After the big movements of the drivers market unleashed by the sudden passage of Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin, some steering wheels still remain to be assigned for next season. The most interesting is precisely that of Alpine left free by the Spaniard and towards which the arrival of Pierre Gasly. The transalpine driver would therefore leave the Alpha Tauri one year before the expiration of the contract to go to form an all-French line up with Esteban Ocon. It would therefore remain to be defined at this point which driver would replace Gasly in the Faenza team and as is known important maneuvers have been underway for some time to bring the American driver Colton Herta into Formula 1 to replace Gasly. It is evident that Liberty Media is very interested in bringing an American driver to a Formula 1 that is increasing its popularity overseas and also the number of Grands Prix on the calendar.
However, it would be reductive for Herta to give credit for this step only to his nationality. Colton Herta has been somewhat emphatically nicknamed “The Verstappen of Formula Indy”having debuted in Indycar at only 18 years old in the last race of the 2018 championship. In his first full season, in 2019, he scored two wins and three pole positions. To date, his palmares in Indy show seven wins and nine pole positions. Results that have understandably aroused attention for this young driver who has well impressed in a test with the McLaren F1 of last season on the Portimao circuit in this month of July, and which this year won the 24 Hours of Daytona in the LMP2 category teamed up with O’Ward and DeFrancesco.
Monza seemed to be the weekend in which the marriage between Herta and Alpha Tauri, repeatedly aired by Helmut Marko himself, could have been announced. In reality this was not the case and the main obstacle, and not a trivial one, remains the only 32 points out of 40 that Herta has to access the super license issued by the FIA to race in Formula 1. It is evident that the regulation that assigns points for super-license does not take into adequate consideration the results that a driver can obtain in Indycar. Rewriting it is always possible by the Federation but of course it could not be relied upon retroactively. To try to overcome this rule, Red Bull’s strategy would be that of invoke the covid as a “cause of force majeure” which in the last three years has reduced the number of races and championships useful for obtaining the super license. The decision on this issue, however, is late in coming and in the press conference of the team principals Franz Tost commented on the situation as follows:
“At present Pierre Gasly has a contract with us for next season, as I have said several times. Regarding the possibility of Colton Herta obtaining the super license to race in Formula 1 I hope the FIA makes the decision as soon as possible in order to let us know what our line up will be for next year and prepare accordingly. The final decision on our drivers is Red Bull’s but I still believe that if Herta fails to get the super license then Gasly will stay with us and nothing will change. “
However, the issue is not limited to a dialogue between the International Federation and Red Bull. The other teams also follow the moves of the FIA, and as often happens in Formula 1, finding unanimity that would allow the exceptions to the rules for the benefit of the individual is very difficult. In this sense, the position of Mattia Binotto on the subject, also present alongside Tost in the Monza team principal conference:
“I think the cause of force majeure cannot be applied in the case of Colton Herta, this would be a totally wrong approach. I believe the rules have been established to protect our sport and ensure that the best choices are made according to the right approaches and processes. Herta could participate in the Formula 1 championship if he had the requisites to do so, otherwise he would not. I think all of this is very important and certainly we will look very closely at what the FIA will decide on this issue, and I believe that every single team will do the same. It is because of the importance of our sport and we cannot invoke the cause of force majeure in a situation for which it certainly cannot be applied. “
In hindsight, it makes us smile that the rules, minimum age and scores for obtaining the super license were introduced in 2016 after the then 17-year-old arrived in Formula 1. Verstappen who only had one Formula 3 season on his resume. This is to avoid the entry into the maximum formula of pilots considered not sufficiently experienced. Too bad that Verstappen today in Formula 1 boasts a world championship, thirty-one victories and seventeen pole positions.
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