The team boss, Trevor Carlin, made the trip to the US for the meeting in Houston, and he said to Autosport that the visit was partly an opportunity to catch up with friends, he also admitted that there was a research element. Carlin told AUTOSPORT that “I have a lot of people who are friends and ex-drivers in IndyCar. I used to work in the States many years ago, so I have quite a soft spot for this sort of racing. I just thought I’d come out and see if anything’s changed, and what’s going on.”

Asked if it was a reconnaissance visit, he answered that IndyCar “is not on the short-term horizon, but as a team we’re still ambitious, and Formula 1 is not realistic in any way whatsoever, and we’re sort of running out of championships to do in Europe. But also, there are probably half a dozen ex-Carlin drivers on the IndyCar grid, and I could see a few more doing quite well out here, given the right circumstances.”

According to AUTOSPORT, Carlin said that any IndyCar operation would likely be preceded by an Indy Lights programme, but it would be after the introduction of the new car (in 2015).