Colton Herta delivered a much-needed third place at the Grand Prix of Monterey but admitted afterwards to what disrupted his charge for the race win at Laguna Seca.
The American driver started in third place and immediately overtook Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward at the start, but he couldn’t challenge race winner Alex Palou.
Herta began the 95-lap event at Laguna Seca on the more durable Firestone Primary tyre, which allowed Palou to build an advantage on Alternates as O’Ward applied relentless pressure in the battle for second place.
The Andretti Global driver explained in the post-race press conference that Palou’s consistency over the race distance made him very difficult to beat despite Herta’s competitive raw speed.
He said in the post-race IndyCar press conference: “I think we could compete with him. Obviously the first stint, the tire offset, you saw how big of an offset it was. We were reeling him in when we were on the other side of it, and at the end on the restarts I felt just as strong as him. He didn’t really pull away from us too much.”
Despite not taking victory Herta is pleased with his progress
Herta ended up in third place at the end of the Grand Prix of Monterey as Palou won the race, and Christian Lundgaard finished ahead of the No. 26 car for Arrow McLaren.
Herta added that he may have had a level of similar pace to Palou at Laguna Seca, but it may not have been enough to make a real challenge, and pass the reigning champion.
He added: “I felt like I had his pace, but again, having his pace and being able to do it the whole race and overcuts and undercuts, it’s a different thing. Again, they drove a really good race, and they were very fast, but I think we had similar pace. We were close. Maybe not enough to overtake, but definitely a step in the right direction.”
Herta has endured a stuttering season so far with only a couple of podium finishes, but he is starting to build momentum. A fourth-place finish at Toronto has been followed up with a podium at Laguna Seca.
These two tracks at circuits the American has won at in the past, and he may have a bigger challenge to replicate this form next time out in Portland, where he has yet to score a podium finish.
Image credit: Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski
