IndyCar driver Graham Rahal recently offered his thoughts on Colton Herta’s F1 seat rejection. The driver has openly questioned the sport’s approach to providing drivers’ superlicenses. In particular, Herta’s license denial has been the subject of a great deal of controversy for some time now.
The IndyCar sensation was associated with Red Bull for the longest time. Especially after news broke of Pierre Gasly’s move to Alpine, Herta was expected to be a potential replacement for him (at Alfatauri). Red Bull’s interest was also immediately confirmed when both Helmut Marko and Christian Horner criticized the FIA’s points relegation system for granting superlicenses.
Herta, who had 32 points out of the required 40, was eventually refused a transfer to F1, which was very disappointing for Red Bull. While the team could have tried to cover 8 points through other competitions, they abandoned the effort. Amazingly, the IndyCar driver’s deal with the team would certainly have been beneficial to attract American audiences to the sport.
Now, Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has expressed his opinion on the FIA’s decision-making. In a Twitter post he wrote:
“Perfect. F1 is an elite sport. They don’t want us. Remember. They want the money of American companies, they want the money of rich American individuals. But they don’t care about the rest. It’s always been like that, would always.”
The driver further dismissed those views, claiming that Herta was not worthy of an F1 seat:
And for those who want to say that Colton Herta didn’t earn “right.” You’re off base. He’s just as talented, if not more so than the rest. He’s a proven winner. He came out on top, And have done exceptionally well. F1 has had ride buyers for years who don’t hold a candle to CH. FACT!”
And for those who want to say @ColtonHerta Rights not “earned”. You are off base. He is just as talented, if not more so than the rest. He is a perfect winner. He came out on top and did exceptionally well. F1 has had ride buyers for years who don’t hold a candle to CH. fact! twitter.com/GrahamRahal/st…
Undoubtedly, there have been some mixed opinions in the paddock about Herta’s change in the game. However, there is no doubt that the youngster is a real talent. Notably, he is the youngest ever IndyCar race winner and has won seven since 2019.
FIA draws criticism after announcing 24-race F1 calendar for 2023
After criticism directed at his 2023 calendar, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently denied allegations that extending the length of the calendar was a money-minded decision.
He said the 24-race calendar was “normal”, indicating that it almost seemed like an inevitability as motorsport grew rapidly around the world.
Domenicali and the FIA have already garnered some negative attention after trying to filter out some old school tracks. Even the extended race calendar was not the most accepted decision and saw some resistance from the start. However, Domenicali explained his side of the story and claimed:
“Money is important everywhere, also for us. But we don’t just look at that, the whole package has to be perfect. If we just look at the bank account, the racing calendar will definitely look different. I’m not selling Formula Spirit of 1. This is normal change. We are opening up to the whole world. ”
F1 would have actually had a 23-race calendar this year if not for the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In addition, with the introduction of Kyalami and several other tracks, the FIA is set to expand the sport to new/old countries. Only time will tell what the consequences of these new features will be.
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