Michelin won't allow teams to race at Indy

[Raheel]

Man there are 10 races left and Ferrari and McLaren are only 13 points behind Renault. Seems like Constructors trophy is gonna slip from Renault.. It could be in Ferraris hands again... or in McLarens..

 

[Demented Freak]

A sport where politics and bickering cause this sort of farce that will damage the sports reputation in the US...yep, that's Formula 1 for you.

 

[ESPNSTI]

the commentators on TV just said that when shumi pitted, he asked for a coffee! :lol:

My guess is that the FIA was not convinced the chicane would solve the safety concerns with the Michelin tires.
That's about the only reasonable, sane explanation I can think of.
(Not that the FIA is sane or reasonable often)

As for Ferrari rejecting the chicane, I can understand that, if Bridgestone had any influence in the decision making, since they would probably do anything to have Michelin at a disadvantage.

 

[Kip_6666]

ok, let me just post all the pics so far, i made two shitie ones myself.


Most are from b3ta.com

Photoshoping has a way of saying what words cann't

 

[Raheel]

Those are some hillarious pics. got more?

 

[SL65]

LMAO @ THOSE PICS :lol:

I stayed up til 3:30am to watch the live telecast of this race unaware that only 6 drivers were to start! OMFG THAT WAS RETARDED! Our telecast started with something like "Only six-start the race, a shamefull display in F1 history...".

Wow just when this F1 season was actually interesting, it just gets more interesting...for all the wrong reasons- Webber couldnt even start the race

 

[Z Draci]

The rules say that you can change tyres when they are deemed unsafe for use. All the Michelin cars had to do was to pit in after one lap for the new set. That all they had to do! However, Michelin refused this proposition from the FIA and walked out.

It's not the FIA's fault that Bridgestone had more information about this circuit. Michelin failed to provide the adequate tyre and the Indy circuit failed to provide a track that was safe for racing.

 

[metalsport]

So the FIA just gave the USA a GP with 6 cars...
Michelin told the FIA there was a problem, they even said they would race without points but the FIA didnt give. I think a solution could have been found if both parties were willing to give a bit, instead of just one. FIA has basically said screw the fans, rules are rules and we dont care now sit down and watch the boring bloody race of pi#$ off.
And remember Ferrari are the only team that has signed a commitment with the FIA for after 2008, I think their nuts were in the grinder if they didnt comply'.. ah politics.

 

[Overheat]

The rules say that you can change tyres when they are deemed unsafe for use. All the Michelin cars had to do was to pit in after one lap for the new set. That all they had to do! However, Michelin refused this proposition from the FIA and walked out.

It's not the FIA's fault that Bridgestone had more information about this circuit. Michelin failed to provide the adequate tyre and the Indy circuit failed to provide a track that was safe for racing.

You're only allowed to change one tyre per race

 

[Leppy]

hahahahahahaha Thats gold mate.

 

[TheBard]

Interesting read here, have you checked out the FIA website, they have PDFs of the letters between Michelin and the FIA.

In my (not always humble opinion)

#1. Fault lies with FIA. YEs Michelin had a duff tyre, yes everyone on the Mich tyres could pit after lap one, put on their other set of tyres (wets I believe, so useless on a dry track) and race an ineffective race at slower speeds, but they won't do that... It costs too much to go out and not "race" to your full effectiveness. The chicane at turn 13 would have slowed the speeds and solved the problem, but the FIA wouldn't change the circuit.

#2. The team managers were right. If the drivers had stayed out, it would have been dangerous, and put the teams in a terrible situation if anyone had been injured. From my few years as an official in motorsport (UK karting) I know that any team, and any track official will always err on the side of safety first. This is a dangerous sport, and putting lives at extra risk is not the way to play.

#3. Bernie will bounce back. Unfortunately Bernie was looking for a reason to ditch the brickyard, and move to a custom built circuit, maybe in Las Vegas as some reports say. The images of six cars on the grid, and "fans" throwing bottles will just play into his hands. The man is teflon coated, and anyone expecting him to loosen his grip on F1 after this, I expect will be mistaken.

And finally, anyone watching live, as I was, in the USA on the Speed Channel will have seen the hilarious commercial break running a Michelin advert right before cutting back to all the Michelin teams peeling off the track on the parade lap, classic stuff!!!

Laters

 

[Overheat]

lol at the Michelin advert bit - I was hoping something like that would happen over here too - ah well

I like your points Mr TheBard - you are obviously well informed and educated. Respect to you good sir.

 

[reise]

The only thing i liked about today's race... Was the 3rd place for Tiago Monteiro

That maked me quite happy!!!!

Same here. Viva Portugal!
S? ? pena que ele n?o tenha o dinheiro que outros t?m para conseguir um carro melhor.

For the other people:
It's a pity that he don't have the same amount of money as others drivers to get a better car.

 

[bihus]

lol at the Michelin advert bit - I was hoping something like that would happen over here too - ah well

I like your points Mr TheBard - you are obviously well informed and educated. Respect to you good sir.

