Will Buxton is IndyCar’s new lead TV presenter, moving over from Formula 1 to take the reins inside the FOX booth.
Ahead of his debut call this weekend, Buxton reconfirmed his long-touted love of American open wheel racing.
He also claimed that nearly everyone involved in motorsports around the world feels IndyCar has the best racing in the world, even if they don’t admit it publicly.
“I think IndyCar is motorsports’ best-kept secret,” said Buxton. “And that’s because nobody in any paddock anywhere in the world will admit what they know to be the truth, which is that IndyCar is the greatest racing on earth.
“We all talk about it; it doesn’t matter what paddock you’re in, whether it’s the World Endurance paddock or the Formula E paddock or the Formula 1 paddock. Everyone knows the greatest form of racing in motorsport is IndyCar, but they can’t ever go on the record about it because they’d be down-talking their own championship.”
Moving stateside
In his new role, Buxton will have a chance to catch up with a couple drivers who have similarly made the jump from F1 to IndyCar in recent years, including Marcus Ericsson.
A few drivers who have raced in Formula 2 are also part of this year’s IndyCar grid, with Robert Shwartzman joining Callum Ilott, Christian Lundgaard, and Marcus Armstrong in that category.
Buxton related that a large reason why there aren’t more Formula 1 hopefuls and veteran drivers trying their hand at IndyCar is because there is a level of fear associated with the stateside racing.
“I think for a lot of F1 drivers there’s a fear associated with IndyCar, and I think that’s twofold. One, they see it as quite scary. They see ovals as being quite scary. Two, they don’t want to turn up and get shown up.
“Fernando Alonso, one of the greatest of his generation, one of the greatest of all times, qualified and ran well in his first [Indianapolis] 500; second, he didn’t even qualify.
“That’s a huge embarrassment for any Formula 1 driver considering leaving Formula 1 and coming over to America that doesn’t quite consider themselves to be at the level of Fernando Alonso. If he can get bumped, any of them can get bumped.
“I think there’s trepidation on a couple levels there for them, and it’s great when you see drivers that do come over and want to give it a go.”
Buxton will be joined by veteran IndyCar drivers James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell in the commentary booth starting this weekend at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Looking forward to Ilot and Schwartzman fighting it out in IndyCar. I just hope the series isn’t plagued with mechanical issues.
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