Colton Herta, one of the leading American drivers in the IndyCar series, is testing for McLaren at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portugal this week.
McLaren are running the 22-year-old in one of last year’s MCL35Ms. He is sharing the car with the team’s test and development driver Will Stevens, who raced in F1 in 2014 and 2015 for Caterham and Manor.
Herta was briefly tipped for a move into F1 this season when his IndyCar team Andretti investigated buying the Sauber team, which runs Alfa Romeo’s entry, last year.
Lando Norris, who was Herta’s team mate at Carlin in the MSA Formula (now British Formula 4) series in 2015, said an F1 opportunity for him would be “fully deserved.”
“We have a lot of great memories together and I know how good a driver he is,” said Norris. “I think he’s showing that in IndyCar at the minute.”
However transitioning from IndyCar would present several challenges for Herta, said Norris, including the differences between F1’s Pirelli rubber and the Firestones he is used to.
“It’s different driving styles, I think he would have to adapt,” said Norris. “He’s not been known, maybe, to be a tyre lover. I think that’s something you would have to get used to when he comes and drives on Pirellis.
“But apart from that he’s got a lot of talent, he’s a lovely guy, hard worker as well. And I think he’s very suited to be able to perform at the level you need to be in Formula 1.”
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Pictures: Colton Herta’s McLaren F1 test debut
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2022 F1 season
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