{"id":1903874,"date":"2026-04-25T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1903874"},"modified":"2026-04-25T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:00:00","slug":"why-colton-hertas-ambitious-indy-500-f2-crossover-wasnt-legitimate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1903874","title":{"rendered":"Why Colton Herta&#8217;s ambitious Indy 500-F2 crossover &#8216;wasn&#8217;t legitimate&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=1600&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9&#8243;]<\/p>\n<article>\n<header id=\"lbs-article\" class=\"article header article-header section layout layout--article-header\">\n<div class=\"col headline\">\n<div>\n<h1>Why Colton Herta&#8217;s ambitious Indy 500-F2 crossover &#8216;wasn&#8217;t legitimate&#8217;<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"summary body\">\n<p>Colton Herta didn&#8217;t entertain the idea of back-to-back competing in F2 and the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"section two-column\">\n<div class=\"col article-info\">\n<div>\n<address> Sam Hall <\/address>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><time datetime=\"2026-04-25T16:00:00+01:00\">25 Apr 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col article-actions\">\n<div class=\"block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block\">\n<div class=\"social-sharing-buttons\"><span class=\"ssb-title\"> Share<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div id=\"lbs-content\" class=\"content wide-two-column-sticky section layout layout--wide-two-column-sticky\">\n<div class=\"col first-column\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure> <source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=1920&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1920w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=1800&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1800w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=1600&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1600w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=1500&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1500w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=1200&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1200w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=900&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 900w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=800&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 800w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=600&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 600w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=400&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 400w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 710px, (min-width:768px) 62vw, 97vw\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><figcaption>\n<div>Herta in Australia with F2<\/div>\n<div class=\"source\"> \u00a9\u00a0XPB Images<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"block block-preferred-source\">\n<div class=\"preferred-source-cta\">  Add as a preferred source <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"body\">\n<p>Colton Herta has revealed he briefly entertained the idea of running in F2 in Montreal before hot footing it to contest the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n<p>Herta had planned to make his IndyCar return with Andretti at the iconic Indy 500 at the end of May, taking advantage of an expected clear weekend in his schedule.<\/p>\n<p>But the conflict in the Middle East saw grands prix cancelled in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, both events that F2 was scheduled to support Formula 1 at. These were later replaced by weekends in Miami and Montreal \u2013 the latter clashing with the Indy 500.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he had considered a back-to-back attempt, Herta told select media: \u201cI had a lot of visions in my head of being able to do that but I kind of always knew it wasn&#8217;t going to be able to do legitimately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know, as far as the Indy side, you miss Carb Day, which is a very important day, and then even if it were to work, I think it&#8217;d be; it&#8217;s difficult because, for me, F2 is the clear priority and Cadillac is the clear priority for me this year. That was just going to be a little bit of an added bonus when I had a bit of time off, but yeah, it wasn&#8217;t meant to be this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Five drivers have previously attempted \u2018Double Duty\u2019 with NASCAR\u2019s Coca-Cola 600 and the Indy 500, with Tony Stewart the only man to successfully complete the 1,100-mile distance.<\/p>\n<p>Drivers have previously commented that F2 cars feel unique, with limited crossover to modern F1 machinery. Believing the same is true between F2 and IndyCar, Herta does not feel an Indy 500 attempt would have harmed his primary season-long effort.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"ins-related_content dsp-related_content_in_article\">\n<h2>Read More<\/h2>\n<div class=\"related-content-in-body js-view-dom-id-6ab183d0861b79ee170599d851ed3403cde443c8c13bf0edc4753a856cb9f5e7\">  IndyCar star says huge career risk is his &#8220;last shot at F1&#8221; <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI think it wouldn&#8217;t be a distraction because it is so different,\u201d he explained. \u201cTo drive an Indy car around an oval and then drive an F2 car around a permanent road course or street circuit, they&#8217;re so different that it&#8217;s easy to isolate the two.