Herta’s Career Starts in Europe
At the age of ten, Herta entered the world of karting. In 2015, he made the move to Europe for his debut in the MSA Formula with Carlin. He was the youngest and only American on the grid, finishing the season in third place in the championship. After the season, he was supposed to compete in the British Formula 3 Championship, but because he was too young, he moved to the Euroformula Open instead. He again finished third in this series. Eventually, Herta got the chance to race in two weekends of the British F3 as a replacement for Lando Norris. He immediately won a race at Brands Hatch. Despite his success, Herta decided to leave his European career behind after his Euroformula season and returned to America. There, he spent two years racing in the Indy Lights series with the Andretti team.
IndyCar Debut
In 2019, Herta made his IndyCar debut with Harding Steinbrenner Racing. In his first year, the American won two races and finished the season in seventh place. The following year, he stayed with Harding Racing and improved further, finishing third in the championship. In 2021, Herta returned to his former team, Andretti Autosport, but it was a challenging season for him. He finished tenth in the championship with just one win.
Red Bull Program Shows Interest
In 2022, Herta became part of McLaren's testing program. That year, he was given the opportunity to test the McLaren 2021 car at the Portimão circuit. Herta caught the attention of Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko, as rumors surfaced about a potential deal with AlphaTauri. A seat at Red Bull’s junior team could become available due to Pierre Gasly's departure. Marko was interested in the talented American, but a contract did not materialize. Herta did not have enough points on his superlicense, meaning he was not eligible for an F1 seat. As a result, Red Bull made a deal with Alpine to allow Herta to participate in a test in Hungary to earn additional points, but the FIA later announced that Herta would not receive an exemption. For now, Herta can only get close to an F1 car during McLaren’s test days.
