"If they play in our yard, we’ll play in theirs": When Graham Rahal urged Roger Penske-led IndyCar to challenge Formula 1

IndyCar star Graham Rahal found himself taking a partially anti-F1 stance in 2022. The pinnacle of motorsport announced a deeper foray into America in March 2022 with a first-of-its-kind Las Vegas Grand Prix from 2023 onwards.

Though Rahal didn't mind a third F1 race in America (after Austin and Miami), which is IndyCar's exclusive home, he wanted IndyCar's billionaire owner Roger Penske to take their European counterpart head-on.

In April 2022, a week after F1's Vegas announcement, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver acknowledged that F1 would complement IndyCar instead of hogging their fan base. However, he wanted the American open-wheel racing series to expand globally and said (via Autoweek):

"If I'm Roger Penske, what I'm doing right now today is calling up the best European tracks and going, ‘Hey, let's go. If they're going to come play in our yard, we'll go play in theirs.'"

"Our job as IndyCar is to show not only the American people and the worldwide audience, but also to show American companies like Oracle, who are putting huge money into Formula 1 (as Red Bull's main sponsor), that right here in your country—that in many ways has made your companies who they are—you have not only a better racing product, but you've got a product that connects with the people more," he added.

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Graham Rahal endorsed IndyCar's fan-pleasing atmosphere that he claimed F1 lacks

Graham Rahal poses with a fan at the INDYCAR Bommarito Automotive Group 500 (Source: Getty)

F1's branding as the 'pinnacle of motorsport' has worked very well for them. Moreover, its global nature, which includes races on five continents, only bolsters its popularity. However, in recent years, ticket prices have skyrocketed, leading to a sizable chunk of hardcore fans losing out to the affluent.

Contrastingly, according to Graham Rahal, IndyCar has retained its loyal fans and provides a better platform to closely connect with their favorite teams and drivers without emptying their pockets. In his F1 v/s IndyCar comparison, he also said (via Autoweek):

"You’ve got a product (IndyCar) that the folks can come in, can see the cars, meet the drivers, get autographs, ask questions, do all of these things that they can’t in Formula 1. IndyCar needs to expect more and demand more of the promoters."

Though IndyCar is still level with F1 when it comes to American viewership, the latter's earnings from a 24-race-long global calendar easily exceed IndyCar's. While Graham Rahal conceded a point to F1 in this respect, he urged IndyCar to conduct a "serious rethink" of its operations.

In 2025, the No. 15 Chevy driver will race full-time for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, a team owned by his 1986 Indy 500-winning father Bobby Rahal, alongside newly signed teammates Devlin DeFrancesco and rookie Louis Foster. In 2024, he finished 18th in the standings with five Top 10 finishes.