Is IndyCar's once-promising pathway to F1 now a road closed?

The odds were long, but as each embarked on bespoke testing programs, there was a reason to hope one of IndyCar's best would eventually get a chance to step onto a global stage and compete at the sport's peak.

The first to cross the F1 testing threshold with McLaren was Pato O'Ward in December 2021. The Mexican, who represents the team through its Arrow McLaren IndyCar outfit, was followed by Andretti Global's Colton Herta in July 2022 as Brown's friend and business partner Michael Andretti was busy trying to find a pathway onto the F1 grid. By September, Chip Ganassi Racing's Álex Palou became the third IndyCar pilot to turn his first F1 laps in McLaren machinery.

Three years later, only O'Ward is left standing. What went wrong?

Andretti's struggles to gain access to F1 are well known and have had a direct impact on Herta's involvement with the series. Andretti's subsequent plights to launch his own team in partnership with investor Dan Towriss, and the latest twist involving the 1991 CART IndyCar Series champion's ouster from his team, have only added to the yearslong drama.

Firm in the belief that the FIA and Liberty Media would eventually grant its entry, Andretti gave Herta a lucrative new contract -- said to exceed all IndyCar salaries by nearly double -- in anticipation of taking the Californian to F1. Outside of the lone test with McLaren in 2022, Herta has been on the outside looking in as the Towriss-led organization continues to develop a team and car of its own in the background.

"It's definitely still in my mind," Herta, who finished second in the 2024 IndyCar standings, told ESPN. "I think the window is for sure closing, age wise.

"For me, it's not just about Formula 1, but it's just about getting to drive some of the coolest cars on the planet. And that's a big reason why I love doing the IMSA races, because the GTP cars are really cool to race. True racing drivers, they want the opportunity to do a lot of things in their career, and I've been fortunate enough to do a lot in my short career so far as a professional. F1 is definitely still something that I want to try."

It's here where Herta, who went through struggles of his own with F1 on the topic of earning enough points to secure the Super License required to race in the series, has pinned his only realistic hopes of reaching the F1 grid with his IndyCar employer.

"They're still full steam ahead, and if they get the bid, they'll be ready much faster than any other team that can pop up at the moment," Herta added. "They're a long way into the process and they still have money pouring into it. How that ties me into it? It's nothing direct at the moment. I'm just in the background. Obviously, I would think that I'd be a choice for them, because I drive for them in IndyCar, and they voiced opinions on how I could be in F1, but a lot of things have to happen for everything to work out for that effort with me in it."

Palou's situation is even more uncertain.

The Spaniard's F1 berth with McLaren in 2022 was part of a now-abandoned plan to leave Ganassi at the end of 2023, join the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, and pursue his grand prix dreams with Brown as his biggest supporter.

An IndyCar champion in 2021, Palou was dissatisfied with the tiny salary he was receiving from Ganassi in 2022, searched for ways to get out of his contract and announced he had no intention of continuing with Ganassi after the team issued a press release saying it was taking up its option on Palou for 2023. Ganassi promptly sued Palou to enforce the contract.