Alexander Rossi thrilled with new IndyCar deal

Alexander Rossi has spoken of his delight at securing a long term IndyCar deal with Andretti Autosport.

The American had long spoken of his desire to carve a career in Europe, specifically Formula One, but appears to have settled on a future in his homeland.

After racing in low-level formulae in the US, Rossi moved to Europe in 2008 to compete in Formula BMW, having won the Americas title the season before. He then raced in Formula Master, GP3, Formula Renault 3.5, GP2, and Formula One, before moving to IndyCar at the start of 2016.

This season he won the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, becoming the first rookie to win the race since Helio Castroneves in 2001.

Despite that success, he was reportedly in the running for a return to F1 in 2017 win Manor, where he competed in five races for the team at the end of 2015 and served as a reserve driver throughout 2016.

However, the 25-year-old has settled his future, ending any talk of the continuation of his F1 career.

"What an incredible eight months this has been," Rossi said, "from getting the opportunity to join the Verizon IndyCar Series in February, to winning the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in May and now re-signing with Andretti Autosport."

"I am incredibly proud and grateful to be able to have the opportunity to work with a team of this calibre as we chase after more race wins and continue to make our mark in this amazing championship," he added "I want to thank Michael [Andretti], JF [Thormann], Bryan [Herta] and Honda for the faith and trust they have in me to put the Andretti name at the front."

"We have a lot of work ahead of us and we are already completely focused on being back at the sharp end of the grid where we belong."