Will Buxton, known for F1 and ‘Drive to Survive,' embraces new role as Fox's Indy 500 voice

New York Times

22-05-2025

INDIANAPOLIS — When millions of viewers tune in for Sunday's Indianapolis 500, the first one broadcast by Fox Sports, they might be surprised by a familiar face.
Wait … is that the 'Drive to Survive' guy?
Will Buxton, one of the most prominent media figures in Formula One over the past decade, made a shocking decision: To leave his F1 analyst duties and become the play-by-play voice of Fox's IndyCar broadcasts.
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Many of IndyCar's competitors, who have poured their lives into an attention-starved series, couldn't be more thrilled.
'He's as big of a celebrity as some of the drivers,' said 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi, who formerly raced in F1. 'When I would go to F1 races, people would be waiting outside hotels for him and his signature.
'He's so passionate about motorsports, he's so knowledgeable and he cares deeply. This isn't a job for him. He wants the series to be successful. He wants to do the best job he possibly can, and he's fully committed to it. So I couldn't think of anyone better than him calling races.'
How in the world did this happen? Why would Buxton, who had it made as a major player in the world's most popular form of motorsport, suddenly make a sharp turn into the No. 3 motorsport in the United States?
'Everyone on the internet has got an opinion, and the vast majority that I've seen say, 'He's definitely done it for the money. It can only be for the money,'' Buxton said. 'And it's not. I made up my mind before I even got into negotiations with Fox about contracts, because my heart told me it was the right thing to do for me.'
His heart carried that message to his brain because Fox offered a unique opportunity. Buxton had long loved IndyCar and even tried to get into the series a decade ago, but the timing didn't work out. Now, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks was presenting a vision where Buxton could be IndyCar's lead voice and create a bridge to the horde of new F1 fans in the United States — many of whom were hooked by the same Netflix show that made Buxton so well known here.
The two men shared a common purpose: To grow IndyCar, which is near to the heart of Indiana native Shanks. Buxton would be at the center of a series he's always loved, with a chance to help it grow. Those offers don't come along often, and the 44-year-old felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime gig.
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'It is a huge leap and it was a big decision to take — and yet it was surprisingly easy to make that choice,' Buxton said. 'Walking away from everything I'd done, everything I'd known, everything I'd ever wanted to do with my life should have been a far more complicated, far more complex decision.'
Conor Daly, an IndyCar driver and longtime Buxton friend, found the move to be consistent with what he knew about the commentator's passion for IndyCar — which dates back to his youth. Daly raced in GP3 (now Formula 3) when Buxton called play-by-play for the series and can recall Buxton's excitement when Daly made his Indy 500 debut in 2013.
'Will has such a great respect for this series,' Daly said. 'When I did the 500 for the first time, he already knew so much about it. He loved coming to America and going to IndyCar races.'
Though Buxton will be in the Brad Pitt-led F1 movie being released next month and left the door open to returning for next season of 'Drive to Survive' if producers want him, he has no plans to appear on any F1 broadcasts this season. It would be unfair to both Fox and IndyCar, he said, if he bounced back and forth between both.
'Listen, I've loved Formula One my entire life,' Buxton said. 'I'm sure at some point, there will be the opportunity to still carry on with it and talk about it. But I had to focus on IndyCar and solely IndyCar, because you can't turn up and half-ass it.'
Buxton was first immersed in F1 during a time when it was 'niche and nerdy,' the days when Lewis Hamilton could walk down the street in New York and Los Angeles without being recognized by anyone. That all changed rapidly in the United States, and Buxton insists the same growth potential exists for IndyCar — even though that claim may spark some skepticism.
'In the United States, there has been this huge surge in popularity of open-wheel racing,' he said. 'Why not ride the coattails of that? Why not say, 'If you love Formula One, come give IndyCar a go?' Because I promise you, you will find it equally — if not more — thrilling.'
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IndyCar appeals to Buxton because it's a series where 'the drivers make the difference' whereas F1 is 'at its heart, an engineering contest.' He believes if Fox does its job by highlighting the drivers as heroes and making them more recognizable, the network can partner with IndyCar and series owner Roger Penske to 'not just put this sport back to where it was in its heyday, but make it bigger than it's ever been.'
One challenge is to do that while preventing IndyCar from being viewed as a sort of 'F1 Light,' like the MLS compared to the Premier League. Ask Buxton about that, and you'll get a strong reaction.
'The skill is the same and the challenge is the same, if not harder,' Buxton said. 'In F1, you can be Max Verstappen, but if you're in a Sauber, you're not winning races. This is a driving competition first and foremost. There are 27 drivers every weekend who have an identical opportunity to win.'
Either way, he believes there's room for both. A rock music fan doesn't just listen to one band, and a hip-hop fan doesn't just follow one artist, he said. Similarly, 'Why would you limit yourself to one championship?'
'Doesn't make any sense to me,' he said. 'Never has.'
Buxton is well aware people think he's solely speaking positively about IndyCar now because he's getting paid to do so. He notes that's been a common criticism dating back to his days in F1, where he says his favorite nickname from detractors was 'Shill Buxton.' But the passion is genuine.
For one thing, Buxton said he would find it exhausting to fake enthusiasm. Second, he said, people can 'sniff out bulls— very quickly if you are lying to people and trying to present a false version of yourself.'
To that end, during the first call he had with Shanks, Buxton posed a question: Do I have to wear a shirt and tie on air?
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That has long been a Fox Sports policy, but Buxton didn't feel it was authentic because that had never been him. So Shanks agreed to let the booth (Buxton and analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell) dress more casually on Fridays and Saturdays of a race weekend while still wearing a suit on Sundays — but with an open collar.
'Our authority doesn't come from a shirt and tie,' Buxton said. 'It comes from our history, our knowledge, the fact we're here in the moment, speaking to the team, speaking to the drivers. Authenticity is a big part of that.'
The speaking itself, though, can be a tricky element. Buxton had not done play-by-play commentary for 10 years, and he had never worked with multiple analysts in the booth while doing so. Getting used to throwing to commercial breaks, finding his footing to navigate the booth dynamic and the rhythm of calling action on the track, he said, have all been a challenge.
'Is my cadence where I want it to be at the moment? Absolutely not,' he said. 'I want it to be more conversational. I want it to be less forced. Am I trying a bit too hard at the moment? Probably. I'll be honest on that. It's just relaxing into it and realizing I do know what I'm talking about, and that cadence, that flow, will then come.'
Some drivers think Buxton is being too hard on himself and are pleased with what they've heard so far.
'He's fantastic, it goes without saying,' longtime IndyCar driver Marco Andretti said. 'So much experience, and … he can talk anything into being entertaining.'
Ultimately, Buxton insisted, he still loves F1. But he also has always loved the American open-wheel series, an IndyCar evangelist seeking converts.
'I just want to tell people about how brilliant this championship is,' he said. 'I want them to fall in love with it. I want it to be popular and for people to not look down their noses at it, for people to recognize the skill level that these drivers have, the qualities that they hold, the abilities that they hold.
'There's no difference between an F1 driver and an IndyCar driver, other than the fact that F1 drivers are better known.'
(Top photo of Will Buxton posing with fans at last year's Formula One Grand Prix of Japan: Clive Mason / Getty Images)