“He did apologize to me”: When Colton Herta recalled aftermath from Will Power incident in St. Petersburg

Back in 2023, Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta opened up about an early setback he faced during the season-opening race in St. Petersburg. The incident happened when defending champion, Will Power took him out halfway into the race with a bold overtaking move. Weeks later, Herta appeared on the Speed Street podcast and revealed that the Penske driver approached him after the race to apologize for wrecking his car.

The Aussie driver had forced the No. 26 Andretti into the tire barrier and out of the race on lap 49 while the two were fighting for 15th place. A clip of Herta’s conversation on the podcast was shared by Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media YouTube channel on March 17, where Herta confirmed that Power had reached out to make amends.

"Later that day I did see him and he did apologize to me. You know, I've never really had problems with Will like that, I've never been taken out by him..." Colton Herta shared when asked if he had an opportunity to speak to Will Power about the incident.

When asked about the cuss word he dropped during an interview after the fact, Herta admitted that it was an honest mistake as he got quite angry while watching the replay and only later realized what he had said. He even thought that he would get fined for the mishap.

"I thought I was gonna get fined after the fact. I honestly was just talking and I was so mad that I didn't realize what I was saying until afterward and I watched the interview and I was like, 'Oh yeah, I haven't gotten contacted by anybody yet,'" the 24-year-old added.

Will Power also spoke about the incident after the race, sharing his own take on it.

---

Will Power felt bad for ruining the season opener for Colton Herta

Although Power received a penalty that sent him to the back of the field, he managed to recover and finish seventh in what turned out to be a chaotic race. Colton Herta, however, was not as fortunate, as the damage forced him to retire halfway through the event.

The Penske driver later expressed how he likes racing clean, especially with someone like Herta, who is also a very clean racer. However, he also shared his own take on the accident as he explained why it wasn't entirely his fault despite feeling bad for the 24-year-old.

"I hate to ruin anyone’s day, I do, I hate that. I like to race these guys clean and he [Herta] races me clean so I feel really bad that he ended up out and I was able to keep going," Power shared.

“I went up the inside and I had as much luck as I could. I feel bad that it ruined his day, but I for sure he knew I was there like I’m up his inside and I just understeer. It wasn’t like just a big dive bomb it was, well, I’m here and he kind of hung around the outside,” he explained.

Unfortunately, Colton Herta faced a similar fate at the Firestone GP of Monterey in the season’s final race when he again had to retire on lap 80 out of 100.