Worldwide press rips Michelin, F-1 - Indy Star
The Indy Star compiled some of the finer headlines and quotes:
In the final minutes before the start of the race Sunday, as rumors circulated among the media about what the Michelin teams were threatening to do, noted British journalist Nigel Roebuck lamented "the stupidity" of it all.
Roebuck, who has written for Autosport magazine since 1977, accurately predicted Indianapolis fans would give little credence to claims the race had to be scuttled because of a possible tire problem in one high-speed corner.
"Many of these same people were here a few weeks ago (for the Indianapolis 500) watching supposedly less-sophisticated cars go a lot faster through four high-speed turns every lap without a single tire problem," Roebuck said. "They're not going to like this."
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Newspapers in England, Ecclestone's home base, were harshest in their criticism. Among the headlines:
"That was the day racing in America died" -- Daily Mirror
"Formula One became a worldwide joke" -- The Sun
"A day of dishonor for Formula One" -- Daily Telegraph
"Formula One implodes" -- The Times
"Darkest day since the death of Ayrton Senna" (in a crash in 1994) -- The Independent
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In Spain, home of F-1 points leader Fernando Alonso, El Pais likened the race to "an amusing opera." In Finland, home of points runner-up Kimi Raikkonen, Italehti editorialized that "no sum of money will ever be able to make the damaged image of Formula One in the USA good again." And in Australia, The Morning Herald said "the future of Formula One in the United States hangs in the balance after what must rank among the greatest PR disasters in the history of this or any other sport."
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French newspaper Le Figaro predicted the company will face "serious consequences" in a story headlined "Michelin causes an earthquake in Indianapolis." Der Spiegel of Germany joked about middle-of-the-night rejoicing in Tokyo, home of Bridgestone, which supplied tires for the six cars that ran Sunday, including the Ferrari of winner Michael Schumacher.
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Richard Williams, writing in England's The Guardian, spread the blame among Michelin and the two most powerful individuals in the sport, F-1 chief Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Max Mosley.
"A purist would say the Michelin-shod cars should have run at a safe speed and those seven teams had no business attempting to blackmail the organizers into modifying the circuit to suit (the teams') technical deficiencies," Williams wrote. "But while the French company will be counting the cost of this public relations disaster for years to come, the origins of the problem lie much deeper.
"Between them, Ecclestone and Mosley have presided over a vertiginous decline in Formula One's credibility, on and off the track. . . . If there were any remaining doubts they have outstayed their welcome in Formula One, they were dispelled by Sunday's farce."
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British commentator Peter Windsor, who was part of Speed TV's telecast of the race, said on the network's "Wind Tunnel" program Sunday night that Michelin was "naive" to think it could strong-arm a race-morning rules change. He also chided Michelin for not taking full responsibility for its mistake.
"All they did was blame everyone else, but they never actually blamed themselves," Windsor said.
But the larger issue, he added, is the declining influence Ecclestone has over the teams. In the prerace staredown, Ecclestone blinked first.
"The eyeballing didn't work for Bernie," Windsor said. "It's the first time I can remember it not working for him, and there will be repercussions."
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