Since September 11th all our thoughts have been with America and Americans at a deeply troubled time. That will be even more the case when the Formula One circus decamps to Indiana for the United States Grand Prix. But where are Americans in F1? Karl Ludvigsen looks for answers

Since September 11th all our thoughts have been with America and Americans at a deeply troubled time. That will be even more the case when the Formula One circus decamps to Indiana for the United States Grand Prix. It's a race that should be run unless travel problems absolutely prohibit it. And I suspect that Michael Schumacher will find it hard to stay away, especially as not showing and not racing would hurt the chances of Rubens Barrichello to finish his year as vice-champion. From now on it's Michael's job to keep Coulthard from scoring points and in this important respect the Indy race could be crucial.

So it's the American race - but where are the Americans? South Americans aplenty will be racing at Indy, but only one North American - a Canadian. Drivers from the United States don't get a look in. And this is the case at a time when more and more nationalities are represented in Formula One. Just consider the situation we saw at Monza. The race was won by a Colombian with a Brazilian second and a German third. Among other nationalities represented in Italy were Canadian, Dutch, French, Italian, British, Spanish and Finnish.

Monza brought us the first-ever Formula One winner from Colombia. It also saw the first entry of drivers from the Czech Republic and Malaysia. Tomas Enge and Alex Yoong respectively coped well with the Grand Prix challenge, Tomas with a 12th-place finish and Alex with the qualifying session from hell, having to share the spare car with his teammate. By my reckoning they bring to twelve the number of nationalities at the wheel of Formula One cars this season. And in the recent past Danes, Japanese and Austrians have been in the lists as well.

Where, as I asked earlier, are the Americans? The last one to compete over here was Michael Andretti in 1993; it seems an awfully long time ago. Can we blame Michael's troubled season for the lack of interest that team chiefs are showing in US citizens? Surely not. He ran head-on into the curtailed practice times that were introduced that year and had to take a back seat at McLaren to an Ayrton Senna at the peak of his considerable powers.

One thing's for sure, and that is that the relaunch of Formula One in its vital American market would benefit massively from the presence in the field of a Yank or two. Nor am I the only person who thinks so. "I think for Formula One to achieve any kind of general interest in the United States -- it's very much a kind of a niche sport in the United States, unlike anywhere else -- it will take an American to be driving in Formula One," said someone who can claim to know.

"Formula One was at its height in popularity in the United States when Mario Andretti was racing," this expert continued last month. "But ever since it left Watkins Glen and when it left Long Beach to go to a series of less-than-ideal circuits it really dropped off the radar screen, so it's going to take some time. Indianapolis will certainly speed up that gain in popularity but ultimately I think its going to take either an American team or an American driver."

The man who made these statements was positioned uniquely well to help Americans break into Grand Prix racing. In fact he raced twice in Formula One himself, finishing 12th from a field of 26 in the US Grand Prix of 1978 and competing again in Canada that year but retiring with fuel-system problems in his Ford-powered Wolf. No prizes for guessing that the driver was Bobby Rahal. Yes, the same Bobby Rahal who has just been shown the door by Ford's Premier Automotive Group, victim of an Austro-German-Ulster cabal against him.

Thus Jaguar Racing arrives in America without the popular American who headed it, just as Jaguar's US arm was planning to build a big marketing campaign around the team. It's a jolting letdown for Sue Zesiger Callaway, the talented ex-Fortune journalist who has just been handed responsibility for Jaguar marketing in North America. What does she get instead of the genial and well-liked Rahal, three-times CART champion? A cranky Austrian who won't even wear the team's kit and a flaky Ulsterman who would sooner criticize than drive. Good luck, Sue.

"I've always felt that Americans can compete anywhere in the world," said Rahal. "They just don't get the opportunities." Some are knocking on the door. Among those racers who have been in Europe recently on some of the rungs of the ladder to the top are Derek Hill, Phil Giebler, Patrick Long, Alex Gurney, Paul Edwards, Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick. To have a chance for success they need to attract the kind of personal sponsorship that has brought Czech and Malaysian drivers into Formula One.

Who's to say it won't happen? Nothing would be healthier for global motor sports than to have some Americans at or near the top. But by jettisoning Bobby Rahal, the Ford Motor Company, which is in the midst of celebrating the 100th anniversary of its participation in racing, has shown that as far as it's concerned Americans aren't wanted in Formula One.