There has not been an American competing in Formula One for 10 years, but it's not been for a lack of effort.

Patrick Long, Alex Gurney, Phil Giebler, Paul Edwards, Joel Nelson, Scott Speed and Townsend Bell have all spent at least one season in Europe trying to make a positive impression in either Formula 3, Formula 3000 or Formula Palmer/Audi -- the usual stepping stones to F1.

"Let's be realistic," says Bell, the 2001 Indy Lights champ and former CART driver who spent 2003 in F3000 and became the first American to ever make the podium in that series. "Formula One is so successful it doesn't need the USA, let alone American drivers.

"I mean, I'm sure it would like to have the American market and maybe an American driver again. But it's not a priority."

Nor is F1 anxious to embrace the first Yankee since Michael Andretti.

"There's definitely a barrier over there. A lot of teams have their noses up and it's tough for an American driver to get with a top team," said Gurney, the youngest son of racing legend Dan, who spent 2001 running with a B Team in British Formula 3.

"Americans who do go over there have to be careful because every step they take is really scrutinized."

Bell believes he understands that feeling.

"There is an element of enjoying watching an American struggle to try and achieve something globally. The U.S. excels in so many aspects of life, economically, politically, other sports, that we're perceived as the biggest and the best.

"It's almost refreshing to these people to see Americans struggle and I have no problem with that at all because it's part of the competitive environment. We liked to watch the Europeans struggle in Indy Lights and it wasn't because we were evil. It's because they were on our turf."

	Townsend Bell lost his ride in CART during the 2002 season.

Getting acclimated to the turf at Monza, Monaco, Silverstone, Spa and Magny-Cours (France) is only part of the tough transition to a series that produced champions like Juan Pablo Montoya and Sebastien Bourdais.

"Learning the circuits, a totally new environment and standing starts are compounded by the fact we hardly get any track time," Bell said. "People underestimate what a dramatic change there is. The way teams operate and the teminology are also totally different.

"If I run F3000 next year I'll know all this and it's the biggest reason I'll improve."

Kids like Edwards, Long and Giebler have made the commitment and made Europe their home for the past several years. Long won races in Formula Ford and Formula Renault but, because he had no backers, he's switched to the Porsche Super Cup this season. Despite no testing, Giebler jumped in an F3000 car a couple times this year and finished in the points. Edwards is now in the Dallara/Nissan series, while 19-year-old Speed is in British F3 and Joel Nelson has been running the Euro F3000 circuit.

All of them are or were part of the Red Bull Driver Development Program, headed by Danny Sullivan, which is trying to help shove an American into F1.

But Gurney says success in racing is the same everywhere -- it's all about the right package.

"I took a risk and went with a team that had new engines and that hurt my situation over there," he said. "I qualified fourth a couple of times and that was my highlight because we had several failures and my engineer would never change my car the way I wanted it.

"I felt like I could drive with most of those guys but I needed another year in F3 to show what I had and I just didn't have the money to continue."

That's where Bell might have the inside line. His father-in-law, Rod Campbell, is a veteran motorsports marketing maven and has invested in Townsend's career. Bell got to drive with the Arden International Team this year and his teammate, Bjorn Wirdheim, won the championship.

"I think Townsend is in a really good position," said Gurney, who worked as a driver coach this season because he had no sponsorship and a promised CART ride never materialized. "He's got the drive and mind to make it happen and he's got the team behind him.

"I don't see why he can't make an impression."

Bell could be America's best hope because the 28-year-old Californian is all about challenges. He didn't start racing cars until he was 22 years old in 1997 and he didn't give up after being fired from his CART ride with Patrick Racing after seven races. He's personable, aggressive and had his first F1 test with BAR last month.

"We had a fairly good year but it could have been better," he reasoned. "There were only 10 races and I got knocked out of four of them but I was always competitive and I finished third at Hungary.

"The BAR test went well and I've got a little momentum. There seems to be more focus on Americans in F1 than ever so that's good too."

Bell had a meeting with F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone in London on Tuesday morning. And the topic?

"I'm making every effort possible to let Mr. Ecclestone know what I'm trying to accomplish," he replied. "I want to be part of it."

Robin Miller covers open wheel racing for ESPN and ESPN.com.