Herta keen to help Power settle in at Andretti

The former driver of Andretti Global’s No. 26 is doing what good teammates do by trying to help its new driver get acclimated with the team.

Colton Herta’s known Andretti’s inner workings firsthand since joining its Indy NXT program in 2017, and with his pursuit of Formula 1 leading to Andretti’s acquisition of two-time IndyCar Series champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power, the new Hitech TGR Formula 2 driver has opened the lines of communication with the man who’s taken over his No. 26 Andretti Honda.

“It's both ways,” Herta said. “I had a phone call with him. I called him right after he did (his first Andretti outing at) Phoenix (for a Firestone tire test earlier in the month). I was really interested to see what he said the differences were between the Andretti package and the Penske package. And he brought up some points that I wouldn't have thought of, and things that he's kind of seen on Penske and then also Andretti.”

Power’s excellence on short ovals – and ovals in general – should be a boon for the Andretti team, and with the recent retirement of Marco Andretti, Herta’s possible return to the IndyCar program for the Indy 500 could see the young veteran stepping back into the program with the benefit of Power’s vast experience infused within a fourth entry.

“I think he sees improvements from both teams,” Herta said. “He thought it was in a good spot, the car was, and he was excited about it. So that made me excited. I hope he does well there, and hope the 26 car gets some wins.”