Customise ESPN

Ten years on: An opportunity lost for F1 at Indianapolis

Despite being staged for eight years, the U.S. Grand Prix never felt totally at home in Indiana. Maurice Hamilton looks back on F1's time at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway and why it was an opportunity lost for F1.

Maurice Hamilton

Top Headlines

Toro Rosso

Formula 1

Le Mans winner Hartley gets Toro Rosso drive in U.S

Toro Rosso has confirmed Brendon Hartley, who won this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, will make his Formula One debut in place of Pierre Gasly, who will contest the championship finale of Super Formula in Japan.

Formula 1

Who is Brendon Hartley?

It's an opportunity nearly a decade in the making -- a profile of F1's latest debutant, Brendon Hartley.

Formula 1

Life through a lens: Ricciardo the phone thief.

F1 photographer Mark Sutton reveals the stories behind his best pictures from Malaysia and Japan.

Formula 1

Wolff: Lewis hasn't shown any weakness in 2017

Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton hasn't shown "a moment of weakness" throughout 2017, something he believes is due to how the Englishman reacted to losing last year's championship to Nico Rosberg.

Formula 1

Button: IndyCar scares me and FE doesn't excite me

Former F1 driver Jenson Button says he has no interest in racing in IndyCar and admits that he finds the series scary.

McLaren

Alonso to wear Indy 500 helmet at U.S. GP

Fernando Alonso will wear a replica of his Indy 500 helmet on his return to racing in America at the U.S. Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Allison: Working with Lewis different to how I imagined

Mercedes technical director James Allison says working with Lewis Hamilton has been one of the best things about switching teams earlier this year.

Formula 1

The Pit Stop: Hamilton the luckiest ever?

Jennie Gow and Byron Young answer your questions after another Ferrari stumble in Japan.

Formula 1

Kubica completes 'successful' first Williams test

Robert Kubica has completed a one-day test in a 2014 Williams test car in the first part of the team's evaluation of his potential for a race seat next year.

Red Bull Racing Team

Formula 1

Red Bull wants Ricciardo, Max until 2020

Red Bull is keen to tie Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen down to contracts until the end of the 2020 season.

Formula 1

Boxing legend Buffer to introduce drivers in U.S.

Legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer will introduce each driver before the start of the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin on October 22.

Formula 1

Vettel's faulty spark plug cost Ferrari 59 Euros

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says his team has been punished for ignoring the finer technical and reliability details in its quality control department.

Formula 1

Brawn feels for Ferrari amid F1 title 'nightmare'

Formula One managing director and ex-Ferrari technical chief Ross Brawn says he understands the team's pain after a "nightmare" period that has all-but ended its 2017 championship hopes.

F1's victory lap seatbelt controversy a step too far

With the subject of drivers removing their seatbelts on victory laps raised during the Japanese Grand Prix, Maurice Hamilton argues too much red tape on the issue risks alienating drivers from their fans.

Maurice Hamilton

Formula 1

Hamilton relishing future Verstappen battles

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed his scrap for victory with Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix and says he is relishing the prospect of future battles with the Dutchman in Formula One.

Formula 1

Force India explains team orders policy

Force India will not let drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon race each other again until it has secured fourth place in the Formula One constructors' championship.

Formula One video

Japan reaction and Texas preview

2:33
Have Ferrari thrown the championship away?
Jennie Gow and Byron Young discuss Sebastian Vettel's dramatic fall from the top of the Drivers' championship.

Has Ferrari thrown the championship away?

Will Red Bull carry its form into 2018?

Haas ready for the home crowd in Texas

Who will take the vacant Williams seat?

How did Vettel's title bid collapse so quickly?

ESPN looks at how Sebastian Vettel's 2017 Formula One title bid has unraveled in a nightmare six weeks for Ferrari.

Laurence Edmondson

Formula 1

Lewis sympathises with Seb after Japan blow

Lewis Hamilton says he sympathises with Formula One rival Sebastian Vettel after the Ferrari driver suffered another setback to his title hopes at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Wolff: Ferrari failures a development phase

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff thinks the recent spate of engine failures suffered by Ferrari shows how hard it is pushing to beat his team.

