Todt, who is in Indianapolis to attend the 104 tomorrowth running the Indy 500, spent the morning at IMS and in the company of Roger Penske, who bought the sacred facility, along with the IndyCar Series, last November.
The IMS road course hosted Formula 1’s US Grand Prix from 2000 to ’07, before the event went into hiatus. When F1 returned to America, in 2012, it raced at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX, where it has remained ever since.
However, the U.S. GP, along with the other North and South American F1 races, have fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic this year.
Asked at Motorsport.com if a potential return trip to Indianapolis is something the FIA would support, Todt replied, “Well, you know the calendar is the responsibility of the commercial rights holder, but clearly Indianapolis has all the ingredients. from a Formula 1 location, all facilities.
“Roger Penske and his group took the lead, and I was very impressed with what I saw this morning. All improvements have been made in a very short time; Roger has already achieved quite a bit with facilities that were already quite impressive.
“Indianapolis is a kind of Silicon Valley of motorsport in the US, of course if the Formula 1 commission proposed to have a race in Indianapolis, it would be very good for Formula 1.”
Asked if he and Penske had discussed the new regulatory package for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and WEC, in light of growing speculation that Team Penske ‘works’ LMDh Prototypes at Le Mans in 2022/23, Todt replied: ‘It’s not something we discussed directly, but clearly about the agreement that was made by ACO with IMSA – it is very good to conclude this agreement.
‘Hopefully it will generate more interest from teams that can then decide to compete in the highest category of the new regulation. I feel like it would be great. Specifically about Roger Penske he has delivered some great achievements in motorsport, and his input in endurance racing [in Europe] would be absolutely sensational. But I hope that some more American teams will join WEC in the future. ”
On a more general note, regarding the restart of motorsport during the fallout of the pandemic, Todt stated: “I find it remarkable and praiseworthy to see all the efforts made in various championships – in Formula 1, in Formula E , in endurance, in IndyCar and all categories of motorsport – to bring motorsport back to life right now.
‘The easy solution would be to wait until life is back to normal, but we do not know when it will be. That it’s essential to restart and I commend all the work that has been done, including of course in Indianapolis. ”
