The speculation that F1 could return to North America next year ramped up after Tony George and US promoter Zak Brown held talks with Bernie Ecclestone after the Chinese GP.
F1 left North America in 2007, after negotiations to keep the sport at the Indianapolis raceway fell through, but teams and sponsors are keen on returning to a large and lucrative market.
Brown raised hopes that a return may be on the cards after telling the IndyStar that the sanctioning fee to hold the race isn’t a massive amount of money to find.
“It’s not a lot of money to come up with,” he declared.
He estimated that a crowd of 100,000 fans would generate around half the fee, the rest would come from sponsors and partners. He also hinted at teams funding part of the race.
“The questions for any Formula One race are: Where do you have it and how do you raise the money?
“Indy’s got the venue part solved. If you can solve the finances, you could open the gates tomorrow and have a race,” he said.
“Everyone wants it; there’s no arm twisting,” he continued. “It’s just getting all the pieces to come together.”
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