Formula One`s campaign to win the hearts, and dollars, of American fans hit the wall at Sunday`s embarrassing US Grand Prix.
"Formula One loves America. I`m sure America doesn`t love Formula One right now," said McLaren boss Ron Dennis, whose team was one of seven that declined to start the race because of concerns over the durability of their Michelin tyres.
The problem had been building throughout the weekend, but fans pouring into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday morning had no inkling of the seriousness of the situation, and were stunned when 14 of the cars lining up on the grid were back in the pits after the formation lap, leaving just six cars to race.
"I think it`s the worst possible advert for Formula One at the moment," admitted BAR Honda chief Nick Fry, who also took the advice of Michelin not to race. "To only have six cars running, and none of them in (contention in) the championship, it`s a great shame."
It was just the latest setback for Formula One in America, where NASCAR stock cars dominate a motorsport scene that also includes the Indy Racing League and Champ Car open-wheel series.
Since the days when Watkins Glen, New York, hosted a US Grand Prix - a 20-year run from 1961-1980, Formula One has landed in various US venues with varying degrees of success. Long Beach, California, hosted eight Grands Prix, from 1976-83, and Detroit hosted seven from 1982-88. But efforts to branch out in the 1990s saw just three races in Phoenix, and two in Las Vegas, while an experiment in Dallas ended after one year.
When Formula One returned in 2000 to Indianapolis, where the famed Indianapolis 500 was part of the world championship from 1950-60, it seemed like a good blend of F1`s sophistication with US auto racing tradition.
Even here, however, things have not always gone smoothly. Fans were irked in 2002, when Michael Schumacher appeared on the way to a dominant victory but slowed in the final lap and allowed Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello to win by a nose. Barrichello called it a generous act from a teammate, but fans called it a fix.
Ferrari, whose team chief Jean Todt harped all week on the importance of the US market to the Italian firm, looked even worse in their one-two finish on Sunday, when Schumacher beat Barrichello by 1.5 seconds with only Formula One minnows Jordan and Minardi swimming in their wake.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway chief executive Tony George refused to wave the chequered flag, and Schumacher and Barrichello stood stony faced on the podium and kept the champagne on ice.
Joie Chitwood, president of the IMS, said he hoped gains made by the circuit in promoting Formula One hadn`t been irrevocably lost.
"We have been committed for the last five years to a successful event here in America," he said. "We would hope that all of those things we have done in the last five years aren`t gone."
That said, it was clear the return of Formula One to Indy in 2006 was doubtful. "We`ll be evaluating our position on what`s going to happen in the future," Chitwood said.


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