Colton Herta to replace Sergio Perez in Cadillac's FP1 at home US Grand Prix in Austin
Cadillac reserve Colton Herta will drive in Friday's first practice at COTA, his fourth FP1 outing, as the new team looks for its first points.
Cadillac reserve driver Colton Herta will drive in first practice at the United States Grand Prix in Austin on Friday 23 October, taking over Sergio Perez's car for the session. It will be Herta's fourth Friday outing for Formula 1's newest team and his first in front of American fans.
Cadillac, in their debut season, are last of 11 teams in the constructors' standings with no points. Texas is the team's second home race of the year after Miami.
Herta's season so far
Herta has already driven in FP1 at Barcelona, Hungary and Italy. At Barcelona he completed 27 laps and was slowest of the runners, which Motorsport.com reported was not his aim. He said his job was to leave the car in a good setup window for Perez.
He described the speed of an F1 car, especially braking, acceleration and cornering, as beyond anything he had driven before.
A track he knows
Herta won his first IndyCar race at the Circuit of the Americas in 2019. He has called that win a defining moment in his career. For Austin he says his goals are to run the test programme cleanly, help engineers collect setup data and give Perez useful feedback.
Perez will miss the session. No reason has been given.
Cadillac's position
Cadillac's best finish so far is 13th, achieved by Valtteri Bottas at the Chinese Grand Prix. Both Bottas and Perez are confirmed for 2027. Team principal Marcin Budkowski pointed to the team's bases in Indianapolis, Silverstone and Charlotte as part of the American story.
Cadillac were encouraged by some signs in Singapore, although the gap to the teams ahead remains large. Reports say the team will bring significant updates in FP1, plus minor floor and cooling changes to evaluate on track.
Weekend format
Austin is a standard weekend with no sprint. The race is on Sunday 25 October over 56 laps. Because Herta's session uses one of only three practice sessions, Perez will have less running before qualifying, which is why the data matters.
Key takeaways
- Herta replaces Perez in Cadillac's first practice session at COTA.
- It is Herta's fourth FP1 for Cadillac after Barcelona, Hungary and Italy.
- Cadillac have no points and have a best finish of 13th.
- Bottas and Perez are both confirmed for 2027.
FAQ
Q: Who is Colton Herta? An American driver who won his first IndyCar race at COTA in 2019 and now works as Cadillac's reserve driver.
Q: Will Perez drive in Austin? He will miss first practice. The article does not say why, and Cadillac list him as a confirmed 2027 driver.
Q: Has Cadillac scored any points in 2026? No. Their best result is 13th, by Bottas in China.
Sources: RacingNews365, F1 in Generale, Motorsport.com, Wikipedia, Grande Premio