different. I think that’s why I find it so enjoyable. It is very different. The driving style is very different. The racing style is very different. How the cars react, you know, in and out of clean air and whatnot is very different to everything. So, they’re very different race cars. It feels very different. And so there’s not much that you can kind of cross-examine. But I think that’s why it makes it so enjoyable, because it’s not normal for me.”

Not only is Herta back with WTR once again for 2026 in the endurance rounds, but he also rejoins familiar teammates Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz.

Bringing back the same lineup definitely has its perks, especially with EVO updates to the car.

“Yeah, a very different philosophy from a year ago. I never drove the older car, so I don’t really know too much about the differences. But, you know, listening to the teammates and whatnot to a degree from the guys that have driven it before seems all positive. I don’t really have anything to base it on, but the car feels very nice. It feels very strong. I felt good in Daytona. It feels good again here in Sebring. I think we have a chance at doing good stuff this year. I think the full-time guys will have a good chance of doing good stuff at a lot of the races. It’s just about putting it all together is the hard part.”

For Herta, putting it all together has already happened at Sebring.

Although his last win came in the Acura with WTR, having the experience of winning a race as long and grueling as Sebring brings clear benefits.

“It’s really just experience,” said Herta. “I think the biggest thing with experience here is understanding the traffic, especially in the top class. That’s kind of where you make your money. That’s what makes you really quick over a stint time. So, understanding that, which for me, when I ran with Acura, was the first time I ran in the top class at this race. So, there’s a lot of learning on the fly there. Having that understanding about how to pass, where to pass, and where to kind of wait is definitely going to help a little bit more. But that’s the biggest thing. Qualifying, it’s important to show that you have a fast racing car and whatnot, but ultimately it’s quite different to the race, and that’s what matters.”

Coming into the weekend, Cadillac has flexed its muscles, running near the top of the GTP field in both qualifying and practice. While pre-race sessions can be misleading, there is confidence within both the team and Herta heading into the race.

“They look very strong in race running, but it’s so unclear until you actually get in the race,” said Herta. “You don’t practice race conditions. You don’t know what fuel people are running, what tires and whatnot. It’s hard to really look too much into that stuff. So, you really just have to look at yourself, and I think we’ve got a good race car. It feels solid. It felt good in practice, and that’s the most important bit, right? That’s when we’re going to be finishing the race. So that’s when you want your car at its best. So it feels good then. Louis did a great job in qualifying. Top five is really all we want going into this race. It gives us a little bit of work to do, but 12 hours to pass four cars is not too difficult.”

Following Sebring, Herta has one remaining endurance race on the calendar at Petit Le Mans. However, with a busy F2 schedule, there won’t be much room for additional commitments.

Still, with his talents now shifting overseas, it could open the door for a potential start in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“Yeah, I would love to,” Herta stated. “I don’t know if it’ll ever work out with my schedule because you need two weeks, which is difficult. You need the test weekend the weekend before, and then the race week, and that excludes all the sim prep and prep work that you must do for that race. So realistically, you need a big chunk of time carved out for a race like that. But yeah, if it worked out, I would 100% say yes. I would love to do it. I would love to drive a Cadillac in the top class, and a hypercar would be amazing.”

Image Courtesy to Jamie Price Photography/Wayne Taylor Racing