2005 US Grand Prix or was it???

I am sure that everyone will agree with me. Yesterday’s US Grand Prix was @$@%@. It was total crap. Off the 10 teams, only 3 started the race.

The other teams withdrew as per recommendation from Michelin due to safety reasons. Ralf crashed during Friday practice because the Michelin tires were not holding up and were failing for some reason that could not be determined.

The so called race had just Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi (all three running Bridgestone). With only Ferrari being a big team on the track, we just cannot call it a race. Even though Ferrari and Schumi won, I really don’t want them to win races this way.

It was a huge disappointment for me and should have been the same for the millions of fans across the world especially with more than 100,000+ people spending $100+ average on tickets. It was a real pity.

Things that could have been done:

Michelin should have done a better job: Ralf crashed at the same corner last year because of tire problem and if I remember correctly, it was Michelin. I just can’t believe that Michelin didn’t do anything to fix that issue. I won’t buy into the argument that because of the change in rules this year, the tires had to last the entire race length and therefore, this hasn’t been tested yet. But even this year, Ralf crashed during the Friday practice and I think that the tires would have been fresh at least at that time. Therefore, I think Michelin messed up big time.

Ferrari could have relented a bit: There was a proposal at the last minute from all the teams to introduce a chicane just before the last corner to slow the cars down. All the teams agreed but Ferrari on account of introducing risks by changing the track just before the race. Therefore, even this proposal couldn’t get through.
Update: I am not sure whether the issue about Ferrari and the chicane is true or not. Different sites are having a different view on this issue. On second thoughts after reading a couple of articles around, even if Ferrari didn't agree on it, I really don't think it is an issue. Just because Michelin couldn't make the right tires, the teams cannot demand a change in the circuit. This is not correct. Of course, the fans were at a loss. Maybe they should all target Michelin and NOT target FIA or Ferrari.

Check out this article at www.f1racing.net

We had a detailed written confirmation from Michelin that the tires were unsafe to run unless there was a chicane put in to slow the speed into this (Turn 13) corner," said Ron Dennis, team principal for West McLaren Mercedes, during the race. "We've been trying with other teams to convince FIA to put a chicane in the circuit, and they refused."

Dennis empathized with the fans while remaining steadfast that safety concerns were the final straw in the decision not to race. "Our primary responsibility is to the safety of my drivers, and I fully understand the consequences for Formula One are severe, and certainly enjoyment for the spectators here," he said. "The teams had no alternative. We were for this to be a non-championship race; we were prepared to race later; we were prepared to do virtually anything other than to race through that corner at high speed. And that's an unacceptable risk."

I am not sure how Dennis can argue to have this race as a non-championship race... I really think he is crazy. Maybe Minardi could ask for the entire season to be scrapped since their car is not up to the mark :)

FIA could have relented a bit: Michelin flew in some other tire compounds for the race, but FIA did not allow the teams to change the tires as per rules 

On a humorous note... All the 7 teams could have driven the race length a little slowly in order to help Michelin gather some testing data so that they can improve the tires at least next year.

Updated: 6/21/2005 - 2:00 PM