In contrast to Kyle Busch, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti – all of whom are seemingly weighing up a potential move across the Pond to
Formula 1 in the not-too distant future – Graham Rahal has insisted he has no interest in making the switch to what is widely regarded as the pinnacle of world motorsport.
The Ohio-born teen – son of former Indianapolis 500 hero and Jaguar
F1 team chief Bobby Rahal, a man who competed in a couple of grands prix without success for Walter Wolf Racing back in 1978 – impressed onlookers with his form during his rookie campaign in the Champ Car World Series in 2007, notching up no fewer than four rostrum finishes for Newman Haas
en route to a highly laudable fifth spot in the final drivers' standings.
This year he has gone even better still, triumphing in his first race of the season at St Petersburg in Florida early last month after being forced to miss the opening round as a result of a testing smash, in so doing becoming the youngest person to win a major American open-wheel race and only the fourth to prevail on his maiden appearance in the IndyCar Series.
Clearly boosted by the unification of the previously separate American single-seater categories IRL and Champ Car, Rahal recently revealed that he could ‘stay here my entire life', offering a rationale as to why he has no plans to forge a career the other side of the Atlantic in the years to come.
“If you're not with
McLaren or
Ferrari, you're not going to win a race,” the 19-year-old told the
Sun-Times News Group. “I don't like that. I couldn't go there with a backmarker team, because it's too tough on your self-esteem, too tough knowing you can't win.”
