After completing more than 100 kilometres during the first free practice session at the Mexico Grand Prix, Colton Herta appeared to have 40 superlicence points to his name, which would qualify him for the document required to secure a Formula 1 seat. However, according to the FIA, Herta is currently still one point short.
Confusion Surrounding IndyCar’s 2025 Season
There are two ways to accumulate the required 40 points from other championships. The FIA can look at all the points accumulated over the previous three calendar years or consider all the points earned over the previous two years plus the current season. The FIA’s International Sporting Code states that drivers must accumulate at least 40 points, and the governing body will consider whichever of the two calculation periods is higher.
In Herta’s case, it is the three-calendar year period plus the F1 practice sessions completed during the current season. The American brought 35 points with him from IndyCar and earned another four through his F1 free practice appearances. Considerable confusion arose in the Mexico paddock regarding whether those IndyCar points should total 35 or 36. One of those points dates back to the 2023 IndyCar season, 30 come from the 2024 season when he finished runner-up, and the remaining confusion relates to 2025.
Online standings and Wikipedia list Herta in seventh place for the 2025 season, which would be worth just four superlicence points since he finished level on points with Felix Rosenqvist. Initially, when the FIA investigated in July, Herta was listed sixth in the IndyCar standings, which would have earned him six points and brought his total to 41, creating the widespread belief in the paddock that he had qualified.
However, as reported by Autosport, the FIA confirmed following further investigation that Herta has definitively been classified seventh in the 2025 IndyCar season. This means he currently has 39 points and does not yet qualify for a superlicence. Herta will need one more F1 practice session to meet the requirements. Cadillac could use the Sao Paulo Grand Prix or the Las Vegas Grand Prix for this, and the team has already expressed its intention to give its protege more free practice outings.
Superlicence Validity and Cadillac’s Options
An equally interesting question is how long Herta’s superlicence will remain valid once officially issued. Strictly speaking, a superlicence is valid for only one year, meaning it might have to happen in 2027 due to the 30 superlicence points from the 2024 IndyCar season expiring after 2027. However, when Autosport put the matter to the FIA, the situation proved more favourable for Herta.
Applying for the licence provides a three-year safety net linked to Article 13.1.5 b of the International Sporting Code. The code states that drivers who have previously been granted a superlicence and completed at least 100 km during a free practice session of an FIA Formula One World Championship competition in any of the previous three years can obtain another licence without meeting the 40-point requirement again.
This means that after Herta’s superlicence is applied for, Cadillac will have a three-year window to give him an F1 opportunity. If that opportunity does not come immediately in 2027 and his 30 IndyCar points eventually expire, he can regain the superlicence in following years with just one free practice session.
Formally, Cadillac still has to confirm its driver line-up for 2027. Sergio Pérez’s contract was renegotiated and extended until at least 2029 ahead of his home race in Mexico, but in Austin, team principal Marcin Budkowski avoided answering whether both drivers had contracts extending beyond the current season, stating that the press conference was not the place to discuss it. Valtteri Bottas subsequently told Autosport that he was not yet concerned about potentially losing his F1 seat.
