"Nothing to really be happy about": Colton Herta shattered after IndyCar qualifying failure at Road America

Andretti Global's Colton Herta sounded distraught after his Round 1 qualifying exit at Road America. Herta was in Group 2 alongside some other top drivers and was not able to make it into Round 2 amid the intense competition.

In line with this, Colton Herta expressed his feelings in a post-session interview and made it quite clear that he was extremely disappointed.

"Yeah, pretty poor. Nothing to really be happy about, with that one. So, yeah, I don't really have much to say. I think we haven't been on it this weekend, unfortunately, and we need to find some stuff for tomorrow for sure," Herta said via IndyCar on X.

Colton Herta is not having the best of seasons in IndyCar this year. He has struggled with one thing or the other during Grand Prix weekends, and thus, he is currently in ninth place in the drivers' standings.

Herta has so far managed only 170 points and is behind some top drivers like Scott McLaughlin (P8), Will Power (P7), Felix Rosenqvist (P6), Scott Dixon (P5), Christian Lundgaard (P4), his Andretti Global teammate, Kyle Kirkwood (P3), Pato O'Ward (P2), and the championship leader Alex Palou (P1).

Colton Herta's take on his P17 finish in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500

While Colton Herta didn't have the best of outings in qualifying at the Road America racing circuit, he had a torrid run in last week's 260-lap Bommarito Automotive Group 500 as well.

During the oval race, he was not able to make much of an impression, and amid the fiercely contested battles, he was only able to manage a P17 finish. His Andretti Global teammate, Kyle Kirkwood, on the other hand, triumphed in the event.

Herta sounded pretty crestfallen in a post-race interview after his forgettable outing in the race.

"Congrats to Kyle, but it was a super frustrating night for the Gainbridge team. We just lost the balance of the car. We had a very similar starting setup between us and the No. 27 team, so we need to go back and figure out what happened. Like I said, I’m happy for Kyle and the team, but just really frustrated for the No. 26," Herta said via Andretti Global.

Colton Herta's underwhelming run in the ongoing 2025 IndyCar season is quite surprising, especially considering that he ended the 2024 campaign in second position.

Moreover, in the process of doing so, the 25-year-old was able to put on board an impressive 513 points alongside two wins, three pole positions, 10 top-five and 13 top-ten finishes. The 2024 champion, Alex Palou, was able to amass 544 points on his way to his third IndyCar championship.

Edited by Rupesh