When it returned in 2000, at the Indianapolis Speedway, a National Historic Landmark and the home of American auto sport, there were high hopes that it would finally succeed. But Indianapolis needed Formula One less than the series needed the United States, and the race could never compete with the Indianapolis 500 or other homegrown series. The circuit decided it was paying too much to stage the Grand Prix.

The elite series had also arrived at Indianapolis just as Nascar had grown to its highest level of popularity and represented a truly American form of racing, with almost no foreign drivers. The cars were easy for the public to recognize, as they looked and were named the same as the ones that they drove on the road, unlike the thoroughbred racing cars of Formula One designed only for the track.

Moreover, during its years at Indianapolis, Formula One did little to develop the show to suit the U.S. public. Worse, the cars themselves looked dwarfed in comparison to the huge circuit, which was made to race more than twice the number of the 18 to 22 cars running in Formula One.

Then came the disaster of 2005. The Formula One series was in the midst of a tire war between Bridgestone and Michelin that season. Michelin, which had been dominating the series, was then surprised by a resurfacing of the Indianapolis track and delivered tires that were not strong enough. The tires deflated, resulting in some potentially serious accidents during qualifying.

In a politically charged stalemate, the teams, promoter, tire manufacturers and the International Automobile Federation, the series’ governing body, were unable to find a solution or compromise. So it was that all but the three teams using Bridgestone tires withdrew from the race at the start. Fans paid a fortune and traveled from around the country to watch a six-car race, which resulted in the only victory by Ferrari that year.

The incident contributed to the demise of the series in the United States, which ended its deal with the series after the 2007 season.