Indy remains 'open' to F1 return

Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Joie Chitwood has reiterated that the circuit remains “open” to Formula 1’s return in future.

The historic track is absent from the calendar for the first time in nine years this season after it failed to reach an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone to keep F1 in the US.

There has been speculation that the event however could return as early as 2009, with Indy boss Tony George revealing last month that he was in talks with potential sponsors in order to increase the financial viability for any F1 return.

And Chitwood has confirmed that the Brickyard would happily welcome the sport back again.

“I know that Tony has said it, I've said it: The door is open,” he said in a pre-Indy 500 press conference.

“We think that's a phenomenal racing series; we think it should be back in America.

“So the door is open.

“Maybe it can come back some day.”

While Indianapolis is not hosting any F1 action this year, it will stage its first MotoGP event in September on a newly re-designed road course – which, unlike the F1 layout, runs in the same anti-clockwise direction as the oval racing at the circuit.

Chitwood insists the circuit doesn’t see the addition of motorcycle racing as a direct replacement for F1, adding that it ensured the track changes were still approved to FIA standard.

“One thing I want to make sure is clear, motorcycles didn't replace F1,” he said.

“If you look at the way we scheduled our calendar, we had hoped that F1 would come back and it would have maintained that June date after the Montreal event, and that's why you saw the motorcycle event in September.

“One of the things that we did do with the design of this motorcycle course, which they will run the same direction as the oval, is that every change we made was also inspected and approved by the FIA so that should F1 come back, they can run this course, they can run it their same direction, they can run it the other direction, they can run the four-turn chicane in Turn One or not.

“We did not want to make any changes that would preclude us in the future from hosting F1.”

source: itv