Cadillac confirmed on Wednesday (22) that test driver Colton Herta will take over Valtteri Bottas’ seat for Opening Free Practice (FP1) at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest this weekend. The American made his official Formula 1 session debut at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP, where he also took part in FP1 for the newcomer team.

This will mark Herta’s second official outing behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car. Alongside supporting Bottas and Sergio Pérez during Cadillac’s maiden F1 season, the American driver currently competes in Formula 2 with Hitech, where he sits 16th in the standings with 26 points.

As a result, Herta will be juggling dual duties this weekend in Hungary between his F2 commitments with Hitech and his FP1 running with Cadillac on Friday (24).

“It’s really exciting to get another opportunity to run in FP1. It’s a great chance to build personal experience, but the main goal is, of course, to support the team’s development program. It’s been six weeks since I last drove the car, and a lot has evolved during that time,” Herta said.

“The job is to help the race drivers have the best possible Hungarian GP, but also to provide feedback that will assist the team with its long-term development targets and give me a better foundation for future sessions,” he concluded.

Cadillac remains the only team yet to score a point in the 2026 F1 season, sitting 11th and last in the Constructors’ Championship.

Formula 1 returns on July 24–26 in Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix, the 11th round of the 2026 season.

F1 Hungarian GP: when to watch in US ET, London, New Delhi (India), Shanghai (China) and Sydney (Australia)

US Eastern Time (ET)

London Time (BST)

New Delhi Time (IST)

Shanghai Time (CST)

Sydney Time (AEST)