Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course)
The infield road course at the Brickyard — F1's brief, controversial return to the United States in the early 2000s.
Circuit at a glance
- Years active
- 2000–2007
- F1 races
- 8
- Length
- 4.192 km
- Turns
- 13
History and character
F1 returned to the US at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2000, using a purpose-built infield road course that incorporated a banked portion of the famous oval and crossed the Yard of Bricks at the start/finish line. Crowds were huge and the venue had real history, but the layout itself was widely criticised as flat and processional.
Why it left the calendar
The infamous 2005 race — in which only six cars started after Michelin admitted its tyres could not survive Turn 13 — destroyed American confidence in F1 and is still cited as the worst sporting moment in modern Formula 1. The race left the calendar after 2007 and didn't return to the US until Austin in 2012.
Iconic moment
The 2005 'six-car race' — Michelin's tyre crisis, the FIA's refusal to chicane Turn 13, and a furious American crowd booing through 73 laps.
Notable Grand Prix winners
- Michael Schumacher
- Rubens Barrichello
- Lewis Hamilton