Who do you think has what it takes to make it into Formula 1?

[Earth]

I think that is just a function of MotoGP being sufficiently removed enough from 4-wheel racing that it attracts a different set of people/drivers. I think aspiring Moto riders in America really do aspire to reach MotoGP. Aspiring 4-wheel racers in America, on the other hand, aspire towards NASCAR or Indy, and thus there is a dearth of American F1 Prospects. If Indy and NASCAR ceased to exist tomorrow, I guarantee you that F1 would gain rapid popularity in the States and 2-3 American drivers would pop up and be successful. Theres just too much competition among "big-time" racing series in America. (not that thats a bad thing )

You make a good point. Theres really not much reason to reach for Formula 1 if you are an American driver, they can make millions driving in NASCAR which has far better seat security and you can stay in your home country. The last time I checked, top NASCAR drivers were making 10-20 million a year. That's pretty good even by Formula 1 standards.

With that said, my opinion is that Formula 1 really isn't interested in an American driver. I would compare it to the lack of minorities in NASCAR racing. Sure there is half hearted attempts to help minorities in Sprint Cup, but in the grand scope of things most of NASCAR, the fans, the suits, simply are happy with the way things are, and in fact probably prefer the sport to be dominated by whites, while Formula 1, its suits and its fans are happy that their sport is free of Americans.

 

[SUfan21]

You make some excellent points Earth. What I really think it comes down to is that despite the fact that F1 is a global presence, it is still a European sport at heart and had it roots deep set in Europe. For the longest time, Indy was seen as more of the Western/North American equivalent of F1, and that sort of bred a culture in which each hemisphere kind of had its own special championship. Granted, Indy had a massive schism that killed interest and vaulted F1 to sole possession of "Mosr Prestigious Open Wheel Series" and also let NASCAR blow up in popularity. But no matter what, Americans will always strive for the pinnacle of American motorsport since motorsports in general essentially was historically split between North America and Europe.