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think if there was some similarities driving an Indy car around the street circuit or something like that maybe it wouldn&#8217;t be as positive because you can have these kind of micro things that you pick up and drag into the other, but because it was so different no I don&#8217;t think it was it was a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>F2 has never raced in North America before. Of the unplanned trip to home shores, Herta added: \u201cIt&#8217;s cool. I hope we have a great showing and people enjoy it and it opens doors to have F2 back because it would be awesome if that was another thing that F2 did consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"ins-related_content dsp-related_content_in_article_2\">\n<h2>Read More<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>In this article<\/h2>\n<div>\n<div class=\"field_keywords\">F1<\/div>\n<div class=\"field_keywords\">2026<\/div>\n<div class=\"field_keywords\">F2<\/div>\n<div class=\"field_keywords\">IndyCar<\/div>\n<div class=\"field_keywords\">Cadillac<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"block block-next-prev\">\n<div class=\"next-prev-pager contextual-region\">\n<div class=\"items\">\n<div class=\"item prev\">\n<h3>  Previous<\/h3>\n<div class=\"card card_default\">\n<div class=\"content\"> F2 announces replacements for cancelled Middle East races<\/div>\n<source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=1920&amp;format=webp 1920w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=1800&amp;format=webp 1800w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=1600&amp;format=webp 1600w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=1500&amp;format=webp 1500w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=1200&amp;format=webp 1200w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=900&amp;format=webp 900w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=800&amp;format=webp 800w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=600&amp;format=webp 600w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399334_hires.jpg?width=400&amp;format=webp 400w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 710px, (min-width:768px) 62vw, 97vw\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-block block block-configurable-views-block\">\n<div class=\"author-view grid-view js-view-dom-id-49292cf6ce5a7f2861803fce62f1f93b3ca4f721da0baa0a17933aaaa07212ac\">\n<div class=\"card user default\">\n<div class=\"image\"> <source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/pictures\/whatsapp-image-2026-03-05-at-12.30.04.jpeg?height=270&amp;format=webp 270w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/pictures\/whatsapp-image-2026-03-05-at-12.30.04.jpeg?height=180&amp;format=webp 180w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/pictures\/whatsapp-image-2026-03-05-at-12.30.04.jpeg?height=90&amp;format=webp 90w\" sizes=\"100px\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"header\">\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"name\">Sam Hall<\/div>\n<div class=\"role\">F1 Writer<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"desc\">\n<p>Sam joined Crash.net in February 2026 with extensive experience in motorsport media, having covered numerous championships around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"summary body\">\n<p>Colton Herta didn&#8217;t entertain the idea of back-to-back competing in F2 and the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"body\">\n<p>Colton Herta has revealed he briefly entertained the idea of running in F2 in Montreal before hot footing it to contest the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n<p>Herta had planned to make his IndyCar return with Andretti at the iconic Indy 500 at the end of May, taking advantage of an expected clear weekend in his schedule.<\/p>\n<p>But the conflict in the Middle East saw grands prix cancelled in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, both events that F2 was scheduled to support Formula 1 at. These were later replaced by weekends in Miami and Montreal \u2013 the latter clashing with the Indy 500.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he had considered a back-to-back attempt, Herta told select media: \u201cI had a lot of visions in my head of being able to do that but I kind of always knew it wasn&#8217;t going to be able to do legitimately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know, as far as the Indy side, you miss Carb Day, which is a very important day, and then even if it were to work, I think it&#8217;d be; it&#8217;s difficult because, for me, F2 is the clear priority and Cadillac is the clear priority for me this year. That was just going to be a little bit of an added bonus when I had a bit of time off, but yeah, it wasn&#8217;t meant to be this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Five drivers have previously attempted \u2018Double Duty\u2019 with NASCAR\u2019s Coca-Cola 600 and the Indy 500, with Tony Stewart the only man to successfully complete the 1,100-mile distance.<\/p>\n<p>Drivers have previously commented that F2 cars feel unique, with limited crossover to modern F1 machinery. Believing the same is true between F2 and IndyCar, Herta does not feel an Indy 500 attempt would have harmed his primary season-long effort.