The withdrawl of 7 teams from the USA F1 GP is a certainly milestone in the history of F1. The chain of events that led to the withdrawl really began when Ralf Schumacher crashed on Friday.
Ralf Schumacher of Toyota was ruled medically ineligible for Sunday’s race after crashing heavily in practice Friday [due to the failure of his Michelin tyre]. The German driver suffered a serious concussion and two broken vertebrae [in an identical crash on the same corner] in last year’s race.
Tyre manufacturer Michelin had not brought a suitable lower performance backup tyre for the teams, which they are allowed and recommended to do by governing body. When last minute replacements did arrive and proved un-race worthy the teams (with the notable exception of Ferrari) asked for an extra chicane to slow the race down at the critical corner where Schumacher’s tyre failed. The FIA refused whilst all teams were not in agreement, so only six cars raced.
What the press said
Associated Press:
Any chance F-1 had of capturing the American audience was crippled.
It was not the scenario needed in a country, where the sport is desperate to be accepted, or in front of the largest European TV audience of the year because of it’s prime-time slot.
Formula One’s welcome – what there was of it – may have run out in this country after maybe the worst imaginable weekend for the sport at the U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis.
What the officials said
Max Mosley, President FIA. Reported by PitPass.com:
The FIA offered [Michelin] options which would have allowed them to compete safely within the limitations of their tyres; for some reason they chose not to accept these options. As a result Formula One and motor sport fans throughout the World are the losers today.
Joie Chitwood, President, Indianapolis Speedway. Reported by The Indianapolis Star:
There is no commitment to bring F1 back next year. That will be reviewed in the coming days. We’re as much a victim of what transpired today as the fans are. Mr. Ecclestone is aware of our position and our unhappiness today.
Bernie Eccletone. CEO, Formula One Management Ltd. Reported by The Sun:
The future of Formula One and Michelin in the United States is not good.
Flavio Briatore, Renault. Reported by Fox Sports:
We want to be big here, we want the Americans to love us. This is not going to help us with this market at all.
Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi. Reported by Fox Sports Fox Sports:
This was a sad day for Formula One. The damage is immeasurable. F1 has done some crazy things lately, but this one will have far reaching implications. All this talk about stupid regulations, all the interference in the sport, it needs to stop now. If it doesn’t stop, what we’re seeing here this afternoon is exactly where F1 is heading.
What the drivers said
David Coulthard, Driver, Red Bull Racing. Reported by The Scotsman:
It is tragic for the spectators and I have no words to describe how damaging this is for Formula 1. I am sick in the stomach to be part of this.
Jaques Villeneuve, Driver, Sauber Petronas. Reported by Motorsport.com.
Probably every car would have blown their tires, which is also dangerous for the crowd. So, it was a Michelin decision, and that was the only decision they could make.
On the FIA
David Coulthard, Driver, Red Bull Racing, in The Scotsman:
The responsibility for causing the problem is down to Michelin but it was down to the FIA to find a compromise. They had the ability to change the rules on safety grounds, they had the power to make this happen, but they did not do it.
Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi:
The cure was there and it was not taken up by the top person in Formula One who had the power to allow it to happen, in my opinion.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering, Renault. The Sports Network:
We couldn’t compromise safety and I’m afraid other people couldn’t make compromises that would have allowed us to race today. On behalf of everyone I apologize to the American public.
Michelin & The Tyers
Sam Michael, Technical Dirctor, Williams. The Deccan Herald and The Indianapolis Star
The tread comes away from the casing. It’s a bonding problem [that] was evident on several cars, usually after about 10 laps. The only solution is to have the chicane…if that happens, Michelin will approve the tyres to race. They will not give approval otherwise,â€
Rubens Barrichello, Driver, Ferrari. The Indianapolis Star
[A Chicane] would have been more dangerous. That would have been silly.
