Return to F1 a Non-Starter for IndyCar Trailblazer Alexander Rossi

• Alexander Rossi opened eyes with his move from F1 to IndyCar in 2016 and with his win in the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

• Others have since followed in Rossi’s tire tracks from F1 to IndyCar, including current IndyCar drivers Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean.

• Rossi could still potentially return to F1 if the right situation arose. But it’s a non-starter for him these days.

While admittedly it’s been a struggle performance-wise the last two seasons for the NTT IndyCar Series star, Alexander Rossi has also taken on a new role of sorts:

That of trailblazer.

Sure, there have been a number of drivers who’ve come from other series, most notably Formula 1, to race in IndyCar. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, who came to IndyCar from F1 in 2010, comes to mind.

But it was Rossi’s move from F1 to IndyCar in 2016 and the immediate global notoriety when he won the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in only his sixth career IndyCar start, that opened up the eyes of countless drivers from other series—again, most notably F1—and has made IndyCar not so much an alternative series any more, but rather a destination series.

Rossi grew up in northern California and while he enjoyed CART and then IndyCar, always had his focus on F1. When he moved there, his high expectations turned into brutal reality, starting just five races on the global stage for the Manor Marussia Team—with a best finish of 12th. Those struggles convinced Rossi to return back to America and when Michael Andretti called to see if Rossi would be interested in driving for Andretti Autosport, the response was both immediate and affirmative.

“If you're involved in Formula 1, there's only three, maybe four guys, that are going to be in a position to win a race,” Rossi said. “And at one point, working your ass off and training every day to maybe finish 12th, it wears on you. So guys come over to IndyCar and they realize, ‘I've got a legitimate shot to win every weekend.’ And it makes you realize that you've been missing that.

“When you're in Europe, and your goal is Formula 1, you’re so hyper-focused on that, that literally nothing else exists. Then when you get introduced to another form of racing, whether that's IndyCar or IMSA or WEC, guys are like ‘Wow, there's a lot of really awesome racing with a wonderful kind of quality of life that goes with it outside of F1, like the world is bigger than just F1.’ Guys realize that once they step out of that little bubble, they don't want to go back because it's pretty great. I think there definitely is a coinciding time from when I came over and my success, to now, and all these other people coming.”

Others have since followed in Rossi’s tire tracks from F1 to IndyCar, including current IndyCar drivers Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean.

“When I raced in F1 I was seen by European drivers and European teams as kind of a European,” Rossi said.“I lived there for six years, I fully immersed myself in that, so they didn't really see me as an American.

“So for me going over to IndyCar in 2016, it was kind of like watching one of their own do that, and then the success that we did. I think a lot of it kind of stemmed from a little bit of just European arrogance, of ‘Well, if he can do it, it must not be that hard.’ I think it would be insane to say there wasn’t even a little bit of that that existed.

“So people saw what that did for my career and what that did for my life and everything, all the positives that came from that. The Indy 500 is a big deal. Even if you're not a fan of IndyCar if you're involved in motorsports, you know what it is, the importance of it. I think me having success certainly inspired Fernando (Alonso) to come do it. And then obviously, that just brought the European attention 100x on the Indy 500.

“Guys like Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean, I think they all saw IndyCar as something that, well, ‘I raced against Alex and I beat Alex sometimes (in F1). So why don't I go have a career over there? If he can do it, I can do it.’

“Once you they got over here, they learned how difficult it is. None of us from Europe had beaten Scott (Dixon), Will (Power) or Joseph (Newgarden) yet. That's just reality. So they learned the challenge of it. And they also got introduced to a form of racing that made them kind of fall back in love with motorsports because, I'll be honest, Formula One kind of drains the life out of you in a lot of ways as a driver.”

Danish driver Christian Lundegaard, who joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan late last season, didn’t race in F1, but he came close. He competed in F2, and was on-track to eventually move to F1, before his journey to F1 stalled and he took his talents to IndyCar.

Ditto for Felix Rosenqvist, who left Formula E to come to IndyCar, although F1 potentially was an option.

