Herta qualifies for F1 superlicence as Bottas remains bullish on 2027 seat

Cadillac Formula 1 test driver Colton Herta has finally obtained the last remaining superlicence point required to drive in the series, but incumbent Valtteri Bottas remains bullish on his future with the squad.

Herta conducted his sixth Friday practice session of the 2026 season at Interlagos, reaching the required threshold of 100km to earn his 40th superlicence point needed to race in F1.

Cadillac believed the former IndyCar ace had reached that threshold last week in Mexico, but it soon emerged the Californian was still one point shy amid confusion over his previous IndyCar results. The US-owned squad rectified that error by handing Herta another Friday FP1 session in Sergio Perez's car.

That allows the team to keep its options open as it considers retaining incumbent Bottas for a second year alongside Perez or handing Herta his F1 debut in 2027.

The amount of time, energy and money spent by Cadillac to prepare Herta and ensure he kept churning out FP1 sessions suggests that the team is set on promoting the 26-year-old American as early as next year.

But Bottas was bullish on retaining his seat for 2027 and said he was bemused by the extent of the rumours around his seat after a difficult year with the troubled Cadillac MAC-26. Alongside Herta, several other drivers have either held private talks with Cadillac or publicly applied for Bottas' seat, like Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti.

Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing

Photo by: Michael Potts / LAT images via Getty Images

"I've been quite surprised about the amount of noise on that," Bottas said on Thursday. "Because I know what my situation is. And all I've heard, the team has been happy with what I'm doing.

"But at the same time, we know how this sport works. Everyone wants to be in F1 and if somebody sees an opportunity somewhere, they're going to try and go for it one way or the other.

"But the way our team is structured and the way decisions are made for the future, everything needs to be approved by the board. And I believe that meeting is still yet to happen. I've been convinced nothing has changed."

Bottas has underperformed compared to team-mate Perez, but has also dealt with numerous issues with Cadillac's debut car, the latest coming in the shape of a high-speed accident in Mexico due to a suspension failure. That has made the Finnish veteran's performances tougher to judge, but the 10-time race winner insists the right people know how to appraise him.

"I think the people who know, they know. That's what I feel like. And I've got good support on that side," the 37-year-old said. "We have bigger problems to solve than the drivers at the moment and I think Mexico was a good example.

"The team knows what they can get out of me if everything works well. But so far, they haven't really delivered with a car that I can do much. But honestly, that was always what I kind of expected for the first year. I came here to try and improve things for the future, definitely not with a mindset to fight for my seat."