In reaction to being fined $50,000 (US) and put on probation by CART for taking unjustifiable risks at the last race at Mid-Ohio, Alex Zanardi indicated it may have been the last straw in deciding whether to stay in CART or go back to Europe and F1.

"I am disappointed because I am certainly not an angel," said Zanardi at the CART race in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. "But my performance has been analyzed in the past three years with a microscope. Every time I have had an encounter with a car I have been put on probation and fined, so this is unacceptable. And the only way I have to change that is at the end of the year."

"This series is a jungle. There are racing accidents every week, and I am not saying it is not right to take action, but I don't feel I deserve the biggest fine in CART history."

Source: John Marchesan, TSN