urbo73

Sorry - FIA and Ferrari are to blame IF you care to pay attention to things. Sure Michelin's tire was ill-prepared, but s*it happens. The FIA is a disgrace and so is Ferrari for doing what they do. I hope to God that the teams break the Concorde agreement and start a new series without the idiot Max Mosley and the policital ties that bind the FIA and Ferrari (it's not the first time). Here's a tidbit:

These are excerpts from the Winston-Salem Journal by Mike Mulhern:

"The problem is far deeper than Michelin's tires. The problem is the regulations in Formula One. If we had a simpler set of regulations, this problem would not have arisen.

So maybe Formula One's Bernie Ecclestone and FIA officials need to call 1-800-NASCAR. The arrogance and obstinance of Formula One executives was clear in their handling of this debacle.

Stoddart said that the weekend's tire fiasco showed clearly that the FIA was wrong in its one-set of tires per race rule this season. Each team, Stoddart said, should be allowed one tire change during the race without penalty, as a safety precaution.

"Formula One doesn't need problems, it needs solutions," Stoddart said. "The one-tire-company rule, after this weekend, is a no-brainer. Nine of the 10 teams demanded it last year; only one team (Ferrari) - and the FIA - were against it. A single-tire rule could arguably come into effect the next race (the French Grand Prix July 3). But it probably won't.

Wiss545

I do Agree that it was not fair for Bridgestone to put a Chicane. This is rules and this is F1.
look at the problems that ferrari faced at the beginning of the season due to their bridgestone tyres. they did not complain and did not ask to change the character of any Track.

Yestreday there was a race i personaly enjoyed the fight between the ferraris and the best won.

Regards

Wilchwitz

I've been following F1 racing since the days of Clark, Gurney, Hill and Surtees. That's a long time for you young guys and I thought I had seen it all until yesterday. Here's my take if anyone's interested.

All parties in this dispute can offer arguments that make some sense and have some rationale. But eventually even F1 has to look reality in the face. The only justification for holding F1 races is the entertainment value they provide the fans. You can claim all you want about the technology filtering down to our road cars, blah, blah, blah. If no fans were in the stands, no one would be putting money into F1.

Yes, Michelin screwed up. Evidently, they did not do the proper preparation for the race. That the track had been resurfaced was not a secret. It was announced long ago and the Indy 500 was held on the new surface just three weeks ago. No excuse for providing sub-standard tires. Michelin had ample opportunity to do it right.

That being said, the teams, Michelin, the FIA and FOM should have then dealt with the situation. None of these groups considered the fans. Either a chicane or a yellow flag in turn 13 for the duration of the race could have saved the event. Watching the events unfold yesterday was like waching firemen arguing over who should put out the fire while the house burned down.

I think the last thing Bernie, Max and crew underestimated is the strength of Tony George and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in US racing circles. IMS is a world-class operation that hosts great events. George is also in charge of the Indy Racing League. This is not some third-world nation with the local potentate spending the populations millions to attract a F1 race and begging Bernie to come and race. If George decides that F1 is finished in the US, then it is finished. No track has the facilities or resources to stage the race. And who would take the chance after Sunday's fiasco?

In the US, Formula 1 is viewed as a Euro-centric sport. And in spite of Bernie's efforts to make it global, its hard to argue against that view. This latest action, a direct insult to US fans, may have killed F1 in the US. Really sad that no one thought of the fans.

Flowerfred

Just had a reply from Michelin. Pretty much what you would expect: sorry, please keep buying our tyres..


Dear Sir

Thank you for your e-mail. We have read and appreciate your comments.

