American prospect Colton Herta has taken a small step closer to Formula 1 after landing a test with McLaren.
The 22-year-old is one of the stars of IndyCar across the Atlantic and has a burgeoning reputation. That has been recognised by McLaren, who will give him the chance to drive their 2021 car in Portugal at an event this week.
Team principal Andreas Seidl said: "Colton is a proven talent in IndyCar. We will be interested to see how he adapts to a Formula 1 car. We believe this testing programme will provide him with valuable experience while demonstrating the benefit of expanding previous car testing to showcase promising drivers for the future."
The last American to race in F1 was Alex Rossi in 2015, who drove in a handful of Grands Prix for Marussia in 2015. Before him, the brilliantly-named Scott Speed raced 28 times with Toro Rosso after taking part in a couple of practice sessions for the newly-formed Red Bull team in 2005.
Herta looks best placed to be the next American to take part in the sport, and claimed in April that he came within a whisker of landing a seat on this season's grid. Had Michael Andretti completed his mooted takeover of Sauber, it would likely have been him racing alongside Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo this season rather than Zhou Guanyu.
"I believed I was going [to F1], and I thought it was almost for sure – although there was a small part of me that was still like: 'Well, I don't have a contract yet, so it can still come undone'. It was just so surreal. I thought we did it for a second, and then it all came crashing down," revealed the youngster, who also plays drums in indie rock band The Zibs.
So Herta is still on the lookout for his chance to move into F1, and McLaren may well prove to be a possible home if he does. Lando Norris is tied down long-term and looks to have planted roots with the team, but the future of Daniel Ricciardo is far less certain.
The Australian is still struggling in his second season with the team, and has largely been unable to match his team-mate's results. His current deal expires in 2023, which coincides with the end of Herta's contract with Andretti Autosport.
McLaren may therefore be considering him as an option if they do decide to part company with Ricciardo. More experienced alternate options include Alex Albon and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, while F2 champion Oscar Piastri may also still be waiting for his chance to impress in F1.
