"It is the world of racing's greatest secret because no one will say it on record" - Will Buxton on IndyCar's supremacy

Renowned F1 analyst Will Buxton has set the record straight on IndyCar being the best racing product in the world, even leaving the likes of F1 and the World Endurance Championship behind. The comparisons between IndyCar and F1 have been more prominent than any others because both are open-wheel racing series and to the casual observer, the cars look near-alike.

However, there is a world of difference between the two, including but not limited to the role that drivers play in the final results. F1 is more of a constructors' championship, with drivers heavily reliant on their cars for success. Contrastingly, in IndyCar, a spec series, all cars are nearly the same except for a few areas where teams are allowed to innovate, making it a driver's playground.

Will Buxton, who ended a 7-year stint as F1TV's lead presenter this year and joined IndyCar as a play-by-play commentator, gave his take on which series is better, stating:

"It (IndyCar) is a championship where the driver makes the difference. It doesn't matter what paddock you work in in the world, whether it is F1, F2, F3, World Endurance Championship... any racing championship on earth - If you asked anyone in those paddocks, 'Where's the greatest racing on earth?' - other than like Mazda MX-5 championship, they would tell you it's IndyCar."

"It's the world's greatest secret... the world of motor racing's greatest secret anyway because no one will say it on the record, because they want to promote their own championship. But everybody in racing knows IndyCar has the best racing," Buxton added.

Will Buxton has been known in the racing world as someone who calls a spade a spade. He doesn't hesitate to speak his mind, which has landed him in the good books of millions of F1 fans across the globe.

Will Buxton claims IndyCar drivers are "rock stars" compared to F1 drivers

AUTO: AUG 15 NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

Until 2025, Will Buxton had dedicated his entire career to F1. Though there was a time before 2017 when he covered IndyCar for NBC Sports, the Briton was knee-deep in F1. However, with a couple of fortuitous developments on the professional front, his return to IndyCar began.

In a recent interview with Motorsport Magazin, Buxton spoke highly of IndyCar's pure racing product, saying:

“[There are] things that are phenomenal about IndyCar. The different types of race track; then there’s the teams: brand new ones like Prema and grandees like Penske; and the drivers: the different skill sets they need to bring (to excel on road circuits, street circuits, and ovals)."

After speaking about some of the American series' greatest active drivers, who he called "rock stars" and "absolute daredevils", he explained how F1 drivers wouldn't match up with them.

"These guys (IndyCar drivers) are rock stars, absolute daredevils. When you ask F1 drivers: ‘Would you go and race IndyCar?’ A lot of them say, ‘Oh, I don’t know, I think it might be a bit dangerous.’ When you have F1 guys saying ‘We’re a bit scared about IndyCar’, it shows you the level that these drivers are at," Will Buxton added.

Many F1 drivers like 4x champ Max Verstappen and his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo have expressed disinterest in driving at the iconic Indy 500 for this very reason - the dangers of constantly going at over 220 mph at an oval, sometimes three-wide.