Former F1 commentator Will Buxton claims the supposed fear drivers have for IndyCar shows how skilled the American series’ drivers are.

Buxton made the surprise departure from F1 during the winter break as he heads up Fox Sports’ IndyCar coverage and the 44-year-old has detailed why he made the move.

Will Buxton makes ‘scared’ F1 drivers IndyCar assessment

While Formula 1 remains a series with a significant global audience, the heart of IndyCar’s audience remains in the US where it competes with F1 for viewers.

IndyCar, in an attempt to regain superiority over F1, has heavily promoted the new series but the lure of Buxton was a surprise move given the British broadcaster’s close links to F1.

Asked why he made the move, Buxton refrained from criticising F1 too harshly but suggested that the danger of IndyCar demonstrates a higher skill level.

“These guys 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,” Buxton told Motorsport Magazine.

“The fact that they can go out and race these things shows such tremendous skills, such incredible speeds and such brilliant race-craft as well. You look at the number of overtakes for position at every single IndyCar race, it’s just astonishing.”

Buxton had worked in F1, most recently for the company itself, for over 10 years but will front the IndyCar coverage in the US.

“We just had a chat about broadcasting, what I enjoyed [about it] and how I go about it as well,” Buxton said of his negotiations with Fox.

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“[For me] it’s always been about that on-screen relationship, making the folks at home feel a part of that. Made them feel like you’re just sitting down at the pub with your mates and having a chat about racing. I think that’s really important, that it’s there’s not this sort of ‘them and us.’

“It should be a collaborative experience. When talking to Fox, I wanted to know what their plans were, what the broadcast schedule was going to be like, and massive things like every race being in one place on network TV for the first time.

“That’s absolutely huge if we’re going to grow the sport to where I think it deserves to be, and where Fox believes it deserves to be. When new fans think about tuning in for the first time, they’re going to know exactly where to find it.”

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