No, Colton Herta is not eligible for a Formula 1 Super License

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After securing a dominant win at IndyCar’s Nashville Superspeedway finale and rocketing himself up to second overall in the Championship standings, Colton Herta has been at the receiving end of a renewed interest in his Super License eligibility.

The Race shared a graphic via X that claimed Herta “appears to have secured a superlicense” with a quote from Herta, and fans around the world have latched onto that graphic to claim the IndyCar driver is now F1 eligible. There’s just one problem: He isn’t. Not yet, anyway.

Colton Herta and his elusive F1 Super License

In order to really delve into Herta’s Super License eligibility, let’s get a quick refresher on the rules. To earn a Super License, a driver must first accumulate 40 Super License points. The driver earns those points by competing in 80% of any eligible championship.

Their placement in the overall championship correlates to a certain number of Super License points. Typically, drivers can count their finishing results in two championships per year during the previous three years toward their Super License.

But, because COVID-19 threw a monkey wrench into every championship around the world in 2020 and 2021, drivers are currently able to count their best three championship placements of the last four years, so long as 2021 is one of those years.

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With that established, let’s dig into Herta’s specific situation. He’s been racing in IndyCar full time since 2019, which means that’s where the bulk of his Super License points will come from. Let’s look at his performance over the past four years, and the SL points he’d earn from them.

2021: 5th in IndyCar (8 points)
2022: 10th in IndyCar (1 point)
2023: 10th in IndyCar (1 point)
2024: 2nd in IndyCar (30 points)

Here, Herta would benefit by counting his 2021 championship result and scrapping one of his 2022 or 2023 results. With 2021, 2022 OR 2023, and 2024 counted together, Herta earns 39 points.

While additional points are available for completing 100 kilometers in an F1 car during a Free Practice session, winning the Macau Grand Prix, and completing an FIA championship without receiving any penalty points, Herta does not qualify for any of these.

Yes, Herta has tested a Formula 1 car — but never during a Free Practice session. Multiple tests were planned for Herta with Ferrari in 2022, but none came to fruition.

If a team were to recruit him for a Free Practice 1 session later this year, Herta could then qualify.

Additionally, IndyCar is not an FIA championship, so Herta would not earn any bonuses for a penalty-free season. And he’s never raced at Macau.

And while Herta has moonlighted in the IMSA series, he’s never raced in enough events to allow him to claim SL points for doing so.

Some fans have pointed to the “force majeure” clause in the Super License rules, which states that the FIA can award SL points to drivers who would not technically earn them via the rules if the FIA determines that something outside the driver’s power prevented his results from counting.

There are two problems with this, though. First, there’s no reason why Herta’s performance in the past four years should bring the “force majeure” clause into consideration. Second, Herta already tried to petition for a Super License using the force majeure clause — and was denied.

(Back in 2022, when Herta was close to getting a Super License and had several F1 offers on the table, the only thing holding him back was one Indy Lights season; the field that year didn’t contain enough drivers for it to qualify toward SL points. A small field could theoretically qualify as being beyond the driver’s control, but the FIA opted against awarding Herta a license under that clause.)

As it currently stands, Herta is signed to a multi-year contract with Andretti that will see him compete in IndyCar until 2027. Andretti Global would be the American racer’s best shot at making it to Formula 1, but the team has been roundly denied from entering the F1 grid. And even if Andretti Global did have a shot at F1, Herta himself still couldn’t qualify for a Super License.

Further, even if Herta had the points necessary to qualify for a Super License, he still wouldn’t immediately be granted one. Drivers have to pass an FIA theory test regarding F1 sporting codes, hold an International Grade A competition license, and pay an annual fee. It isn’t clear if Herta would be able to qualify based on those additional standards.