Formula 1

Radio Ga Ga: Japanese Grand Prix

ESPN rounds up the best radio soundbites from the Japanese Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton edged closer to a fourth world championship title.

Formula 1

Horner: Blister halted Verstappen's charge

Max Verstappen would have been able to attack Lewis Hamilton for victory at the Japanese Grand Prix had he not encountered a blistered tyre, according to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

Formula 1

Merc downplays Hamilton engine concerns

Toto Wolff says Mercedes has no concerns about the health of Lewis Hamilton's engine despite the championship leader reporting vibrations from inside his car after winning in Japan

Formula 1

Palmer admits early Renault split made sense

Jolyon Palmer admits his split from Renault following the Japanese Grand Prix "made sense", after the team made it clear they wanted Carlos Sainz to contest the rest of 2017.

Formula 1

Sainz apologises after 'sad end' to STR tenure

Out-going Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz was left saddened by how his final Formula One race the team ended, after crashing out of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Lewis on brink of title with Japan win, Vettel retires

Lewis Hamilton moved to the brink of a fourth world championship by winning the Japanese Grand Prix as title rival Sebastian Vettel retired with an early engine issue.

AutoRacing

The moment Vettel's championship challenge slipped out of his hands. Up until today's spark plug failure a run of successive victories -- no matter how unlikely -- could have clinched the title. Now Vettel can only hope Hamilton has similar problems at the remaining rounds to turn the championship around.

Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor

Formula 1

Driver reaction

ESPN rounds up all the reaction from up and down the Suzuka paddock following the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix.

Vettel title bid in tatters after Suzuka DNF

Japanese Grand Prix: Full coverage

Formula 1

Vettel nears grid penalty with reprimand

Vettel edges closer to grid penalty after missing national anthem in Japan Sebastian Vettel received a reprimand for missing the national anthem at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Bottas understands Mercedes swap decision

Valtteri Bottas says he "completely understands" Mercedes' request for him to switch positions with Lewis Hamilton at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Vettel keen to 'protect' Ferrari after retirement

Despite admitting his early retirement from the Japanese Grand Prix "hurt", Sebastian Vettel was keen to deflect criticism of Ferrari despite the ramifications it had on his championship chances.

Formula 1

Alonso given penalty points for blocking leaders

Fernando Alonso was reprimanded and given two penalty points on his superlicence for holding up the leading drivers at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Lewis: I didn't want to let Max have another win

Having lost a win to Max Verstappen one week earlier, Lewis Hamilton had extra incentive to keep the Red Bull driver behind in the closing stages of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Verstappen doubts Hamilton pass was possible

Max Verstappen reckons there was no way past Lewis Hamilton at the Japanese Grand Prix, even though traffic brought him into play in the closing stages of the race.

Formula 1

Confusion over whether Gasly will race in Austin

It appears Toro Rosso made a mistake when it confirmed Pierre Gasly would be driving for Toro Rosso alongside the returning Daniil Kvyat at the U.S. Grand Prix.

Formula 1

Ricciardo pranks Lewis with Instagram takeover

Lewis Hamilton left his phone unlocked on the Japanese Grand Prix podium and Daniel Ricciardo couldn't resist the opportunity for some mischief with the championship leaders five-million-plus following.

Japanese Grand Prix

Analysis

Formula 1

Ferrari implodes again as Red Bull impresses at Suzuka

A round-up of the main talking points from the Japanese Grand Prix, where another engine failure for Ferrari moved Lewis Hamilton closer to the 2017 championship crown.

AutoRacing

Just six weeks ago Sebastian Vettel was leading the championship, but after retiring from the Japanese GP his title chances hang by a thread. Lewis Hamilton could now win the championship at the next round in Austin, and if not he looks set to wrap it up before the season finale in Abu Dhabi. It's such a shame as this championship was worthy of a nail-biting showdown.

Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor