科尔顿·赫塔目标2028年进入F1：“我仍有机会”
从印地赛车转战F2追逐F1梦想的科尔顿·赫塔表示，尽管赛季艰难，他仍相信自己有机会在2028年之前登上F1。
科尔顿·赫塔目标2028年进入F1：“我仍有机会”
赫塔的F2赛季堪称炼狱，但他依然瞄准F1——并相信自己能够成功
“坐在这里想着我一上来就能跟上节奏、能在首场比赛就准备好争胜，那是愚蠢的。我可能年纪更大一些，但就速度而言，这些车手一点也不比任何人慢。”
这就是科尔顿·赫塔在追逐F1梦想、从印地赛车转战二级方程式（Formula 2）这场豪赌时的看法，而到目前为止，事实证明他是对的——甚至超出了他最初的想象。
凯迪拉克的青训车手非常清楚，F2对新秀来说是一项艰难的锦标赛，尤其是跳过F3、并且从一开始就得掌握倍耐力轮胎的情况下，但他肯定没料到自己会陷入如今这般困境。
这位效力于Hitech车队的车手目前在车手积分榜上排名第19位，拿到26个积分，最佳成绩是巴塞罗那冲刺赛中的第五名——而且是从反排第三位发车取得的。他完全无法解释为何表现如此不佳。
当Motorsport.com在独家专访中问到究竟是什么让他难以理解时，赫塔回应说：“没有什么特别的具体问题，就是方方面面都不行。不幸的是，任何时候都没有多少积极的方面。不知道为什么，速度完全为零，而且情况基本没有任何改变。”
“我们为什么不能从始至终完整地跑出一个强势的周末，这一点很不明朗。我认为，在这里排位赛比别的车慢三秒，实在是让人挠头。对我来说这完全没有道理。”
当被追问到底是难以适应赛车还是难以适应轮胎时，赫尔塔澄清道：“一开始并不是。在冬季测试中，我们的速度相当不错。我参加的所有私人测试，表现都很强，但不知为何一到比赛周末，这种表现就始终没能转化过来。”
这位美国车手的分析是准确的。在巴塞罗那的季前测试中，他并列第11快，比领跑者拉斐尔·卡马拉慢了0.574秒——卡马拉同样是一名新秀，作为卫冕F3冠军。那样的表现显然令人鼓舞。
但好状态没有持续下去。赫尔塔在前五轮比赛中的平均排位是第14名，与最快者相差0.848秒，而且他的状态逐渐变差，在接下来八节排位赛中平均只排第18名。在后一段时期，平均差距达到1.088秒——这还未算最近巴库站的比赛，那一站他的差距莫名其妙地膨胀到了Q1慢2.484秒、Q2慢3.091秒。
撞车也变得越来越频繁，在最近的蒙扎和马德里这两轮比赛中就有不少于三次。
“这确实令人沮丧，但我们能做的就是继续努力，”赫尔塔补充道。“我不确定这是不是本赛季的最后一场比赛[由于伊朗战争，卡塔尔和阿布扎比的比赛面临威胁]，还是之后还有更多比赛，但我们会像还有两场比赛要跑一样继续工作。我会尽力从中获得最大收获。”
可以说，这个赛季对于赫尔塔的F1前景来说并不算美好，尤其是考虑到凯迪拉克F1首席执行官丹·托里斯曾期望他能取得年度前10名的成绩，而这一目标如今在数学上已基本无缘。
凯迪拉克曾明确表示，如果这位测试与发展车手在F2中表现足够出色，他在不远的将来就有真正机会获得F1席位，但赫尔塔表示，车队并未就他在这一青训系列赛（feeder series）中的表现向他提供反馈。
这位前印地方程式领跑者还表示，他目前正在与这支F1车队就其2027年的计划进行磋商，并在媒体报道相互矛盾的情况下澄清，他不排除再参加一个赛季F2的可能——尽管这显然不是他的首选。
“我说过‘我没有兴趣’，”赫塔指出。“今年，如果有明显的进步之类的，回到那边会更有意思，但完全没有进步。
“我现在和F1车队做了很多模拟器方面的工作。周一我刚参加了一天旧车测试，效果非常好。无论是在F1模拟器还是TPC测试中，我的速度都很强，但不知为什么，就是没法转化到F2上。”
不过，当被问到2027年是否仍然稳稳属于凯迪拉克时，赫塔回答：“目前我明年还没有任何确定的东西，但我们正在讨论，弄清楚我在车队内部有哪些机会。”
而当我们询问这位2024年印地方程亚军是否会考虑重返该项赛事时，赫塔明确表示了他的优先方向：“一切都取决于明年会是什么样子。我的重心仍然是进入F1，我仍然认为在这两年内我有机会。但我不太确定，我得先看看凯迪拉克对我的计划是什么。
“而一旦我了解了这一点，我就能做出更多决定，比如我是否会在一级方程式（Formula 1）中，还是不会。那会是什么样子，是替补车手的角色？还是仍然是测试车手的角色？如果是那样的话，在那期间我还可以参加哪些其他系列赛来保持忙碌？
“所以，目前确实有很多话只能说，很遗憾，在我对明年的计划更加确定之前，暂时无可奉告——到那时我就可以围绕它来安排一切了。”
英文原文
Colton Herta aiming at F1 by 2028: 'I still have a chance'
Herta’s F2 season has been nothing short of a crucible, yet he’s still aiming at F1 – and believes he can make it
“It would be foolish to sit here and think that I will be on the pace right away, that I will be on the pace and ready to win in my first race. I may be older, but speed-wise, these guys are just as fast as anybody out there.”
