Coming to America

When the GP2 series kicked off at Imola in 2005, one driver made an instant impression. Anyone who has seen the picture of Adam Carroll on full opposite lock as he snatched the lead from Alexandre Premat cannot deny that it was something special, and it made plenty of people take notice of the Ulsterman.

However, nearly two years on from that maiden GP2 success, Carroll is set to follow in the footsteps of so many drivers who leave Europe in the hope of rescuing their careers in America.

Once the 2006 GP2 season had finished Carroll attended the final three Champ Car races of the year, and after an impressive test with RuSPORT he was even put on standby for the season finale if the injured Justin Wilson wasn't fit to race.

A test with Forsythe followed, and now the 24-year-old has his sights set firmly on forging a career on the other side of the Atlantic.

"Champ Car is a completely different environment to Europe, but it's a brilliant series," he says. "I think you can really enjoy your racing over there. It's fun, and you can definitely have a long and happy career there."

Carroll isn't heading through the reject door on his way to America, though. After that Imola victory there was no spectacular fall from grace, and not once could anyone question his commitment.

Things were going well with Super Nova in the early months of 2005, as Carroll took a second victory of the season at Monaco. But despite several impressive performances, rumours began to surface that he didn't have the money to finish the season.

Adam Carroll (Super Nova) leads Heikki Kovalainen (Arden) and Jose Maria Lopez (DAMS) in the GP2 race at Spa, 2005 © LAT

He did see out the year with the team, though, and even notched up another victory at Spa, but his mid-season slump had ruled him out of challenging for the title.

For 2006 he switched to the Spanish team Racing Engineering. While he probably drove a lot better than he did in 2005, there was little to show for his monumental efforts with one of the teams further down the grid.

The team had enjoyed some success with Neel Jani in the first year of GP2, but they started 2006 well off the pace, and at times it was only Carroll's heroics that got the team anywhere near the points, while his teammate Javier Villa failed to score all season.

Carroll had taken the drive at the start of the year because of a remarkable offer from the team. With financial support from Spanish companies there was less need for a driver to bring funding, and Carroll admitted that he was racing on a budget that would probably get most young drivers no more than a season in Formula Renault.

However, aside from those in the know, Carroll's performances often went unnoticed. The arrival of Lewis Hamilton meant that he was no longer the top Brit in the series, and it was difficult to get many people to take notice of his four podium finishes while Hamilton battled for the title.

The McLaren protege even managed to overshadow Carroll's best weekend of the year on home soil at Silverstone. The Ulsterman had out-qualified the eventual champion, and he inherited pole when Nelson Piquet Jr was penalised for setting his best lap under yellow flags.

But as Hamilton took a spectacular double victory, Carroll's dogged performance to earn two podium finishes in a car that wasn't really capable was put into the shade.

"You have to be winning in GP2," Carroll says. "Unfortunately I can't afford to buy a drive with a team that can win races, so there's no point in doing it.

"If I have another season in GP2 like last year, I'm finished. Everyone will just say 'who?' when my name comes up. It's just too hard over here without the right support. That's just the way it is, so I have to look somewhere else."

Until the middle of last year Carroll had ties with the Honda F1 team, and he had tested for them in their former guise as British American Racing. However, it was the Ulsterman who decided to end the relationship, so that he could be free to pursue anything else that came up.

"I've been fortunate to get around 400 kilometres in a Formula One car and I know I can do the job," he says. "I know I can beat a lot of guys who are getting into F1 as well."

There is substance to Carroll's last statement. In 2005 his race victories came ahead of a field that contained F1-bound drivers Nico Rosberg, Scott Speed and Heikki Kovalainen. While all three eventually finished ahead of him in the championship, he proved he could compete with them.

Adam Carroll races Nelson Piquet Jr in the British F3 race at Snetterton © LAT

Going back another year to 2004, Carroll went head-to-head with Nelson Piquet Jr for the British F3 title. The Brazilian came out on top, but in their first year of GP2 Carroll easily outperformed the man who would finish as runner-up in 2006 and earn himself a testing role with Renault.

So as he watches his rivals land plum seats all around him, Carroll has decided to look elsewhere, and he is doing all he can to land a Champ Car drive.

"We've put a lot of effort in over the last few months," he says. "I've had some really good tests with top teams and I think that has opened a few more doors. We've gone to the last three races and met everyone, and I think we're offering a very professional package."

After two years spent wrestling the tricky GP2 cars Carroll should be in good shape to handle a lively Champ Car, but he admits that the endurance side to the series will be the biggest difference from what he is used to if he lands a drive.

"Any car is essentially the same," he says. "You don't drive a Formula One car any differently to a GP2 car, it just doesn't get out of shape because of the technology it has.

"GP2 is a good training ground for Champ Car, though. Both are fast, they have good brakes, and no traction control. The g-forces won't be any higher, but the main thing that strikes me about Champ Car is the thought of doing a two-hour race around a bumpy street course. That will be hard work."

While for now Carroll's focus has switched from Europe to America, he's not about to completely wipe the European scene from his radar after spending so many years in what he describes as a 'tough school'.

"Europe is very different to America, and it has been tough climbing the racing ladder," he says. "When you've come this far in Europe and not quite made it to F1, you're always going to be looking for the right opportunity.

"There will always be that little niggle in the back of my mind that will wonder what would happen if I got a top drive in GP2. I'd just like to see how it would go, there is some unfinished business there."

Anyone who witnessed Carroll battling his car throughout 2006 wouldn't begrudge him the chance to show what he can do in a top team. For now it looks more likely that he will ply his trade in America, where Sebastien Bourdais has proved it is possible to climb off of the Formula One scrapheap and get back in contention for a drive.