Who is the next American F1 driver?
The US has plenty of top-level racing stars – but none of them are in F1. We ask where the next American grand prix driver is coming from, and run through the candidates
The IRL is no more. As Randy Bernard promised last summer the Indy Racing League moniker has been euthanized and replaced with the name IndyCar. After becoming CEO of the IRL last March, Bernard soon discovered that the IRL brand carried many more negative than positive connotations for the sport’s fan base. He decided it had to go, and this week made the formal announcement.
Bernard also confirmed that IndyCar’s new 2012 engine formula has been reduced from 2.4 to 2.2 litres for a turbo V6. “We felt it necessary to reduce displacement to a maximum of 2.2 litres to be in line with our smaller, lighter and more efficient direction,” said Brian Barnhart (below), IndyCar’s president of competition and operations.
In addition IndyCar revealed that it is opening a new entertainment and media office in Santa Monica, California, in partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sarah Nettinga will manage the new west coast office. Nettinga joins IndyCar from NASCAR, where she helped produce three NASCAR-based Hollywood movies and six NASCAR-related TV series. Prior to her time in stock cars she worked for various front-rank TV production companies. Nettinga becomes IndyCar’s senior vice-president of media and entertainment.
A separate announcement came from Edmonton in Alberta, western Canada, confirming that the IndyCar race at Edmonton’s City Centre Airport has been successfully revived and will be run this year on July 24.
The Edmonton race is promoted by Octane Motorsport Events, a subsidiary of Octane Racing Group, promoters of the Canadian Grand Prix and the NASCAR Nationwide Race at le Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montréal. The city of Edmonton has signed a three-year agreement with Octane to organise and promote the IndyCar race.
Paul Tracy has previously said that the revival of the Edmonton race was essential to making his sponsorship package for this year come together. Tracy, 40, has been racing Indycars for 20 years and the Toronto native is the series’ biggest draw in Canada, so we hope to hear more good news from him over the coming weeks. Under Randy Bernard’s direction, IndyCar seems to be on a genuine upswing.
The US has plenty of top-level racing stars – but none of them are in F1. We ask where the next American grand prix driver is coming from, and run through the candidates
Britain has a new IndyCar hero to cheer on in 2025 – Louis Foster has signed with race-winning IndyCar squad Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for next season and beyond
In this month's magazine Jamie Chadwick lifts the lid on being a woman in racing, competing in the IndyCar feeder series IndyNXT and life in America
Alex Palou is leading the IndyCar championship – but a thrilling 2024 season run-in features a whole flurry of his weakest tracks, with rivals hot on his tail