This was how Colton Herta viewed his gamble of a Formula 2 switch from IndyCar as he pursued his Formula 1 dream, and he has so far been proven right – actually more than he initially imagined.
Cadillac’s protege was well aware that F2 was a tricky championship for rookies, especially when bypassing F3 and having to master the Pirelli tyres from the get-go, but he certainly didn’t expect to struggle to the extent that he has.
The Hitech driver lies 19th in the drivers’ standings, with 26 points to his name and fifth place in the Barcelona sprint race as his best result – from third on the reversed grid. He is at a loss to explain such a lack of performance.
Asked by Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview what exactly has been tough for him to get his head around, Herta responded: “Nothing in particular, it's just been the whole thing. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a whole bunch of positives at any point. For whatever reason, there's been zero pace, and nothing has really changed.
“It's unclear why we can't put a weekend together from start to finish and it be completely strong. I think it's just a head-scratcher to be qualified three seconds off here. It just makes zero sense to me.”
Pressed on whether he struggled to get used to the car or to the tyres, Herta clarified: “Initially, no. Through the winter testing, we were fairly strong. All the private testing that I’d done, I was strong, but for some reason on race weekends, it just hasn't ever translated.”
The American’s analysis is accurate. He was joint 11th-fastest in pre-season testing at Barcelona, 0.574s down on pacesetter Rafael Camara – also a rookie as the reigning F3 champion. That performance clearly was encouraging.
But it didn’t last. Herta qualified 14th on average in the first five rounds, with a 0.848s deficit to the top, and his form gradually worsened, as he averaged 18th across the next eight qualifying sessions. Over the latter period, the mean gap was 1.088s – discounting the latest Baku event, where his deficit inexplicably ballooned to 2.484s in Q1 and 3.091s in Q2.
Crashes also have been more and more frequent, with no fewer than three across the recent Monza and Madrid rounds.
“It's frustrating, but all we can do is just keep trying,” Herta added. “I guess, unsure if that's the last one [of the season, with Qatar and Abu Dhabi at threat due to the Iran war] or if we have more, but we'll keep working like we have two more races to do. I'll try to get the most out of it.”
It’s fair to say this season hasn’t exactly been amazing for Herta’s F1 prospects, especially given Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss expected a top-10 finish in the championship, which is all but mathematically out of reach.
Cadillac had been clear that its test and development driver had a real chance of an F1 seat in a not-too-distant future if he did well enough in F2, but Herta said he hadn’t had feedback from the team about his performance in the feeder series.
The former IndyCar frontrunner added that he was currently in talks with the F1 outfit regarding his 2027 plans and clarified, amid conflicting media reports, that he wasn’t ruling out a second season in F2 – though this clearly isn’t his priority.
“I said ‘I don't have an interest’,” Herta pointed out. “This year, I think if there was clear progression and whatnot, it would be more interesting to return, but there's zero progression.
“I've been doing a lot more with the F1 team now as far as sim stuff. I just did a TPC [Testing of Previous Cars] day on Monday, which was very strong. On the F1 sim and the TPC stuff, the pace has been really strong, but for whatever reason, it's just not translating to F2.”
Yet, asked if he was still firmly on Cadillac’s books for 2027, Herta replied: “I don't have anything for next year at the moment, but we're discussing, getting through that as far as what the opportunities are for me within the team.”
And when we inquired whether the 2024 IndyCar runner-up would consider a return to the series, Herta made it clear where his priority lay: “It all depends on what next year looks like. My focus is still on getting to F1, and I still think I have a chance of that in these next two years. But I don't know exactly, I have to sit back and see what the plan is for Cadillac for me.
“And once I know that, then I can make more decisions on maybe if I'm in Formula 1, if I'm not. What does that look like in terms of, is it a reserve role? Is it still a test role? If that's the case, what other series can I race in during that to stay busy?
“So, there's a lot of just, like, nothing to say at the moment, unfortunately, until I have more solidified plans for next year – then I can build everything out around that.”
Motorsport.com ·
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