US F1 sporting director Peter Windsor is so enamored with Kyle Busch, he keeps very informed on what the Sprint Cup driver is doing “on a daily basis almost.”
Windsor would like to eliminate “almost” in 2011.
“If he wanted to drive for us in 2011, we’d certainly be keen on that,” Windsor says. “I think there’ll be a lot of speculation about that as time goes on. If I was Kyle, I’d be saying to myself, yeah, those guys all talk the talk, let’s see what they do, let’s see what the car’s like. Let’s see what the race shop is like. Fair enough. We’re going to do a good job. I know when Kyle gets to see it, I’m pretty sure it’ll get his pulse rate going.”
“I’ve watched him a lot and have massive respect for him,” Windsor says. “I know people who know him very well. I believe Kyle can win a world championship in Formula One. I think he’s got exactly the right talent, the right approach. I’d love to see him in a Formula One car.”
“If he wants to jump in our car next year for doing some demonstrations here in the States, he’s very welcome to do that.”
Busch’s contract with Joe Gibbs Racing won’t expire until after next season, and there’ve been no indications he is planning to leave. But Busch, 24, did express interest in F1 when asked shortly after US F1’s launch in February.
“It’s definitely something I wouldn’t shoot down,” the Las Vegas native said. “If I could win a championship (in NASCAR) in the next two or three years then I wouldn’t mind going doing (F1) for a few years and coming back. I think I’d still be young enough that if I could win a championship by 25, go run Formula 1 for a few years and be back (in NASCAR) by 28.”
Windsor wants to make US F1 a destination for young American upstarts such as Busch by employing only American drivers. But when the team makes its March debut in Bahrain, Windsor says its two drivers probably will be foreign born.