There has been much press coverage relating to the events of the weekend. For
your information we have enclosed our statement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SAFETY REMAINS OUR PRIORITY
Michelin is very disappointed about the way the United States Grand Prix turned
out at Indianapolis, Ind., today for the public, the drivers and the teams.
Michelin is sorry that the tyres it ran in free practice and qualifying were not
suitable for use in racing conditions this weekend, but driver safety is always
a priority. Michelin will never change its stance on this principle, whether we
are talking about tyres for competition or any other purpose.
It is regrettable that our pre-race suggestions, agreed in conjunction with our
partner teams, were not adopted. Had our ideas been followed, we could have
guaranteed driver safety, the participation of our teams and added interest for
the public.
Michelin would like to thank its seven partner teams for their close
collaboration, for having made propositions to the FIA and for having respected
our advice on safety issues.
Michelin will continue to investigate the technical reasons for the tyre-related
incidents that affected Toyota during Friday's free practice.
What does this mean for customers of Michelin?
Safety is our number one priority. This applies equally to all our car, van,
truck and any other Michelin tyres, including F1 tyres. Customers can be assured
that any of our tyres purchased and in use on our roads meet these stringent
quality standards. You can carry on buying Michelin tyres with full confidence
in their quality and safety.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for taking the time to write to us and express your views.

Yours sincerely
Michelin Tyre Public Limited Company

poleposition

The events that took place had nothing to do with Ferrari. It's so easy for everybody to bash Ferrari but they did NOTHING wrong. They showed up with all intentions of racing and they had the proper equipment to do so. Did you see the press conference afterwards, Michael wasn't necessarily happy about the circumstances but what was he to do about it? Nothing. Ferrari didn't object to the chicane, they were never even approached about it and even if they were, it's a dumb idea. If there was a chicane in the middle of turn 13, the gear ratios would be different, the tires would be different, and the aerodynamics would be different. To put a chicane in the middle of a racetrack a half hour before the race without any testing or anything is just plain dumb. If the tides were turned and Ferrari had an issue with their tires, what would have happenned? You think they should put a chicane in under those circumstances? Of course not. All the teams should have raced and take the corner as fast as their equipment would allow. That's it!

speedracerF4i

I've stop watching, or caring for F1 after Ayrton Senna's crash in Imola. This Sunday's event upset me because it was Father's day. I am a father myself and took my son to Beverly Hills Father's day Concour on Rodeo Dr. We had a great time explaning and admireing all those great cars, a Sunday to remember. This is why I feel very bad for all those Dads who took their kids to the race and was disappointed. Very sad indeed.

BangleBox_530d

F1 is Euro-centric. Roll on A1 Grand Prix. A truly global series. And one tyre supplier - Cooper.

25 September 2005 Brands Hatch UK
9 October 2005 Eurospeedway GP Germany
23 October 2005 Estoril Portugal
6 November 2005 Eastern Creek Australia
20 November 2005 Sepang Malaysia
11 December 2005 Dubai Autodrome United Arab Emirates
15 January 2005 Indonesia or Singapore - TBC
29 January 2005 Durban or Cape Town (street race)- South Africa
12 February 2006 Parque Fundidora Monterrey Mexico 26 February 2006 San Antonio (street race) USA
12 March 2006 Laguna Seca USA
26 March 2006 Beijing Goldenport - China

HughH

The online version of the Indianapolis Star is available here?

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage



The Headlines pretty much sum it up?

?Hey, F-1: Don't let the door hit you on the way out?

? and

?Grand slammed: Race flops?

phototalk123

as a die hard F1 fan, man, this one is really SUCKS................
I have to pay extra for Speedtv in oder to watch F1, and this is waht I got
"6 cars race" what hell....

LeMans coverage was overshadowed by what happened with F1,
Congrat to Audi for their R8s....

Iceman

"MAY" have killed F1 in the US? I am pretty sure it DID kill F1 in the US. If I would've been there, I would not buy a ticket for next year. Who knows if the race will be held that time...
I am also pretty sure that there will not be any F1 race in the near future in the US after that incident. They know that the fans will stay away, and the contract was up. The new contract was soon to be signed, but now... I don't think they will sign a new contract.



Well said. I agree.
All Michelin teams could have slowed down before that corner. There would have been a race, in which Ferarri would have won, but the other teams would have been fighting on track. The boycott was insulting the fans. Even the drivers wanted to drive on the Michelin tires.