Speedway’s F1 course layout may be changed

Steve Herman

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2001 | 10:07 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS - It might be time to spice up the marriage between Formula One and the world's most famous race track.

"I mean, basically the problem you face here is, and most drivers I guess agree on that, it's not the most challenging circuit," F1 champion Michael Schumacher said.

There were nearly 200,000 fans for the U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend. And unlike a year earlier, when Schumacher went in front on the sixth lap and everyone else played follow-the-leader the rest of the way, the race itself provided plenty of excitement. What looked like a duel to the finish ended only when Rubens Barrichello's engine went sour with two laps to go.

But the 2.6-mile track, the third-shortest on the 17-race F1 circuit, along with tight, slow turns through the infield of Indy's famed oval did not offer much of a thrill for the drivers.

"The problem is that you have an oval which you adapted to a kind of Formula One racing circuit, which always is a compromise at the end of the day," Schumacher said. "That's the way it ended up, being a compromise in terms of a challenge to us."

The southwest corner and the long front straightaway are the only parts of the regular Indy oval used for the F1 course. That's also where there's the only real chance for passing.

"Either you make two interesting corners and get back on the straights or have a lot of very tight and go-kart type of corners," said Jacques Villeneuve, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 and left CART for Formula One the next season. "There's a certain amount of space, and the more corners you put in, the more illogical and ... yeah, it becomes very Mickey Mouse, the track."

Mika Hakkinen, who ended up beating Schumacher by 11 seconds on Sunday, was impressed with the pageantry of Indy. But he also found the driving "easier than I expected."

"What a weekend," said Hakkinen, penalized from the second starting spot to fourth before the race because of a pit-lane violation during warmups. "To finish it by winning a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is very special indeed, one of my most important victories. The fans were so enthusiastic, and there was a super atmosphere."

Speedway president Tony George wants to keep it that way.

He's heard the grumbling about the 13-turn course and promises there will be some changes, although not right away.

"We're likely not going to make any changes next year," George said. "As I said last year, we're going to see how things go for a few years. We have a plan to modify the circuit, lengthen it a little bit and create another overtaking area, but nothing's definite at this point."

George said the oval's long back straightaway probably will not be part of any plan to redesign the course.

"The rest of the circuit is a compromise and a challenge," he said. "While individual drivers may have individual preferences, that's to be expected. They are all paid to go out and run the route and compete for the championship."

The speedway already is making plans for next year's race. International events such as America's war on terrorism might affect the crowd - about half the estimated 30,000 foreigners who attended in 2000 did not return this year - although George said there was a surge of ticket sales in the United States following the attacks Sept. 11.

Before that, however, about 75 percent of those who attended the race last year renewed their tickets.

"But in the areas the people weren't interested in renewing, it wasn't because they weren't happy with the event," George said. "We had some sight-line concerns and restrictions, and we weren't able to guarantee people would be able to upgraded to a location or a grandstand they wanted, so they chose not to renew."

The drivers will be back - and so will the fans, said Juan Montoya, another former Indy 500 winner and an F1 rookie this season.

"The Americans are a bit different, but there are so many," the Colombian driver said. "America is so big that I think they've got fans for everything. I think the people that will appreciate it, they will appreciate Formula One the way it is."