 

[aussiedude]

I don't think that you can blame the track. I mean Bridgestone made safe tyres?

Derek Daly (one of the Speed Channel commentators) came up with an interesting theory about this.

The indy circuit was recently resurfaced, apparently they did a really bad job, lots of bumpy sections. They had to grind the surface to remove some of the bumps before the Indy cars could go there for testing.

Despite the grinding work, the Indy car test session was stopped because of tyre problems. Following the test session the entire track was reground.

Some time after the NASCAR teams went there for testing, their session was cut short, because of tyre problems.

The F1 teams have no opportunity to test at Indy, so if there were going to be tyre problems, they can't know until they get to the race and therefore can't make tyres to handle the unusual conditions (yes, they have raced there before but the track surface has changed).

The reason Daly thinks Bridgestone did not have tyre problems is because their sister company Firestone provided them with data from their experience with the Indy cars and therefore were able to make a tyre that would handle the unusual track conditions.

It sounds like a pretty plausible explaination to me, I don't think we will ever know the full story though.

I think David Coulthard had the right idea. Add the chichane, allow the Michelin guys to race, but award points only to Bridgestone shod teams. That way the fans get to see a race. Instead we end up with a farce, which upset the fans at the track and TV audiences around the world. Pure stupidity on the FIA's part.

 

[MXM]

Some people blame Ferrari for being the only one not agreeing to build chicane.
In one perspective Ferrari did nothing wrong, Michelin fucked up, it's their fault.

But Ferrari had probably the chance to save the race, and didn't use it. They went in favor of points instead of sport. And I couldn't expect any other decision from them, winning was always their first priority far in front of everything else.

Funny how much tv-exposure Minardi got. More then whole last season Sponsors should be pretty happy Well, there were not much people in front of tv's probably...

 

[American Idiot]

Interesting read here, have you checked out the FIA website, they have PDFs of the letters between Michelin and the FIA.

In my (not always humble opinion)

#1. Fault lies with FIA. YEs Michelin had a duff tyre, yes everyone on the Mich tyres could pit after lap one, put on their other set of tyres (wets I believe, so useless on a dry track) and race an ineffective race at slower speeds, but they won't do that... It costs too much to go out and not "race" to your full effectiveness. The chicane at turn 13 would have slowed the speeds and solved the problem, but the FIA wouldn't change the circuit.

#2. The team managers were right. If the drivers had stayed out, it would have been dangerous, and put the teams in a terrible situation if anyone had been injured. From my few years as an official in motorsport (UK karting) I know that any team, and any track official will always err on the side of safety first. This is a dangerous sport, and putting lives at extra risk is not the way to play.

#3. Bernie will bounce back. Unfortunately Bernie was looking for a reason to ditch the brickyard, and move to a custom built circuit, maybe in Las Vegas as some reports say. The images of six cars on the grid, and "fans" throwing bottles will just play into his hands. The man is teflon coated, and anyone expecting him to loosen his grip on F1 after this, I expect will be mistaken.

And finally, anyone watching live, as I was, in the USA on the Speed Channel will have seen the hilarious commercial break running a Michelin advert right before cutting back to all the Michelin teams peeling off the track on the parade lap, classic stuff!!!

Laters

your info isnt 100% true in your first point.

They tyres that couldve changed to was a Spanish GP tyre (which also was found to be unsafe BTW). But rules are rules. the michelin teams cannot be held responsible for this. the only one to blame is MICHELIN and not th FIA. The chicane wouldve changed the circiut characteristics and would've needed testing. AND it wouldve been unfair to the bridgestone teams. Bridgestone did thier job and provided a tyre that could take the punishment of the banked corner and last the race, Michelin didnt. THUS Michelin broke the regulations. They didnt porvide a tyre that could last the race distance as the rules state.

The FIA stuck to the rules and put forth a recommendation to ensure the michelin runners can take part. which was that they take a banked turn slower. it wouldve been as simple as going throught the corner at 290kph and not 315kph. and the FIA would have monitored the speeds of the drivers and penalized the people who took it too fast.

Even Michelin said that if the teams increase the pressure in the tyre then it will last the race. but increasing the pressure meant losing performance. and the teams didnt want that. This was a lose-lose situation for Michelin runners. they should said: OK we lost this race, but need to give the paying public the show they payed for. but they didnt because their racers and i can understand it.

 

[LessThanSte]

I think there should definetly be points up for grabs. If Michelin wants to be dicks, then their cars can suffer.

Best comment ive heard regarding this all day. You hit the nail on the head. Its just a shame the whole thing happened in the first place

 

[anto-t]

guys you can say all this like it was there fault... yes it was (fia michelin etc) but yes they cauld of found 1000s of solutions to have a race.

i would of done anything to have a race not a farce.!!!!!

 

[Overheat]

the cars wouldn't just slow down to go round the corners - the drivers have fixed braking points and it's not so simple as to not push quite so hard - that, if anything, could be more dangerous as different cars would be braking at different points in the track and people would end up running into the back of eachother