Stewart and Jordan thrilled to go to New Jersey

The announcement of the organization of a Grand Prix near New York from 2013, more precisely in the towns of West New York and Weehawken, in the state of New Jersey, is sparking enthusiasm among Formula One observers, even though, for the moment, attention is more focused on India, which will host its first Formula One Grand Prix this weekend.

New York is one of the main cities of the universe. We have wanted to go to a place like that for decades: it is huge news, Eddie Jordan enthuses to BBC Sport. It’s the crown jewel and not just for America […]. A race in the center of one of the world’s major cities has enormous advantages. There are certainly difficulties regarding traffic, but they become trivial when considering the benefits it brings to the teams, the country, the city, and Formula One from a commercial perspective.

The Irishman indeed believes that the prospect of two races in the United States, by 2013, should encourage potential or existing investors: « While Europe is anchored in the history of Formula One, the main downside, from a commercial perspective, is that we have not been able to establish ourselves in the United States. Whether it increases the sponsors’ revenue or not, it will encourage them to stay, and international companies might feel they can invest or continue to invest in Formula One. »

For his part, although enthusiastic in turn, Jackie Stewart is mainly concerned about the silence surrounding the United States Grand Prix project in Austin: « I haven’t heard anything about Austin for months now. I suppose it’s still going ahead, but one might have imagined, with twelve months remaining, that more would be happening. »

Indeed, although the Texas state Treasury assured that the organization of a second Grand Prix on American soil would not jeopardize the subsidies granted to the Austin project, the latest news concerning the Circuit of the Americas is not very encouraging, as the Texan daily, American Statesman, reported last week that no construction permits had yet been issued for the erection of the buildings and grandstands, even though the Texan project has sparked keen interest from Moto, the Australian V8 Supercars, and more recently, NASCAR and notably its president, Brian France.

The fact remains that the three-time Scottish world champion is pleased to see the United States take the lion’s share in the calendar: « It’s great! We needed to do more there, and I think it’s good to have more than one race in America: it’s totally justified. Without the American market, Mercedes-Benz couldn’t continue, and the same applies to Ferrari. »

But Jackie Stewart also knows that the task ahead for F1 to win over the American public will be arduous and thinks that the emergence of a local driver would be a good thing: The fact is that America has a very domestic culture. […] By nature, Americans do not travel much—I believe only 11% of Americans have a passport—and there is no American driver. The market is relatively closed, but as soon as Lance Armstrong participated in the Tour de France and won it, cycling made its mark. […] So, we need an American driver. It’s something we are all aware of, and there are good American drivers.

Alexander Rossi is currently the one most likely to be in contention for a Formula One seat in the coming years. Third in the 2011 World Series by Renault Championship and also the best rookie, he participated in the recent GP2 Series tests in Barcelona with the Caterham Air Asia team, considered the junior team of Team Lotus.