In March, Bryan Herta - Colton's father, manager and agent, as well as a former Ind圜ar driver - called it "a unique situation" in that his son began his time with Andretti being able to rely on "good, experienced teammates" in James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi but "now he has to be the leader, and that's interesting." The deal coupled with other offseason moves left Herta as the longest-tenured driver on one of the top teams in the American open-wheel series, and it was one reason he opted to continue driving for Michael Andretti.ĪP photo by Darron Cummings / Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta watches during an Ind圜ar practice session Friday ahead of Saturday's GMR Grand Prix on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He managed only one top-five finish in the last seven races on the 2022 schedule, slipping to 10th in the final standings for the worst result in his four full Ind圜ar seasons.Īll the while there was rampant speculation about a possible move to Formula One, the international open-wheel circuit, until Herta signed a four-year contract extension with Andretti in October. On race day, he finished 30th when a bad throttle sensor knocked him out after 129 laps.įour races later, after earning his second pole position of the season, Herta's head sock broke and his hair impaired his vision as he finished second in Toronto.
Later that month, he crashed in practice just two days before the Indianapolis 500. 26 car as it started sliding, overcame two late pit stops and eventually pulled away from three-time race winner Simon Pagenaud.Īfterward, the exuberant Herta called it the most difficult race of his career, but his challenges were just beginning. Herta made the early switch to rain tires, saved his Honda-powered Andretti Autosport No. Last May, he also raced harder and better than everyone else on the grand prix grid. "Obviously we've had strong cars in the past. "It's always been a great race for us, two podiums and a win there," Herta said earlier this week. The 23-year-old Californian has instead been snakebitten by one frustration after another during a 12-month winless streak - one he hopes to break Saturday in this year's race on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit. INDIANAPOLIS - Colton Herta's victory in last year's GMR Grand Prix on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was supposed to catapult him into Ind圜ar championship contention.
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