Photo: ims.com/Jerry Lawrence
Formula 1 turned its back on Indianapolis after the 2007 US Grand Prix and turned its back on the US completely until 2012, discouraged by the poor attendance which followed the 2005 Indygate. But track owner Roger Penske hopes the legendary Speedway can once again catch the eye of F1 at one point.
That's nothing new, as Penske has talked about the possible return of F1 to Indianapolis several times since buying the track a few months ago. So what is new? Actual talks with the CEO of Formula One Group, that's what.
"My son Greg has met with Chase Carey, and had some preliminary discussions over the past couple weeks," Penske told racer.com while downplaying the chances of something more concrete happening anytime soon. "I don’t know yet if the economics make sense but we wouldn’t look at doing it before 2022," he added.
Currently, the US Grand Prix is held at Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, but the powers that be in Formula 1, meaning owners Liberty Media, are always keen on expanding. Miami already has an agreement in principle to join the F1 calendar in 2021. So, a race in Indianapolis could theoretically bring the total of F1 GPs on U.S. soil to three, which seemed impossible 10 years ago and still seems far-fetched today.
Penske is more confident of getting some IMSA action on at Indianapolis, all part of his efforts to make The Brickyard great again.
“I’ve had some discussions with John Doonan and I think there is good potential to run an endurance race at the Speedway,” said Penske, whose team are the current champions of the DPI class in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The endurance series has been hosted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway only once before, in its inaugural season, in 2014.
"My son Greg has met with Chase Carey, and had some preliminary discussions over the past couple weeks," Penske told racer.com while downplaying the chances of something more concrete happening anytime soon. "I don’t know yet if the economics make sense but we wouldn’t look at doing it before 2022," he added.
Currently, the US Grand Prix is held at Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, but the powers that be in Formula 1, meaning owners Liberty Media, are always keen on expanding. Miami already has an agreement in principle to join the F1 calendar in 2021. So, a race in Indianapolis could theoretically bring the total of F1 GPs on U.S. soil to three, which seemed impossible 10 years ago and still seems far-fetched today.
Penske is more confident of getting some IMSA action on at Indianapolis, all part of his efforts to make The Brickyard great again.
“I’ve had some discussions with John Doonan and I think there is good potential to run an endurance race at the Speedway,” said Penske, whose team are the current champions of the DPI class in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The endurance series has been hosted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway only once before, in its inaugural season, in 2014.
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