Indy Is Still Searching for Successful Formula

Despite the smashing success of last year’s first U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway--a sellout crowd of more than 210,000, many of them waving huge red Ferrari flags while cheering Michael Schumacher--to victory--the long-range future of Formula One here still is in doubt.

The major questions:

* Is Middle America ready for an annual parade of foreign cars driven by foreign drivers on an uninteresting little road course?

* Are European and South American fans, the lifeblood of the world’s No. 1 racing series, willing to return once a year to Indianapolis, where the White River is no match for the glamour of Monte Carlo, Montreal, Barcelona or Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps?

Attendance for Sunday’s race is expected to be off as much as 25,000-30,000 from last year, and that estimate was made before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“We will have 175,000 tickets sold by Sunday, but there is no real way of knowing how many of that number may decide against coming because of travel difficulties,” said Fred Nation, speedway vice president. “We have had very few requests for refunds, so we expect nearly all of them to be here.”

Even a crowd of 175,000 would be F1’s biggest of the season, however, and second in history to last year’s here. Portions of the 300,000-seat speedway are cordoned off because those stands are too far from the Formula One track, leaving 208,000 seats to fill. A few thousand standing-room general admission tickets are available for the infield.

Formula One has failed to excite American fans since its first U.S. appearance in 1959 at Sebring, Fla. It also missed in Riverside, Watkins Glen, N.Y., Las Vegas, Dallas, Detroit and Phoenix. Only in Long Beach, where it became known as “Monte Carlo West,” did it flourish--until F1 priced itself out of business and promoter Chris Pook found he could attract similar crowds for Indy cars at less than half the cost.

For American fans, weaned on side-by-side racing in stock car and open wheel competition, watching a parade, even of racing’s most sophisticated machinery, is no way to spend the last Sunday in September. The 2.606-mile course, which uses portions of the Indy 500’s 2.5-mile oval as well as the specially built infield road, is the third shortest in Formula One.

“It’s not very interesting,” observed Jacques Villeneuve, a former Indy 500 winner as well as the 1997 Formula One champion. “There is no corner where your heartbeat goes up. It’s more like playing with go-karts with your friends.”

Also working against F1 acceptance in this country is the lack of an American driver. Nationalism is the engine that powers Grand Prix popularity worldwide.

Germans cheer Michael Schumacher and wave Ferrari flags because he belongs to them. Italians cheer Michael Schumacher because he drives a Ferrari and it belongs to them. Fan reaction can border on frenzy at times, but not in the United States, which does not have a finger in the F1 pie.

Not since Michael Andretti in 1993 has there been an American driver on F1’s 22-driver roster. And none seems to be in sight.

There was a U.S. presence temporarily when Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal was named to head Jaguar’s F1 team, but it ended with former world champion Niki Lauda ousting Rahal in a Jaguar power struggle. Lauda is here with his F1 team; Rahal has returned to his CART team.

“As long as there is no American team or American driver in Formula One, I don’t see how the sport can survive successfully here,” Rahal said. “It’s very much a niche sport in the United States, unlike anywhere else in the world. Since it left Long Beach, it really dropped off the radar screen.

“Indianapolis will certainly speed up that gain in popularity, but ultimately, I think it’s going to take either an American team or an American driver.”

The 22 drivers in Sunday’s race represent 11 countries. The only North American among them is Villeneuve, a Canadian.

There will be a significant American presence in the grandstands, however. The first 100,000 spectators will receive American flags, courtesy of a software company sponsoring the race, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and tire maker Bridgestone-Firestone.

Cars will qualify today for Sunday’s 73-lap race of 190 miles.

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U.S. Grand Prix

FORMULA ONE

WHEN: Today, qualifying (Speedvision, 10:30 a.m.); Sunday, race (Channel 7, 10:30 a.m.)

WHERE: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course, 2.606 miles, 13 turns).