Cadillac’s Formula 1 team, which is building its headquarters in Fishers, put American driver Colton Herta behind the wheel Friday during the opening practice session of the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, according to formula1.com.

Herta drove in place of Sergio Perez in the first practice session (FP1) in front of a home crowd. After a tricky start, he kept the car clean and handed an undamaged Cadillac over to Perez for the second session. Herta finished 21st in FP1 with a lap of 1:39.979.

“That was fun,” Herta said. “My first Formula 1 outing in my home country in front of all the American fans was a very special moment.”

Herta noted that many people from Cadillac and General Motors were on hand, and that the weekend marked his return to COTA seven years after he won an IndyCar race there.

“It’s surreal to be back on track here, this time driving a Formula 1 car,” he said.

Team Principal Marcin Budkowski said Herta completed the team’s full program in what was his third FP1 appearance.

“That growing familiarity with the car is helping him get up to speed more quickly and give increasingly useful feedback to the engineers,” Budkowski said.

Perez was a little late getting onto the track in the second session as the team finished setting up his car. He finished 21st in FP2 with a time of 1:39.036. Perez said the team tested several parts and setups, and one change likely put the car on the back foot for the rest of the session.

“We understand why and know what we need to do overnight to be in better shape tomorrow,” Perez said. “The team has done a fantastic job, and Colton also provided some really useful feedback.”

Teammate Valtteri Bottas, a past winner at COTA, turned in two solid sessions. He placed 20th in FP1 at 1:39.053 and 19th in FP2 at 1:38.422. Bottas said the team tested different front wings and setups without any issues but acknowledged the team still trails the rest of the field.

“It still looks like there is a bit of a gap to the others, so we’re going to do our best overnight to try and find something to help us improve,” Bottas said.

Budkowski said the team also tested floor elements that will be useful going forward. He said the focus for Saturday’s qualifying session will be finding the best setup and optimizing the tire window.

Cadillac is in its first season as Formula 1’s 11th team. Its Fishers headquarters remains under construction.

Information for this story was provided by formula1.com.