F1 Fall Out

So the day after led to some great quotes...

"It's a very sad day," said BAR sporting director Gil de Ferran, the Indy 500 winner in 2003. "I can't tell you how much this hurts. I've had a lot of tough moments in my career, but this is really hard.

"I can't begin to imagine the disappointment (of the fans). I know how I feel."

You can tell that came from the heart. Talk about being thrown into a hornets nest. First the illegal fuel cell resulting in a 2 race suspension and now this. Gil, you should have stayed with broadcasting... you were good... damn good!

Former F-1 and Indy-car driver Eddie Cheever Jr. said he didn't see how the USGP could recover from this. "It's a nightmare, isn't it?" he said.

Yup!

BMW Williams driver Nick Heidfeld called it "a disaster for Formula One in the United States."

Double Yup!

Added fellow driver David Coulthard: "Even if (we) do come back, half the crowd in the stands won't."

Yup... I won't!

"The Indianapolis Motor Speedway shares in the disappointment with the loyal fans of IMS and Formula One that we did not see the exciting race we all anticipated due to circumstances beyond our control," George said in a statement.

"The FIA, Formula One and manufacturers that represent the cars on the starting grid made decisions on an individual basis to limit participation in today's USGP."

And the FIA, F1 and Michelin are too arrogant to even see it. This is going to get ugly in the courts.

"I think it's the worst possible advert for Formula One at the moment," admitted BAR Honda chief Nick Fry, who also took the advice of Michelin not to race. "To only have six cars running, and none of them in (contention in) the championship, it's a great shame."

Hey Nick, don't look now, but Shumacher is 3rd in the Championship points and after the points penalties fall out, look for Shumy to take another World Championship. Hardly not in contention. But then again what would you know about being in contention... your team is the only team not to have a single championship point... that's right Minardi and Jordan are ahead of BAR.

"Formula One loves America. I'm sure America doesn't love Formula One right now," said McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

Understatement!

FIA, stressing the need for rules to be adhered to, said in a statement on Monday: "Formula One is a sporting contest. It must operate by clear rules. These cannot be negotiated each time a competitor brings the wrong equipment to a race.

"At Indianapolis we were told by Michelin that their tyres would be unsafe unless their cars were slowed in the main corner. We understood and among other suggestions offered to help them by monitoring speeds and penalising any excess.

"However the Michelin teams refused to agree unless the Bridgestone runners were slowed by the same amount. They suggested a chicane. The Michelin teams seemed unable to understand that this would have been grossly unfair as well as contrary to the rules. The Bridgestone teams had suitable tyres. They did not need to slow down.

"The Michelin teams' lack of speed through turn 13 would have been a direct result of inferior equipment, as often happens in Formula One."

Hard to argue with these points! Yet Michelin finds the ability to do so. Some Gems to follow from Michelin.

“We are absolutely not embarrassed about our decision, although we do have regrets for the fans of Formula One and for the racing drivers of course,” Frederic Henry Biabaud, Michelin’s deputy director of competition, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview today.

“We feel it is a reasonable decision and we were professional to bear in mind primarily the safety of the drivers,” Henry Biabaud said. “We had no other choice.”

No other choice??? You flew the "safer" tires to Indy Saturday night. The teams could have changed tires and raced for 3rd through 7th. But no, you didn't want to play by the rules, you wanted the rules changed. I never thought I would root for Ferrari, but for the rest of the season I will root like Hell that this stunt costs Michelin the constructors championship!

Henry Biabaud said the problems with the tires were largely due to the design of the Indianapolis track. “At Indianapolis, the tire coating suffers,” he added. “The circuit is very traditional but the straight line before the banking delivers massive pressure on the car and the tires. For the car to do the whole race we have to be sure the tires can last.”

Was this not the 6th USGP at IMS??? The track design hasn't changed... looks like Michelin got caught without doing their homework.

And Bottom line...

The FIA also pointed out that each team is allowed to bring two sets of tires, including a slower tire suitable in all circumstances.

“Apparently, none of the Michelin teams brought a backup to Indianapolis,” it noted.

Oops! I sure hope Michelin doesn't plan on increasing sales in the US. I'll make sure everyone I know never buys a set. If they can't build a tire that is safe at IMS, how can I trust them to build a tire that is safe on I465!