RED BULL COOLS ITS HOPES OF AN F1 DRIVE FOR HERTA
Red Bull has given up on its plans for IndyCar star Colton Herta to switch to the AlphaTauri team in 2023.
The 22-year-old was being lined up for a Formula 1 drive next term but doesn’t have the required number of superlicence points to be granted a permit to race. The seven-time IndyCar race winner has only amassed 32 of the 40 points required. Red Bull, which is the parent team to AlphaTauri, had asked the
FIA to give him a special dispensation to take part, but it was under the impression that would fail.
Dr Helmut Marko told the MotorsportTotal website: “It’s a shame that people don’t realise what value an American driver, especially a guy like Colton Herta, would have for the booming American market, especially with three F1 races [in 2023].”
There was pressure from Herta’s current Andretti IndyCar team to get the deal settled, but Red Bull has now decided against the idea of bringing him to grand prix racing.
Red Bull had said that should Herta not get the drive, it would not release Pierre Gasly to race for Alpine in 2023. However, this move could still be in the pipeline should AlphaTauri find a replacement that satisfies Marko.