Ralf Schumacher does not believe Colton Herta belongs on a Formula 1 grid, and he said so on German television in the same week the American ticked the last box toward being allowed on one.
The former F1 driver turned Sky Germany pundit laid into Cadillac’s plan to give Herta more mileage ahead of a possible 2027 promotion, speaking on air on November 6.
“No, honestly, it’s pointless. He’s just burning fuel, as Franz Tost would say,” Schumacher told Sky Germany.
The timing could hardly have been sharper. Hours later, Herta completed a 24-lap FP1 run for Cadillac at Interlagos during the São Paulo Grand Prix weekend, clearing the 100-kilometre distance requirement that earned him the 40th and final point he needed for an FIA superlicence. A miscalculation earlier in the autumn, caused by an IndyCar website error that listed his previous championship finish as sixth instead of seventh, had left him one point short after Mexico.
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Schumacher: ‘Easter and Christmas on the same day’
Asked directly whether Herta had the credentials for a Cadillac race seat, Schumacher was cutting.
“Only if Easter and Christmas fell on the same day,” he said.
He pointed to the 26-year-old’s current form in Formula 2, where Herta sits 19th in the standings with 26 points and two rounds to run. Schumacher argued that the car would be better used on another young driver, naming McLaren reserve and former F2 and F3 champion Leonardo Fornaroli as the kind of candidate the seat should go to. He added that the push to promote an American driver was a worthwhile idea in principle, but not at any price.
Cadillac’s 2027 lineup still open
Herta signed with Cadillac as the team’s first named test driver in September 2025, working alongside race drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez. The seat battle for 2027 has narrowed since then: Pérez has been locked in on a long-term deal through 2029, leaving Bottas as the driver under pressure if Cadillac decides to hand Herta his F1 debut.
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Bottas has told reporters in Brazil that he still expects to be racing for Cadillac next year, though he acknowledged the decision rests with the team’s board and that the relevant meeting has not yet taken place.
Herta, for his part, is not hiding his ambition.
“That’s obviously my goal. That’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m giving so much. I hope it happens,” he told Sky Germany.
With the superlicence now in hand, the decision is a straight boardroom call: keep Bottas for a second season or promote Herta into an American car. Two F2 rounds still remain on the calendar before Cadillac’s board signs off on the 2027 lineup.
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