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IndyCar Champion Colton Herta Joins McLaren F1's MCL35M Program

McLaren F1 has confirmed on Saturday that Colton Herta will join the team – temporarily, at first. He will be a part of the MCL35M testing program. This gives drivers the opportunity to show what they’ve got before accepting a firm proposal from an F1 team.
Colton Herta 6 photos
Photo: Andretti Autosport on Twitter
Colton Herta2021 McLaren F1 CarColton HertaMcLaren Sign of Approval2022 McLaren F1 Car
Colton Herta can join McLaren F1 Team as a driver for one year as Formula 1 decided in 2021 that testing programs can be established to find out who’s the right fit. There are some special rules enforced, such as allowing the new driver to only show his skills on last year’s F1 car. This is called the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) provision, and McLaren is taking full advantage of it.

For now, that’s all McLaren is ready to share about its program – the MCL35M. If the name sounds familiar, then you might remember that this was the code name of last year's McLaren F1 car.

Colton Herta impressed everyone at IndyCar when he managed to achieve being victorious at the ripe age of 19.

McLaren needs a reserve driver. Alpine has also confirmed today that Oscar Piastri will be available for the Brits if the situation presents itself as such. With Daniel Ricciardo being sick, this would secure a good opportunity for the Alpine driver, and it would also help the F1 team stay afloat.

Colton Herta hasn’t been that active in the racing world lately, but in a podcast with Marshall Pruett, he said he never stopped training. But he admits that this is one thing he doesn’t like about professional racing. “I can’t stop. That’s one thing I don’t like about racing. You Have to work out to be able to do it and there’s no regard in which you can drive a car without doing it, so (…) I have to get up early and this motivates me to go on”, he said.
In a statement provided by McLaren, the new F1 driver said being part of this sport was always on his “racing bucket list.”

There’s a chance this move might bring new, highly motivated, and courageous drivers to Formula 1.
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About the author: Florin Amariei
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Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
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