Are Red Bull dreaming of pairing Max Verstappen with a US driver?

The American has been heavily-linked with a switch to F1 for 2023 in place of Pierre Gasly, who is rumoured to be Alpine’s first choice to replace Fernando Alonso.

Despite not being a title contender in IndyCar this season, Herta is widely-regarded as one of the most talented drivers in the series, and at just 22, fits the profile of driver AlphaTauri tend to sign.

Speaking after the F1 Dutch Grand Prix, Horner spoke openly about Herta.

“I think he’s an exciting talent,” he said after the race on Sunday. “He’s a young American, a guy that’s been a standout talent in the U.S. so it’ll be very interesting to see how he performs in Formula 1. 

“F1 obviously has got growing popularity in the U.S. market at the moment and to have a successful U.S. driver could be very interesting, could be interesting for us in the longer term. We’ve got contracts with our existing drivers. 

“AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso have produced a great stable of driver for us to draw upon whether it be Sebastian or Max or Daniel over the years.”

The signing of Herta comes down to two factors - whether Gasly is signed by Alpine and if the FIA give him special dispensation as doesn’t have the required amount of super licence points.

“Pierre is doing a good job within AlphaTauri so I don’t think there would be a desire to change if there wasn’t an interesting option available,” he added.”

“It’s an FIA issue. We just need clarity on what is the situation regarding driver points which hopefully will come sooner rather than later. That plays a key role obviously in the driver merry-go-round.”

With Red Bull running out of impressive junior drivers in F2 - Jehan Daruvala, Liam Lawson and Juri Vips, particularly after they have underperformed in 2022 - it’s no surprise to see Helmut Marko look elsewhere.

If Herta impresses at AlphaTauri, we’ve seen with Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon that Red Bull is prepared to give their junior drivers an opportunity.

It would be great for F1 to have an American driver in the sport once again and a great opportunity for Herta to potentially have a long career in the pinnacle of motorsport.