Team bosses hope for swift US GP return

Next year's calendar will have no US round after Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway said last week they had failed to agree a new deal.

"We're very disappointed that we won't be at Indianapolis," Honda team principal Nick Fry told Reuters at the European Grand Prix.

"North America is a major market, if not the biggest market, for a lot of the motor companies and it's a market where Honda does extremely well.

"I think they (Indianapolis) put a lot of effort into looking after us and it would be nice not only for it to continue but to add another Grand Prix in the United States," added Fry.

"So as far as we are concerned, the sooner we can get back to the United States, the better."

Formula One has had a chequered history in the United States, with Indianapolis only one of many venues tried out over the years.

Ecclestone has discussed going back to Las Vegas, which hosted races in a casino car park in 1981 and 1982, as well as mooting the possibility of a New York Grand Prix.

"Our optimum would be one on the east coast and one in the middle," said Fry.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner echoed Fry's opinion, saying: "It's disappointing for us. Hopefully, it (Indianapolis), or another venue, will reappear in the near future," he said.

"Hopefully, the absence will be as short as possible."

Toyota team president John Howett said the Japanese manufacturer had a big presence already in North America through NASCAR and trusted Ecclestone to make the correct commercial decisions for the sport.

However, he felt Formula One needed to have a strong North American foothold.

"We'd like to go back, certainly," he told Reuters.

"I personally believe that Formula One could be very strong in the United States and therefore I think we need a venue where we will attract motor sport fans and also the general public alike," added Howett.

"A decent street circuit or a very good race circuit close to a major city would be ideal."