David Coulthard, Driver Red Bull Racing in Sporting Life:
Michelin have screwed up. They should have been penalised in some way so that the Bridgestone runners could get the points they deserve and we could get a motor race and the sport can put a show on for the fans.
Jarno Trulli, Driver, Toyota (Pole Position)
We couldn’t avoid this situation — we were in danger and we knew it. It was very clear that Michelin runners couldn’t race today.
Christian Klien, Driver:
It would have worked if the chicane had been built. But it wasn’t done and if the tyres won’t hold up you can’t race.
Nick Heidfeld, Driver, Williams. Reported by This is London:
We would have liked to drive but if Michelin tell us it’s not safe, we have to follow their instructions. It was clearly their decision. From a driver’s side of things, we could do nothing.
Bernie Eccletone. Reported by The Deccan Herald:
You can’t tell people to do something when their tyre company said you can’t race on those tyres.
Everybody said what was expected of them (drivers sorry they couldn’t race, managers concerned about F1 in the US, Paul Stoddart being a fool)… question is: what do you think?
What I think is in the earlier article – F1 USA: Six Cars
F1 has got to understand that motor racing is dangerous, yet everytime they bring in a new rule they seem to change it, take qualifying for example, its just knee jerk knee jerk. Why teams cant change tyres at least once in a race is beyond me,surely this makes racing more dangerous.
Also they seem trapped in their own little millionaires bubble & have no regard for the fans whatsoever.
After the shambles of yesterday heads should roll I for one am sick of listening to the whining drivers about safety safety safety, they are paid millions to drive cars in excess of two hundred miles per hour,you cant make it safe.
Having been a F1 supporter for 40 years, and for the past 16 having gone to great lengths to be able to receive, and watch the seasons races live, living here in the States, You cant help but feel that too much money corrupts, time to get back to racing, time to start to remember without an audience you aint gonna have so much of it. Screw the politics, FIX IT!!!!!!!
I had read your thoughts on F1, I was actually wondering about what you thought should/could’ve been done.
My opinion is that Michelin made a costly mistake, for which the FIA are not to blame. Michelin also acted honestly and openly – their reputation among private vehicle owners would have been irrevocably damaged if they had let drivers go out to their deaths knowing that their tyers were not capable of withstanding the stresses of turn 13.
The rest of the debacle was entirely the fault of the FIA.
The buck has to stop with the governing body, or there is no point in the body; on Sunday, by failing to find a compromise the FIA passed the buck to Michelin.
There is a precident for the alteration of a dangerous fast corner for safety reasons, the Tamburello Curve at Imola is now a chicane. Formula 1 is neither a democracy nor a dictatorship, it’s a commercial sport. With 90% of the teams agreeing to the chicane it should have been installed.
Considering Indy was ok to race (it was a matter of tyres, not race track), I don’t think there was a precedent for the alteration.
Regarding the chicane, Jean Todt made an interesting point (after saying he wasn’t asked about the chicane and even so wouldn’t have agreed with it): “Is it serious to decide to put in a chicane half an hour without nobody testing it? It’s ridiculous.”
Michelin should be suspended or even be banned like Good Year tires. They should have lived up to the expectations of the car manufacturers. If they can’t provide tires that are good enough for the US Grand Prix, they have no place in F1 Racing. Hats off to Bridgestone for providing appropriate tires for the race.
I think Indy is no place for formula 1. sure, its oval with an infield perfectly represents Americas Race, butit isnt that great of track anyway. Laguna Seca should be the new venue, the corkscrew alone is better than Indy, and its picturesque scenery would draw in olde fashioned and young fans alike. the real question is why does f1 want more people in the u.s. as fans? arent they happy with the 900 viewers they have ?
I love F1 and despise NASCAR. Not very american, am I ?
Laguna Seca does appear a better fit with the F1′s style of racing, but is it capable of bringing in the crowds? Granted that’s not particularly important for the majority of the audience who sit at home and watch.
I recall it was insanely hot when we visited back in 1998, a real car-breaker of a day.
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