With the battle for Oscar Piastri between Alpine and McLaren now sorted, the Contract War now focused on Alpine’s now-vacant second seat has ground to a halt, as Red Bull and the F1 paddock still wait for the decision on if F1’s governing body, the FIA, will allow IndyCar super-talent and American Colton Herta an exemption to obtain his super licence needed to drive in F1 early, despite not having enough points to earn the licence. This decision by the FIA directly determines which drivers Alpine would be able to choose from 2023.
Pierre Gasly, the current driver for Alpha Tauri (the younger sister team of Red Bull), is Alpine’s prime candidate for the driver spot. However, Gasly is currently signed with Alpha Tauri until 2024. Red Bull would part ways with Gasly if Alpine payouts the remainder of Gasly’s contract with Alpha Tauri and has a legitimatized and completed contract ready for Gasly. As long as Red Bull can fill the second [fourth] seat at Alpha Tauri with a strong competitive driver, preferably Colton Herta.
If the FIA rule no, Red Bull potentially won’t release Gasly from their contract until they have a good option to replace him. Which could mean Gasly will lose the chance to race in a more competitive car and grow his career. And Alpine has to go shopping for a driver, again.
This is where the FIA’s decision on Herta is so key, but what is the issue?
In short, Herta only has 32 out of the 40 points needed to obtain the super licence, and part of the reason is that in American IndyCar, it is much harder to earn the points.
Red Bull and Herta supporters’ main argument is that Herta is at a disadvantage at gaining enough points next year as the FIA is stingier with points distribution on IndyCar. Other than finishing in first place overall at the end of a season, IndyCar placements receive significantly fewer of the points needed to gain a super licence compared to European leagues, like Formula 2 and Formula 3. For instance, earning fifth place overall in a Formula 2 season is worth 20 points, whereas in IndyCar it’s only worth eight.
Red Bull’s second argument is that Herta is potentially a once-in-a-generation talent that deserves a shot in F1, and The FIA has set precedent for bending the rules to allow drivers to acquire a super licence before, with Max Verstappen’s signing to Red Bull’s Toro Rosso in 2015 at the young age of 16. And as Verstappen is one of the best drivers in the world and on his way to being a two-time world champion, that decision has turned out quite well.
Herta is a generational talent, and with his standout career in IndyCar, he would have almost guaranteed a super licence if he was driving in F2 or F3, whereas Herta would have had to place in the top 5 every year of his five-year Indy career to earn the 40 points, something which has come close to but hasn’t done.
The “unfair” point distribution isn’t the only reason why Herta doesn’t have enough points. Herta has a bit of a crashing problem. His aggressive driving style which sees him go strong and fast in the high-speed corners is exciting and dynamic to watch but comes with Herta making costly mistakes as he makes exciting television. Mistakes that have cost him and his team DNFs instead of scoring points and podiums this year.
As for the Max Verstappen argument: Ironically, it was because of that signing that the FIA implemented the super licence rule and the change that a driver must be 18 years of age, to precisely not have a controversial signing again.
In the end, the only relative fact is that Colton Herta simply does not have the points to get his licence according to the rules. But it does bring up the idea that the FIA could look into changing points allocation among the various leagues to allow a more fair distribution and a bigger driver pool.
If Red Bull and Herta fans are correct and he is a good enough driver, Herta would have gotten the points and finished higher this season like he had the potential to do. Or he will earn the points in IndyCar next season. Or Herta’s contacts could be bought out and he could race in a league that gives him the chance to earn more points.
Sorry, not sorry, Red Bull.
Round 17 takes us to Singapore on October 2. After his 11th win of the 2022 season at Monza, Max Verstappen has guaranteed his winning of the Driver’s Championship as long as he wins the race and Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc comes lower than 8th, a sadly realistic possibility knowing Ferrari’s strategic record. While the championship might be over, what will make the race exciting are the drivers all without contracts in the mid and back fields battling out to earn those few open seats before rules start to change.
Teryn Midzain is an English Major with ambitious goals to write movies and a full-time nerd, whose personality and eccentrics run on high-octane like the cars he loves. More importantly, Teryn loves sports [Formula One], and doesn’t care who knows. When not creating and running deadly schemes in his D&D sessions, Teryn tries to reach the core of what makes the romantic and dramatic World of Sports, the characters and people that make the events so spectacular.