Will Buxton: Jeff Gordon BAR Move “Would Have Broken F1 in America” Decades Earlier
Formula 1 broadcaster and journalist Will Buxton has revealed that NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon was once on the brink of making a sensational switch to Formula 1—and claims the move could have revolutionized the sport’s popularity in the United States decades earlier.
Speaking on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast, Buxton recalled a pivotal moment in the late 1990s when Gordon tested for the Williams F1 team and subsequently held talks with the British American Racing (BAR) outfit. “There was a real moment in time where Jeff Gordon could have entered F1,” Buxton said. “He tested with Williams and impressed. BAR was interested. Had he made the jump, it would have broken Formula 1 in America—20 years before Drive to Survive ever came along.”
Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion at the time, was at the peak of his motorsports fame. In 2003, he tested a Williams FW24 at Indianapolis and was widely praised for his smooth transition from stock cars to the open-wheel beast. According to Buxton, the buzz surrounding that test caught the attention of key figures in F1 circles, including BAR management, who were keen on tapping into the massive American fanbase.
“Imagine it,” Buxton added. “Gordon racing wheel-to-wheel with Schumacher or Hakkinen, and doing it while carrying the hopes of millions of American fans who had never tuned into F1 before. That’s the kind of cultural shift that changes everything.”
Ultimately, Gordon chose to remain in NASCAR, citing the challenges of relocating to Europe, the steep learning curve of F1, and his loyalty to Hendrick Motorsports. Still, Buxton believes the missed opportunity set F1’s growth in the U.S. back by decades. “If Jeff Gordon had gone to BAR, Formula 1 wouldn’t have had to wait until Liberty Media or Netflix to crack America,” he said.
Gordon himself has reflected on the opportunity in past interviews, admitting he was intrigued but unsure about leaving a dominant position in NASCAR. “It was tempting, but I just didn’t feel it was the right time to walk away from everything we had built,” Gordon once said.
With three U.S. Grands Prix now on the calendar and American driver Logan Sargeant flying the Stars and Stripes in F1 today, Buxton’s comments serve as a poignant reminder of what could have been. The Jeff Gordon-BAR deal remains one of motorsport’s greatest “what-ifs.”
“If Gordon had made the leap, F1’s history in America would look completely different,” Buxton concluded. “We might have had a generation of U.S. drivers following him into the sport. It would’ve changed the game.”
Would Gordon have succeeded in Formula 1? That remains a subject of debate. But what’s clear is that his presence alone could’ve sparked a transatlantic F1 revolution—years before its eventual American awakening.
