Scott Dixon - IndyCar's 2018 champion - once had a foot in Formula 1's door, but in hindsight the Kiwi has no regrets about closing it and remaining in the US.
Heralded as perhaps the greatest IndyCar driver of all time after winning his fifth title last week, the 38-year-old with 44 wins under his belt - a tally bettered only by A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti - will never look back and wish he had chosen a different path in his motorsport life.
Dixon was hot property back in 2004, after his maiden IndyCar title, and was offered a test in F1 with the BMW Williams team.
"We had a good test with Williams but it was a bit of a funky time," said Dixon, speaking to Stuff NZ.
"I’d just won my first IndyCar championship and we were going for a full-time ride and contractually that didn’t look like what it was with the team. They had other drivers already lined up.
"So it was one of those things where do we do the test drive thing for a year and possibly get lost in that world forever or do we do something that I really enjoy and where we had just won the championship?"
Ultimately, Dixon declined the opportunity of a reserve role with Williams. He remained in the US and never looked back.
"There’s zero regrets. I definitely don’t regret our position and what we did," the Kiwi added.
Earlier this year, Haas boss Guenther Steiner ignited a controversial debate about claiming that there were currently no drivers in the US who could race competitively in Formula 1.
McLaren boss Zak Brown begged to differ however, and pinpointed Dixon as a talent worthy of F1.
"Scott Dixon is an outstanding talent," said Brown at the time.
"He reminds me of Fernando [Alonso], where he’s extremely fit, very dedicated, as fast as ever, and I think he would be competitive in a Formula 1 car."
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