Palou and Herta: giving up the dream of Formula 1 | FormulaPassion.it

From the USA to F1

Two IndyCar drivers with a point in common in McLaren and a single, great desire: that of debut in Formula 1. On several occasions, Alex Palou and Colton Herta had been indicated as two possible candidates for future entry into the Circus. A dream, however, now put in the drawer.

The Palou case

Both riders admitted it, starting with the Spaniard Palou. Twice champion in the United States with Chip Ganassi, the Catalan had come significantly closer to the McLaren in 2022, to the point of taking part in the first free practice session of the United States GP. Since then, the distances had been further shortened with the signing of a contract for the 2024 valid both as a new team driver Arrow McLaren in IndyCar that how third driver in the F1 team. However, surprisingly, the Spaniard then terminated his contract with the Woking team, giving up his job in F1 and returning with Chip Ganassi. A choice that sent Zak Brown into a rage, complete with legal action initiated by the British company: “I tried, but it didn't work. That's fine – said Palou a racefans.net – we'll try to get a lot of championships if we can and we'll try to fight for as many championships and Indy 500s as possible.”

Not enough points

Hopes almost vanished for the American too Colton Hertawho also smelled F1 for the first time in 2022. After his debut in IndyCar with Andretti in 2020, the same team started negotiations to take over the majority shares of Sauber, with the 23-year-old candidate to participate in the free practice of the US GP. Negotiations between the two teams fell through, however, with Herta subsequently taking part in some tests with the McLaren, in which Palou himself was also present. At the end of the year, Helmut Marko announced the agreement now reached between the pilot and theAlphaTauri for 2023, which did not materialize for the lack of points on the FIA ​​Superlicence to compete in F1.

Everything about IndyCar

A problem that still persists today, even in the case of Andretti's possible entry into F1, thanks to the negative results of recent seasons: “I've probably reached the highest age to be able to go to F1 with a team, maybe, other than Andretti“, he commented bitterly. “I have nothing to say about them. I think their goal is still to have a Formula 1 team, and they are still trying. If that happens, we'll have to see what the timing is, how old I'll be and where I'll be in my life. So for me, the main focus right now is IndyCar, and we'll see how it turns out.”