Colton Herta placed 20th in Formula 2 qualifying at Monza, the lowest of his season and the lowest in his career to date.
Incident‑Heavy Practice Puts Herta on the Back Burner
During Friday’s single practice session, Herta spun back‑into the inside wall after losing grip at the exit of Lesmo 2, exposing a suspected hydraulic fault that was later replicated in an F1 Friday practice lap with the Cadillac MAC‑26.
After the crash, the former IndyCar driver could find only a 20th‑place slot in the Saturday morning qualifying, a performance far off the competitive group by over a second.
“It feels like only a few minutes in the car, then I immediately know what I should have done differently,” Herta reflected after the session, noting that his rookie experience with the Pirelli rubber remains limited.
Survival of the Fittest in Sprint and Feature
In the qualifying sprint, Herta edged up to finish 15th, signalling a modest improvement from the session’s misfortunes.
However, the feature race saw him retire on lap 11 after an incident at the exit of Parabolica, where he was running 21st, adding another blow to his mona‑legged campaign.
Points Tally and Outlook
With a single top‑12 finish over the last ten races, Herta stands at 26 points, trailing championship leader Nikola Tsolov by 151 points.
Only 156 points remain to be earned, leaving Herta mathematically out of the title fight and beyond reach of the top‑10 standing, which is currently 37 points ahead.
“I want to get to Formula 1 as quickly as possible,” Herta said, but the 2027 seat appears increasingly unlikely to materialise as his current form offers little support to a swift elevation.
In a season where each session compounds his setbacks, Herta’s Monza week underscores how fragile momentum can be in the move from IndyCar to the pinnacle of open‑wheel racing.
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