Herta did not want to take a step back to gain super licence points

Super licence points for IndyCar

Red Bull Racing went all out to get Herta into sister team AlphaTauri's car. The IndyCar driver currently has 32 of the 40 required super licence points, but Red Bull hoped the FIA would grant Herta a special exemption. This the FIA did not do, meaning Herta will once again drive at Andretti in the IndyCar Series next season.

Herta said in an interview with Autosport.com that he fully understands the FIA. However, he does feel that the IndyCar Series does not provide enough points for a super licence. The champion receives forty, which is immediately enough for a super licence. This also applies to Formula 2, for example. The driver who comes second receives 30 points and the number three 20, while the numbers two and three in F2 both receive 40 points.

Back to a feeder series

Somehow, Herta is also satisfied with the FIA's ruling, as the American did not want to enter Formula 1 as an exception. One outcome would have been to race in Asia Regional Formula in winter, for example, but after four years of racing in IndyCar, it did not feel right for Herta to race in a feeder series.

McLaren currently has a testing contract with Herta and Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, had told Herta that he would have liked to put him in the car during free practice. Even this ultimately turned out not to be a real possibility, as Herta was in the process of becoming a driver for AlphaTauri. That would mean going against his own team.

Chances of IndyCar title in 2023 are slim

For now, it looks like Herta will have to earn the 40 points by racing in IndyCar. Last season, the Californian-born driver finished just tenth with one win behind his name. His teammates did not perform very strongly either, with Alexander Rossi finishing ninth, Romain Grosjean thirteenth and rookie Devlin DeFrancesco not even finishing in the top twenty.