Herta

There hasn't been an American in Formula One since Michael Andretti in 1993 and there hasn't been an American in the United States Grand Prix since Eddie Cheever in 1988 at Detroit.

Bryan Herta is hoping to change that next month.

The 31-year-old Californian recently tested for Minardi and is hoping to parlay that into a ride for next month's U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Right now Minardi is resting Alex Yoong for the next two races and they haven't made it clear whether he will go back in the car or there could be an opportunity for me," said Herta, who tested at Donnington Park in England last week.

"Some things would have to happen and if I got some sponsorship from a U.S. company that would ease my path because I've learned dollars are king in F1."

With Michael Schumacher already clinching his fifth F1 title and ticket sales way off of the previous two years, adding an American to the Sept. 27-29 show would at least give Tony George a fresh storyline.

The IMS boss could either fund Herta's effort or request that F1 czar Bernie Ecclestone assert his power and get a Yankee behind the wheel.

"I contacted Tony and he's thinking about it," Herta said. "He hasn't said yes or no."

A full-timer in Championship Auto Racing Teams from 1994-2001, the '93 Indy Lights champion lost his ride after last season so he decided to pursue other options.

"There were no opportunities in CART so I went to the Autosport awards last winter in England and tried to get my name and face in front of as many F1 teams as possible to see if I could be a test driver for them," said Herta, who raced in Europe prior to starting his Indy Lights days.

"One of the guys I met was Paul Stoddart, the Minardi owner, and a few weeks ago the opportunity came up to run one of his year-old cars at Donnington Park."

Despite being out of an open wheel car for seven months and no experience with grooved tires, Herta handled things quite well according to reports in Autosport.

"Yes, the test went exceptionally well," Herta said. "I immediately felt comfortable in a couple of laps. I didn't doubt I could do it but the quickness surprised me and it really surprised the Minardi team.

"There is a stigma over there about American champ car drivers and they don't rate us very highly."

Asked to compare a CART car with an F1 machine, he replied: "They are so completely different. The F1 car feels like a Formula Atlantic car because it's extremely nimble and in terms of how responsive it is. You don't have to do a lot to make it go around the corner and that's probably why I went so quickly because being smooth fits my style.

"You can't throw the cars around and they aren't as forgiving so you can't let them step out, except in slow corners."

Minardi is the most under-funded F1 operation and has never come close to winning, but its car still impressed Herta.

"It's got similar horsepower to champ cars, but it's so much lighter and the acceleration is amazing," he said. "You always hear about the brakes being so good and it's true.

"You drive into a corner so deep that you think it's going to be impossible to make it and after you do you think to yourself, 'Heck, I could have gone another 10 feet deeper.'"

While Herta is in the prime of his driving life, age 31 is almost considered ancient to begin an F1 career.

"Damon Hill and I were talking and he said he was 32 when he signed with Frank Williams, so I know I'm not too old to do it," he said of the '96 world champion. "There was talk I might do the next two races but that didn't make sense for me because I'd only had 30 laps in a car and I want to do a couple of proper tests before I race.

"I don't know what's going to happen but maybe something can come of this and I can run at Indy. That would be special."