Indycar pours water on F1 circuits’ threat

An Indycar boss has denied formula one circuits are lining up the American series as an alternative.

Most of the current grand prix promoters have warned the FIA that unless new engine regulations produce the same loud sounds as the current V8s, they will host Indycar races instead.

But Terry Angstadt, Indycar’s commercial division president, poured water on the threat.

"They haven’t spoken to us," he told the Globe and Mail. "We have a number of opportunities but they are not connected to F1 circuits.”

"We are not just going to go to whoever is going to pay us a sanction fee, it has to make sense and be a strategic market that will advance the Indycar model," added Angstadt.

The F1 circuits’ threat was headed by Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker, but Angstadt clarified that Indycar is "not particularly interested" in going back to Australia due to the logistical hurdles.

Moreover, Indycar is also moving from V8 engines to turbocharged V6s, and two years earlier than F1’s scheduled switch in 2014.