INDIANAPOLIS _ It was one of the lowest moments in recent Formula One history, when 14 cars ducked off the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a boycott of last year's United States Grand Prix.

The drivers were concerned about the safety of their Michelin tires, which had several failures during race preparations. When no solution was offered and no compromise could be agreed upon, they refused to race.

"The problem was just too much of a safety issue," driver Giancarlo Fisichella said. "The best thing to do was just go home."

But when they walked out the back gate at Indy, they might have permanently tarnished F1 in America.

As F1 returns to the U.S. GP in Indy this weekend, the series' future is at a serious crossroads in the only country which has yet to embrace it. The contract with the Speedway expires after this event, and no one is 100 percent sure it will be back.

Speedway president Joie Chitwood said that, assuming Sunday's event is problem-free, Indy wants to bring back the race it began hosting in 2000.

"We absolutely would want to continue the relationship," Chitwood said. "We've made a huge investment in our facility to host the race, and it was for a seven-year event. We think it can be successful in America, and Indy is the place it should be."

But when asked if F1 organizers wanted to remain in Indy _ or America for that matter _ Chitwood had no answer.

"I've learned that it's not safe to try to figure out what Formula One thinks," he said. "But I would hope they would feel the same way we do."

Even that is up for debate, especially after F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone made puzzling comments in several interviews last week. Ecclestone downplayed the importance of having a presence in the U.S., and said he wouldn't back down off the enormous fee (estimated to be $20 million, euro16 million) he charges promoters to host a Grand Prix.

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