Colton Herta pokes fun at F2 move rumours amid reports of imminent announcement

Andretti IndyCar driver Colton Herta mocked rumours of a 2026 Formula 2 switch

Andretti IndyCar Series driver Colton Herta has poked fun at recent rumours linking him to a move to Formula 2 in 2026, with a video tricking fans into believing it was an announcement to confirm the career move.

The American driver has been at the centre of rumours for some time after previous connections to the Red Bull and Sauber Formula 1 teams. The F1 speculation resurfaced when Andretti Global joined forces with General Motors in a bid to join the championship, which is set to come to fruition with the Cadillac F1 team's debut in 2026.

Now, Herta has been rumoured to make a move from IndyCar to F2 next year with the aim of gaining enough superlicence points to score a seat in F1 in the future. Some reports have stated that an announcement is expected imminently, but this has not been confirmed.

The 25-year-old driver initially declined to address the rumours.

"Oh boy, I don't really have any comments for any of that stuff, to be honest," he told the Associated Press.

When he was told that his response would only fuel the speculation, he added with a smile, "It does, but it also makes people talk about me more. Maybe even raises my stock a little."

In a new video posted on his social media, the American driver decided to have some fun with the narrative surrounding him.

"All right, so I know there's been a lot of rumours about what I'm going to do next year," he said. "It has been a long decision for me, a hard decision, and I finally made that decision. And I appreciate everything that has happened and all of the fans' support for me this season, but this is going to be an exciting..."

The video cuts to Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.

The social media move, known as Rickrolling, went viral back in 2007. The meme began as a prank to trick people into clicking a disguised link, which would take them to the music video for Astley's 1987 hit, and has since been used in similar ways to Herta.

"You had my dad and I huddled around my phone in the parking lot at track just to get Rickrolled," one fan commented. Another wrote, "You know what, if I'm still falling for Rickrolls in the big year of 2025 then that's on me."

Herta signed a four-year IndyCar contract extension with Andretti Global in late 2022, which would see him through to the end of the 2027 season.