Hope for Herta's arrival: 'Verstappen wouldn't have been eligible'

Helmut Marko still believes IndyCar driver Colton Herta can get a super license. According to the Red Bull Racing advisor, the FIA has not yet decided on a possible exception.

A driver needs 40 points on his super licence to be allowed to drive in Formula 1. Herta does not meet this requirement, but Marko is keen to add the 22-year-old driver to the AlphaTauri team. Rumours suggest that Pierre Gasly will make the switch to Alpine now that a seat next to Esteban Ocon has become available. Red Bull had hoped for a decision from the FIA on a possible super-licence exemption at the Italian Grand Prix, but Marko has confirmed that he is still waiting for the decision.

Marko holds out hope

"No, we don't have an answer yet", Marko tells SpeedCity Broadcasting, quoted by Racer.com. "It will be around… latest the end of the month. We are still hopeful.” McLaren CEO Zak Brown is also hoping the FIA will make an exception for his IndyCar driver.

According to Brown, the FIA is investigating whether the system around the super license is fair for IndyCar drivers. "if someone like Colton, who has won a lot of IndyCar races, isn’t eligible for a Super License then I think we need to review the Super License system", he says. According to the McLaren chief, there are a number of current F1 drivers who would not have had enough points under the current system either. "I don’t think Max Verstappen would’ve been eligible for a Super License. Kimi Raikkonen wouldn’t have been eligible for a Super License."