As the 2026 Formula One season nears its end, the team lineups for next season are largely confirmed.

However, one team that hasn't announced their full driver lineup for 2027 is Cadillac. The rumour mill is pointing towards California native Colton Herta replacing veteran Valtteri Bottas for the American constructor.

Herta has only recently completed enough mileage to qualify for his FIA Super Licence, which enables him to compete in Formula One.

While it seems a perfect match for the team to have an American driver, not everyone has been impressed by the potential new arrival. A former F1 driver with six wins and a famous surname, is one of those detractors, and they have revealed who they believe should pilot one of Cadillac's next season.

Colton Herta's Journey to a Potential F1 Seat Explored

Herta's move into F1 now looks more likely than ever to happen. He was previously being kept off the grid because he didn't have the required 40 points for his Super Licence.

To obtain those points, drivers are rewarded based on their finishing positions in other eligible racing series. This has been a hurdle for Herta ever since his first flirtation with the pinnacle of motorsport.

He was in pole position to get a seat at AlphaTauri, now Racing Bulls, for the 2023 season, where he had been expected to come in as a replacement for the Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly.

Crucially, though, this couldn't happen as he did not have enough points. He was also denied a special exemption, with the seat eventually going to Nyck de Vries.

During the 2026 season, it looked like Herta had finally achieved the milestone with his outing in first practice at the recent Mexican Grand Prix. However, an error regarding his finishing position in the 2025 IndyCar championship meant that he had fewer points than he and Cadillac thought.

This forced another appearance in practice at Interlagos ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, which finally saw him reach the required 40-point threshold to become eligible for one of the most coveted 22 seats in motorsport.

The reason that so many of his Super Licence points have had to be obtained in practice is because Herta's performances in Formula Two this season have not been good. He currently sits 19th in this season's standings.

Arguably, it's mostly for this reason that Ralf Schumacher has criticised the potential move.

Colton Herta Told He 'Doesn't Deserve' Cadillac Seat

Asked whether he felt the decision made sense, the German, who had 180 starts in his own career, mockingly told Sky Sports Germany that the call would only make sense “only if Easter and Christmas fell on the same day.

"No. Honestly, it’s pointless. He’s just burning fuel, as Franz Tost would say. I don’t even know what the point is.

“You can put other people, young people, in the car. Herta was really, really bad in Formula 2. In my opinion, he doesn’t deserve it at all. I think it’s nice that they’re trying to push Americans, but it has to make sense, and this one has no place in Formula 1."

In place of Herta, Schumacher pointed to former F2 and F3 champion, and McLaren reserve driver, Leonardo Fornaroli, who won F2 as a rookie in 2025, and whom the 2024 and 2025 Constructors' Champions have put out in several practice sessions themselves:

“Leonardo Fornaroli is certainly a candidate who deserves the chance. After all, he’s a Formula 2 and Formula 3 champion; an absolutely strong driver.”

However, unless Cadillac have a sudden change of heart, it seems likely that Herta will make his Formula One bow next spring.