Feature: F1 Will Not Lure Gordon from NASCAR

Formula One needs an American driver and the photofit of the wanted man probably looks a lot like NASCAR's Jeff Gordon.

But grand prix fans can forget about seeing the most successful US stock car racer of the past decade lining up alongside the likes of Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya on the starting grid.

As the four-times series champion made clear in Spain on his first visit to a grand prix last weekend, it is not going to happen. Or at least, not unless Ferrari were to ring him up tomorrow to tell him that Schumacher had quit and they were ready to offer the 32-year-old American whatever he wanted.

"That one would be hard to turn down," he conceded. "Who would turn that down? Nobody would and I think that my sponsors and car owner would understand that even if it were for five races or one season, absolutely.

"You're always looking for the best opportunity and it doesn't get any better than that one."

But he recognised that the time when he might have jumped at the chance has passed. After 66 wins in NASCAR, and earnings that even the wealthiest Formula One teams would blanch at, Gordon is staying put.

"I love NASCAR," he declared. "But it's a little bit frustrating to me right now because I've had more opportunities to come to Formula One racing in the last three years than I ever did when it was a realistic goal."

Life Change

The long-time fan said that even if Ferrari or Williams came calling, he would have to think hard about it.

"You're talking about a totally different life change...learning all the new tracks, learning the competitors and the cars. That's a commitment I would think a 21-year-old guy might be willing to do," he said. "For somebody who is pulling more to the end of their career, I don't know if they have the ability to change all those things in their life."

It was something that Gordon almost contemplated more than a decade ago when three-times World Champion Jackie Stewart rang up and offered him the chance to go to Europe and test a Formula Three or F3000 car. But an opportunity in stock car racing presented itself and the rest was history.

Gordon, who still enthuses about his drive in Montoya's Williams at Indianapolis last year when they swapped cars for a day, was pessimistic about Formula One's chances of breaking into mainstream America.

"I'm seeing more and more the demand for an American driver in Formula One but they don't want just an American driver, they want an American driver with a name and it's mainly for sponsorship purposes," he said.

"That's great but anybody that's really built a name for himself in America is typically not going to be in an open-wheel car, not these days.

"And that's not really going to lend them the ability to go Formula One racing."

Formula One lacks exposure in North America with just one race in the United States, at Indianapolis on June 20, and another in Canada the week before.

"With NASCAR taking off now, that's even more the direction people are going in," said Gordon. "Nobody really in America thinks it's realistic to be a Formula One driver."

Multiple Winners

Gordon said a top Formula One team would have to give an American an opportunity for the sport to make inroads and he did not see that happening in a hurry.

"There's no training ground in the US for a Formula One driver...the CART series is really the only form in the US and it's dying. Really the only chance to get to Formula One as an American driver is to move to Europe very young."

Gordon was thrilled to be in Barcelona with teammate Jimmie Johnson, revelling in the acceleration and braking of the Formula One cars. But he felt also that the glamour sport could learn a thing or two from his less hi-tech world.

"We had 17 different winners last year on our circuit," he said on a weekend when Michael Schumacher chalked up his fifth win in five races. I think to see more overtaking, more winners and more accessibility would be very exciting. I know I would enjoy that.

"When I watch it from home, because I'm a driver and I understand the technology side of the car and how phenomenal it is to drive the car, I still enjoy watching the races," he added.

"But American fans watching the racing don't really understand it because it's just the same guy leading every lap and winning the race."