Herta keen to make F1 switch

The former CART ace tested for the team at Donington Park last weekend and enjoyed the experience. Minardi has confirmed that Anthony Davidson will stand in for Alex Yoong in Hungary and Belgium, leaving the possibility open for Herta to take over for the final three races.

"There's two issues," Herta said. "One is that after the test, I think both myself and the team are keen to do it. The other, at the moment, is that the team is short on funding, but there are some things in the works that could take care of that. It's not a lot of money, they're not asking for millions of dollars. That's why I think it's doable."

This year Herta has been racing for Panoz in the American Le Mans Series, so found driving a modern F1 car a bit of a culture shock.

"It was an entirely different experience from driving a Champ Car," he continued, "and definitely different than the Panoz. I was really surprised by how quickly I was able to get comfortable with the car, and I got down to really competitive times pretty quickly.

"What really surprised me was just the complete response of the car to every little input that you give it; whether it be steering or throttle or brake, it felt like a near immediate effect in the car. It's very sensitive, and the more economical you can be inside the car, the better it seems to work. It seemed to suit me because of that."

Should Herta compete in the final three grands prix of the season, he will be the first American to drive in his home race since Eddie Cheever finished third at Phoenix in 1989.