Alex Zanardi, perhaps the most exciting driver to watch in the world today, may also be one of the most sought after.
The CART PPG Cup champion is in the last year of his contract with Chip Ganassi's team, so Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach could be the last chance for Southern California fans to see him where he excels: on a temporary street circuit.
Although Zanardi insists that he will make no decision on his future until August, he also makes no bones about missing his home in Monte Carlo and his family and friends in Italy. He also says, frankly, that he has talked with Formula One teams that are trying to lure him back to the scene he left four years ago when the Lotus team folded.
"I have spoken with Formula One people since before I first came to the United States," he said. "Then, it was mostly me calling them. Now it is them calling me, but so far I have not entered into any serious dialogue with any F-1 team.
"Despite what some people have said and written, Formula One has been neither my dream nor my target. It is merely an option. But I guarantee you that no decision has been made for 1999."
Driving a Reynard-Honda, Zanardi has accomplished about all he set out to do with CART.
He was rookie of the year in 1995, winning three races and six poles, climaxing the season with his spectacular cut-the-corner pass of Bryan Herta in Laguna Seca's unique corkscrew on the last lap of the last race. Zanardi finished third in the season standings.
Last year he won five races, starting with Long Beach, where he introduced his trademark "doughnut spin" to celebrate his victory. He also won at Cleveland, the U.S. 500 at Michigan, Mid-Ohio and Road America at Elkhart Lake, Wis., joining Jacques Villeneuve as the only CART drivers to win rookie and championship laurels in successive seasons.
"Personally, the win at Michigan was the most satisfying," he said. "In motor racing's own little world in the United States, you can be considered a good driver if you can win on a street or road course, but to be accepted as one of the best, it means you must also be able to win on an oval.
"So, when I won at Michigan, it proved I was a complete driver who can win in all types of conditions."
That victory did not come easily. Zanardi had to overcome a drive-through penalty for running over an air hose on his first pit stop.
He took over the PPG Cup lead at Michigan and never gave it up in racing toward the $1-million champion's bonus.
