What it takes to conquer America

"My career in IndyCar will probably be more short-term as I have other things I want to do. I'd like to do really well for four or five years and build up enough profile to do what I want."

If Dario Franchitti had done what Chip Ganassi Racing's newest charge Max Chilton is loosely targeting, the career of Britain's greatest American single-seater driver would look very different.

Franchitti's Champ Car career overview would read seven wins, 25 podiums and 10 pole positions and he'd have peaked in season three with second in the championship.

Now, that would very much pass for doing really well and building a profile. But as we all know, Franchitti's American adventure lasted well beyond his fifth season in 2001.

The reward? Four IndyCar titles, three Indianapolis 500 wins and a final top-tier victory count of 31. Now that is something else.

"I want to see how I take to it," Chilton continues to tell Autosport magazine editor Edd Straw for our feature on the Formula 1 refugee's IndyCar deal. "I might be 14 years down the line and still there!"

Now that would be a fair stint to properly mark Chilton on. And odd though it may appear, the reason for mentioning the F1 refugee/brief Nissan LMP1 driver/Indy Lights race winner Chilton in the same context as Franchitti, whose remarkable driving career came to an enforced end after an accident in 2013, is simple.

One of the reasons Chilton opted for Ganassi, aside from the obvious one that it's a US powerhouse team, is Franchitti's presence. The Scot remains on Ganassi's books in an advisory capacity and will be helping Chilton shortcut the learning process as much as possible in 2016.

Franchitti's face was carved onto the Borg-Warner Trophy three times © LAT

"Dario is there for a lot of the races and that was one of the main things with choosing Ganassi," says Chilton. "He helped me out last year with a bit of oval advice. I remember him saying, 'I didn't get ovals for three years', so that gave me confidence that it does take a while to get used to it. So I'm in the best place to learn."

Franchitti, a remarkable 10th in American single-seater racing's all-time wins list, is the benchmark for someone from these shores looking to carve out a career in the States. So with Chilton becoming only the fourth British driver in the 25 years or so to swap F1 for Indy (following Nigel Mansell, Mark Blundell and Justin Wilson), who better than Franchitti for Autosport to ask: how the hell did you do that?

"It was tough," he answers after some deliberation. "I didn't have a team-mate, I was on my own. So learning ovals, it was quite hit and miss. Some days I'd be quick but didn't know why and I didn't really know what I needed from the car.

"For me it took a couple of years plus to actually know what I needed. On the road courses and streets I was fine, so was able to run quite well there quite quickly, but I made a lot of mistakes in my first year.

"This was something I talked with Sage [Karam, Chilton's predecessor in the fourth Ganassi entry] about last year. The first thing is getting out there and driving the car. Then you start driving quickly, but you've got to drive 105 per cent to do a laptime and that's when mistakes come in.

"I did a lot of that in my first year. Being able to do the laptime at 99 per cent and taking away those mistakes - that's what you learn."

Chilton is planning to engineer in some downtime in New York during the season and will be based in a hotel rather than buying somewhere permanent. Despite admitting there was too much commuting last year during his Lights programme, he will still be based in the UK.

Franchitti lost the 1999 CART title on countback to Juan Pablo Montoya © LAT

Franchitti says constant travelling is not doable, drawing from his own experience.

"I would go back and forwards in 1997 to mid-99, and then I was there full-time until I left in 2013," he explains. "I don't think you can fly back and forwards. Michael Andretti proved that in Formula 1 going the other way. It's just not doable, the schedule is so compressed in the middle part of the year.

"You want to spend time with the team, but you don't have to be in the shop every day and there's a lot to be gained from immersing yourself in the culture a wee bit too."

Conquering America is some way down the line, should it happen at all, for Chilton because there is a steep learning process to get through. Crucially, for Franchitti, he has another key ingredient to success in the States: the right attitude.

The pair had engaged in a couple of conference calls by the time of this conversation, with Chilton yet to even test the Ganassi car. For the first run, at Sonoma, Franchitti will give him guidance over the phone because he won't be there in person. Then it's on to the first oval run at Fontana, then Sebring, then another oval at Phoenix.

"He's at the right place," Franchitti explains. "We've got the right engineers, mechanics and certainly the right team-mates. My job is to try and help as much as possible with that.

"He'll be in good equipment and have three team-mates that are very accomplished and who will give him a good set-up. So he doesn't have to worry about developing the car, he can just focus on learning to drive the oval the way he needs to.

"Every conversation we've had so far, I like his thirst for the details of everything. He wants to know why and how, he wants to be educated. And that's a good start.

With five IndyCar titles and two Indy 500 wins between them, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan's experience will help Chilton © LAT

"I don't think he's under any illusions. There's definitely no 'I've done this, I've done this'. It's 'what do I need to do here to be successful? Just tell me and I'll try'.

"From my point of view, and the engineers', that's a big help."

Cynics have jumped on Chilton's back regarding his move and panned his chances of sustained success. Complaints about the budget he brings are really neither here nor there for a driver of GP2 race-winning pedigree.

Chilton believes podiums and wins aren't beyond his reach and, arguably more significantly, whether he goes on to be a great IndyCar driver or not, Franchitti believes he is capable of achieving more than his critics might like to think.

And the final element to do that will be patience.

"He's got the tools but it's a steep learning curve," says Franchitti of the 24-year-old, who if nothing else has time on his side.

"You don't go from being a rookie to Scott Dixon in six months, it just doesn't work that way. If he's ever going to achieve the stuff Scott can do, he'll need time.

"Max does get a hard time but 70 per cent of the F1 and IndyCar grid are bringing budget. It's just the way it is.

"I think he'll do a good job. I think he'll surprise people and I'm looking forward to helping him do that."

For more with Max Chilton on his move into IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing, read the current edition of Autosport magazine.