Angry US Grand Prix fans make their feelings clear

The seven F1 teams who withdrew from last month's US Grand Prix over tyre safety concerns offered to return free of charge for a race on 23 October.

Their proposal was passed on to George by F1 commercial rights holder and supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

But George told The Indianapolis Star: "There will be no race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this fall."

The chief executive of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway went on to say: "Our position to Bernie, who is our link to the F1 community, is that the sooner we can get the focus back on the real issues that affect all of us, the better off we'll be."

Schumacher claims farcical win

Furious fans at Indianapolis saw a six-car parade led by Ferrari on 19 June after the seven Michelin-supplied teams pulled out.

Renault, McLaren, BAR, Williams, Red Bull, Toyota and Sauber all followed Michelin's advice not to race because no changes were made to the circuit following the tyre failure that lead to Ralf Schumacher's smash in Friday practice.

Michelin have already offered to buy 20,000 tickets for the 2006 US Grand Prix to be given to this year's fans.

But the seven F1 teams had examined the feasibility of holding a 20th race this season, with no championship points on offer.

A detailed study of the autumn weather in Indianapolis eased fears of rain and the teams were confident that logistical problems of flying directly from Shanghai to the US could be overcome if George wanted another race.

Ecclestone, speaking ahead of Sunday's French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, said the 2006 US GP would "definitely" go ahead.