“We’ve proven that you can have a good career here, and that just creates a gateway for other drivers,” Rosenqvist told NBC Sports in an interview last year.

Somewhat mirroring Rossi’s career was American driver Conor Daly, who raced sports cars in Europe before returning to the States for several part-time rides in IndyCar before getting full-time rides with Dale Coyne Racing and A.J. Foyt Racing, and currently with Ed Carpenter Racing.

And let’s not forget the luring of F1 superstar Fernando Alonso to compete in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 and the 2019 edition. There had been substantial talk that Alonso might even race full-time in the IndyCar Series before he came out of a three-year F1 retirement from F1 and signed with the Alpine F1 team.

Rossi was also an example for drivers from other series to give IndyCar a try, including three-time Australian V8 Supercars champ Scott McLaughlin, who comes into this weekend’s race at Long Beach atop the driver standings. McLaughlin scored his first IndyCar win in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg.

Rossi’s move to IndyCar has also begun somewhat of a reverse mode, as well, with a few current IndyCar drivers rumored to be at least under consideration for rides in F1, including Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward.

Earlier this week on a media conference call, two-time IndyCar champ and American driver Josef Newgarden and reigning champion and Spanish native Alex Palou both said they would consider moving to F1 if the right situation came up.

Rossi Still Chasing IndyCar Goals

While much attention is on the F1 expatriates, the heat is also somewhat on Rossi this season, his seventh in IndyCar. Since his breakout triumph at Indy in 2016 and earning a total of seven wins between Indy and the end of the 2019 season, the 30-year-old Auburn, Calif., native has gone 39 races without a win, dating back to the last part of 2019. Even worse, after five podiums in 2020, he’s managed just one top-three finish since then.

A second win at Indianapolis would go a long way towards righting the wayward ship.

“Yeah, for sure,” Rossi said. “I don't want this to come across as like arrogant, but I feel like every year we are one of the cars to beat at Indy. Of all the races, that’s one of them that we should have our best shot at winning and it’s certainly on our priority list. And 100%, that would be more than enough to kind of turn the tables, I think if we were able to pull that off.”

Rossi is in the final year of his current contract with Andretti Autosport. Once the shining star of the Andretti organization, Rossi has endured far too many failures for a driver of his talent, and finds himself pretty much in a make-or-break situation right now.

“In years and time frames like this, you're always looking at what are your options, what's available, is the grass greener somewhere else? Maybe, maybe not,” Rossi said. “I've had a lot of history with Andretti and since we last renewed in 2019, none of us had been happy with the results; I haven't, they haven't, we all had different expectations.

“So I think me and the team, through the first part of this year, we're trying to evaluate where we're at. Is staying together the best move going forward or not? No decisions have been made. I think we're looking at what are all the options is the best way of putting it.

“Michael (Andretti) and I talk all the time, he and I have a very good relationship of not only him as a boss, but him as a friend. And he's like, ‘Man, we’ve just got to go out and get results. And the rest takes care of itself.’ There’s no truer way of saying it, whether that's me staying at Andretti or not staying at Andretti. Results make everything better and easier.

“I think every option is on the table at the moment, and we're just trying to get as much currency, if you will, in terms of race results, to go figure out what we're doing next year.”

Rossi comes into this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach 27th in the IndyCar driver standings, essentially last among the full-time drivers in the series. He finished 20th at St. Pete and crashed out just 11 laps into the most recent race two weeks ago at Texas.

“At Long Beach we're just going to go out there, try and have a normal weekend, not do anything that's off the book and get things going that way. But it's hard. It's easier said than done. It's a great team and I know that we have the capability of doing it, we just have to keep believing in each other that we're, we're all on the same page.”

Rossi could still potentially return to F1 if the right situation arose. But it’s a non-starter for him these days.

“No is the answer,” Rossi said. “I feel like especially the past two years, it's been a challenge in IndyCar and there's a lot that I still want to accomplish here. I'm very results and goal-driven. And so I wouldn't consider (going back to F1) until I've won a championship here. So that's my main focus. Until that happens. I don't care about anything else.”

Follow Autoweek correspondent Jerry Bonkowski on Twitter @JerryBonkowski.