"Andretti and Colton Herta can no longer race together, it's a total disaster" - IndyCar fans react to Andretti's $25,000 penalty at Thermal

Fans reacted to IndyCar's major decision to penalize Colton Herta's entry at the Thermal Club race on Wednesday. Andretti Global's driver had a solid P4 outing in the 2025 Thermal Club Grand Prix. He was on it in the 65-lap event, but things took a turn for the worse with a post-race penalty.

Colton Herta and the Andretti outfit failed the technical post-race inspection on the #26 car and, thus, were asked to forfeit 10 championship entry points and all the prize money related to it. Moreover, Andretti Global was fined $25,000.

IndyCar fans from all over the world were quick to react to the penalty decision, with many questioning Corta's partnership with Andretti. A particular fan on X wrote:

"Andretti and Herta can no longer race together, it's a total disaster, 2 races, two mistakes already."

Another fan had the following to add on X:

"Wow....isn't this ironic...you did all that talking last year and now look at you buddy."

One fan wrote:

"So is the fan base going to turn on Colton like they did on Josef last year?"

One fan commented,

"Herta bottle came a week late."

One fan wrote,

"Colton needs to get away from that team ASAP. Whether it be a bad pit stop, bad strategy call and now this? Yikes."

Another fan said,

"Entrant points but not drivers points? Well I guess this is a team mistake but interesting anyways."

Colton Herta missed out on the podium at Thermal Club by finishing behind Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard (P3). The 65-lap Grand Prix was won by Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou.

Colton Herta was a happy chap post Thermal Club race

While Colton Herta and Andretti Global have been smacked with a hefty fine post their Thermal Club infringement, the former was incredibly upbeat following the end of this last Sunday's race.

He produced a steady outing, and in line with this, he posted a picture on his Instagram page. The 24-year-old wrote in the caption:

"P4. Solid rebound from St Pete! Excited to hit the streets in a few weeks in Long Beach!"

Colton Herta has been making his trade in the highest class of open-wheel racing in America since the 2018 Grand Prix of Sonoma. He has, to date, secured nine race wins, 18 podiums, and 14 pole positions.

In the 2024 campaign, Herta was downright sensational, as he was able to amass a strong 513 points to finish in second place behind Alex Palou. Keeping in view everything that has been discussed, the 24-year-old would want to better his last year's campaign and end the ongoing 2025 season as the world champion. He is currently in eighth place in the drivers' standings with 47 points.