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"ins-related_content dsp-related_content_in_article\">\n<h2>Read More<\/h2>\n<div class=\"related-content-in-body js-view-dom-id-6ab183d0861b79ee170599d851ed3403cde443c8c13bf0edc4753a856cb9f5e7\">  IndyCar star says huge career risk is his &#8220;last shot at F1&#8221; <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI think it wouldn&#8217;t be a distraction because it is so different,\u201d he explained. \u201cTo drive an Indy car around an oval and then drive an F2 car around a permanent road course or street circuit, they&#8217;re so different that it&#8217;s easy to isolate the two.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think if there was some similarities driving an Indy car around the street circuit or something like that maybe it wouldn&#8217;t be as positive because you can have these kind of micro things that you pick up and drag into the other, but because it was so different no I don&#8217;t think it was it was a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>F2 has never raced in North America before. Of the unplanned trip to home shores, Herta added: \u201cIt&#8217;s cool. I hope we have a great showing and people enjoy it and it opens doors to have F2 back because it would be awesome if that was another thing that F2 did consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"ins-related_content dsp-related_content_in_article_2\">\n<h2>Read More<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"body\">\n<p>Colton Herta has revealed he briefly entertained the idea of running in F2 in Montreal before hot footing it to contest the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n<p>Herta had planned to make his IndyCar return with Andretti at the iconic Indy 500 at the end of May, taking advantage of an expected clear weekend in his schedule.<\/p>\n<p>But the conflict in the Middle East saw grands prix cancelled in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, both events that F2 was scheduled to support Formula 1 at. These were later replaced by weekends in Miami and Montreal \u2013 the latter clashing with the Indy 500.<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he had considered a back-to-back attempt, Herta told select media: \u201cI had a lot of visions in my head of being able to do that but I kind of always knew it wasn&#8217;t going to be able to do legitimately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know, as far as the Indy side, you miss Carb Day, which is a very important day, and then even if it were to work, I think it&#8217;d be; it&#8217;s difficult because, for me, F2 is the clear priority and Cadillac is the clear priority for me this year. That was just going to be a little bit of an added bonus when I had a bit of time off, but yeah, it wasn&#8217;t meant to be this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Five drivers have previously attempted \u2018Double Duty\u2019 with NASCAR\u2019s Coca-Cola 600 and the Indy 500, with Tony Stewart the only man to successfully complete the 1,100-mile distance.<\/p>\n<p>Drivers have previously commented that F2 cars feel unique, with limited crossover to modern F1 machinery. Believing the same is true between F2 and IndyCar, Herta does not feel an Indy 500 attempt would have harmed his primary season-long effort.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"ins-related_content dsp-related_content_in_article\">\n<h2>Read More<\/h2>\n<div class=\"related-content-in-body js-view-dom-id-6ab183d0861b79ee170599d851ed3403cde443c8c13bf0edc4753a856cb9f5e7\">  IndyCar star says huge career risk is his &#8220;last shot at F1&#8221; <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI think it wouldn&#8217;t be a distraction because it is so different,\u201d he explained. \u201cTo drive an Indy car around an oval and then drive an F2 car around a permanent road course or street circuit, they&#8217;re so different that it&#8217;s easy to isolate the two.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think if there was some similarities driving an Indy car around the street circuit or something like that maybe it wouldn&#8217;t be as positive because you can have these kind of micro things that you pick up and drag into the other, but because it was so different no I don&#8217;t think it was it was a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>F2 has never raced in North America before. Of the unplanned trip to home shores, Herta added: \u201cIt&#8217;s cool. I hope we have a great showing and people enjoy it and it opens doors to have F2 back because it would be awesome if that was another thing that F2 did consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"ins-related_content dsp-related_content_in_article_2\">\n<h2>Read More<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;http:\/\/crash.net\/f2\/news\/1093109\/1\/why-colton-hertas-ambitious-indy-500-f2-crossover-wasnt-legitimate&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2026-04\/xpb_1399322_hires.jpg?width=1600&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9&#8243;] Why Colton Herta&#8217;s ambitious Indy 500-F2 crossover &#8216;wasn&#8217;t legitimate&#8217; Colton Herta didn&#8217;t entertain the idea of back-to-back competing in F2 and the Indianapolis 500. Sam Hall 25 Apr 2026 Share Herta in Australia with F2 \u00a9\u00a0XPB Images Add as a preferred source Colton Herta has revealed he briefly entertained the idea of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[47,226],"class_list":["post-1903874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crash-net","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1903874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1903874\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1903874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1903874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1903874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}