F1: Indy Lights champion Lundqvist qualifies for an F1 seat, but Herta does not
Swedish youngster Linus Lundqvist, as a result of winning this year’s Indy Lights title on a trot, and his results in other lower formula series, has enough points now to apply for a F1 Superlicense.
Meanwhile, Colton Herta, who has much more experience driving more powerful open wheel cars than Lundqvist, does not.
Herta is fast, and more than qualified, but because he races for the Andretti Autosport team who no longer put cars on the grid capable of winning IndyCar titles, Herta has not been able to accumulate enough Superlicense points.
Herta just registered the worst full-time season of his IndyCar career (10th-place in points) as a result of the poor performance of the Andretti Hondas. Once again, it was the Penske and Ganassi teams fighting for the championship at Laguna Seca last weekend, with no Andretti driver anywhere in contention.
Not his fault, though one can argue his choice of moving back to America and into IndyCar vs. staying in Europe and moving up the European ladder if he really wanted to make it to F1. Lack of money was a factor.
Lundqvist laughs at the notion that he qualifies for a Superlicense, yet Herta does not.
“It’s great for me, but it just shows how the system needs improving. There’s no way in this world where I’m more qualified to be an F1 driver than Colton.”
No American IndyCar driver has leapt into F1 since Juan Pablo Montoya more than 20 years ago and Sebastien Bourdais back in 2007. Both non-Americans.
A series that has gone from no races in the USA to 3, including two owned by an American media company(Miami and Las Vegas) and which has seen a viral Netflix docuseries grow F1’s American fan base, is prepared to let a licensing system that favors the elite Europeans keep away a legitimate American prospect.
Logan Sargeant is now America’s next best hope, but he does not have the American fan following that Herta has.
American racing drivers rally behind Herta, but it’s too little too late
America’s motorsport family have rallied behind Formula One-chasing Colton Herta and insisted that the ‘elitist’ sport don’t want drivers from the USA involved.
Alexander Rossi – the most recent American on the grid – also weighed in on Saturday morning, writing a long, strong statement on his social media pages, slamming the superlicense situation as the ‘fundamental problem’ to getting Americans in to F1.
It read: ‘I’ve kept my mouth shut long enough, so here goes. I’m so sick and tired of this back and forth regarding super license points. The whole premise of it was to keep people from buying their way into F1 and allowing talent to be the motivating factor.
‘That’s great. We all agree Colton has the talent and capability to be in F1. That’s also great and he should get that opportunity if it’s offered to him. Period.
‘Motorsport still remains as the most high profile sport in the world where money can outweigh talent.
‘What is disappointing and in my opinion the fundamental problem, is that the sporting element so often took a backseat to the business side that there had to be a method put in place for certain teams to stop taking drivers solely based on their financial backing.
‘Ultimately these past decisions, whether out of greed or necessity, is what cost Colton the opportunity to make the decision for himself as to if he wanted to alter career paths and race in F1. Not points on a license.’
— Alexander Rossi (@AlexanderRossi) September 17, 2022
There are two ride-buying Canadians on the grid in Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi, but still no Americans to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Phil Hill and Mario Andretti, who have both won world championship titles.
The latter of those two men was the last to win a race in F1, all the way back in 1978 at the Dutch Grand Prix.