Todt: Indianapolis has 'all the ingredients' for F1

FIA president Jean Todt says a return of Formula 1 to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be good for the sport, insisting the Penske-owned venue has "all the ingredients" to host a Grand Prix once again.

Roger Penske, who acquired the Speedway earlier this year, has alluded in the past to a return of F1 to the Brickyard where it raced from 2000 to 2007 on the track's road course.

"These are things that’d be premiere events at Indianapolis. We're gonna put our shoulder into this," the 83-year-old legend said last spring.

Liberty Media is also sparing no effort to try and add more US rounds to its calendar in the future, with an event in Miami likely on the cards in the future.

And Todt, who got a chance to tour the Speedway this weekend ahead of the 104th running of the Indy 500, views the old Brickyard's improved infrastructure as a perfectly suitable venue for F1.

"The responsibility of the calendar is with the commercial rights holder, but clearly Indianapolis has all the ingredients of a Formula 1 venue, all the facilities," the FIA chief told  reporter from Motorsport.com.

"Roger Penske and his group have taken the lead, and I was very impressed with what I saw this morning.

"All the improvements have been done in a very short time. Roger has already achieved quite a lot with facilities that were already very impressive.

"Indianapolis is a kind of Silicon Valley of motor racing in the U.S. so of course if the Formula 1 commission proposed to have a race at Indianapolis, it would be very good for Formula 1."

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On the eve of Sunday's Indy 500, Todt praised the world of motorsport for its efforts in getting many series up and running amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

"I think it’s remarkable and commendable to see all the efforts that have been done in different championships – in Formula 1, in Formula E, in endurance, in IndyCar and all motorsport categories – to make motor racing alive again at this time," Todt said.

"The easy solution would be to wait until life is back to normal, but we don’t know when it will be. So it’s essential to restart and I commend all the work that has been done, including of course at Indianapolis."

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