Formula One and the United States have had a long, uncertain relationship. No other country on the series’s calendar has been so often, so warmly, so desperately and, occasionally, so foolishly courted by the sport. And while the race this weekend in Texas will be the third straight U.S. Grand Prix in Austin and the 43rd Formula One race in the country since 1959, the United States has yet to be won over by the world’s premier global auto racing series.

If several recent events are any indication, that long tale of unrequited love looks set to continue this weekend. In what could be perceived as a slight, two teams have opted out of the U.S. race — for financial reasons — which means there will be only 18 cars lining up on the grid for the first time in a Grand Prix since 2005 in Monaco. And one of those teams — Marussia — had been set to run an American driver, Alexander Rossi, who would have been the first American racer in Formula One since Scott Speed in 2007.

Twitter has been alive all week with disappointment from U.S. racing fans, indicative of yet another lapse in the essential ingredients that might ensure Formula One’s success in the country. Memories of the low point of the sport’s American relations are not far off: At the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis, only six cars raced after problems with tires from one of the providers forced 14 cars to withdraw for safety reasons at the last minute — on race day, in front of grandstands full of paying spectators.

And yet, on paper, Formula One’s recipe for success in a given country could not be simpler: Provide a first-class race at a world-class track and make sure that a local driver at least participates, preferably in a top team, and, even better, that he is a race and title winner. A local team is another ingredient that can help, but that doesn’t beat a winning driver.