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F1 > United States GP, 2005-06-19 (Indianapolis Motor Speedway): Sunday race
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USGP Losers + Losers
19/06/05
Normally we have a Winners and Losers column but after the US Grand Prix there were no winners, even though Tiago Monteiro thought he was.
Losers and Losers
Star of the Race
Martin Brundle, ITV Gridwalk
On his grid walk Martin Brundle said what we all subsequently thought. He tried his best to ask some direct questions to Bernie Ecclestone and all he got was evasive rubbish.
Brundle then tried to interview Slavicia Ecclestone and ended with: “I think you should have something to say and give him a jolly good slapping.”
And so say all of us. It seemed like nobody wanted to find a solution to the safety problem and F1 fans were the losers. Race promoter Tony George must be livid
Losers
Michelin
Clearly coming to a race with tyres that weren’t safe after just ten laps was one of the biggest miscalculations in motor-racing history. Let’s make no bones about it, it’s thanks to Michelin we had a rubbish race.
Even the tyres they flew in that had been used in Barcelona they weren’t that sure about. In mitigation, Bridgestone probably didn’t share all the tyre data they amassed during the Indy 500 and the Indy situation isn’t replicated anywhere else.
What the incident has done is force the teams towards a one-tyre formula which at the end of the day, is no bad thing. It’s better to have a World Championship for cars and drivers than one for tyre manufacturers.
Having made their BIG mistake and acknowledged it early, Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA and Ferrari did everything possible to make them pay for it.
Race Director Charlie Whiting
Ross Brawn’s drinking buddy released a letter that he got from Michelin with some smart answers as to why they couldn’t use different tyres on Sunday.
But he’s changed the rules for Bridgestone prior to a race so we’ve been here before. It’s surprising nobody’s questioned why Whiting changed the tyre rules at the beginning of the 2003 Brazilian GP.
Back in 2003 you were only allowed to take one wet tyre to races, so you had to make your mind up before the event. Bridgestone arrived at Interlagos with their legendary intermediate tyre that was quite good in wet and mixed conditions. Michelin had a full wet that could run in more rain.
When the heavens opened before the race, Whiting delayed the start because the Bridgestone runners wouldn’t have been able to make it round safely. It was clearly Bridgestone’s fault for not bringing a full wet tyre, but as the argument has gone this weekend – they knew the situation…
After delaying the start the field was then sent round Interlagos behind the Safety Car until enough water was taken off the circuit. Had they released the field when it was suitable for the Michelins on full wets, then Fisichella would never have won the race in his Jordan and Kimi Raikkonen may well have got the win.
Nobody complained because it was a safety issue. Fast forward two years and Whiting is not prepared to compromise in another safety situation. This interpretation of the rules when it suits them makes F1 fans deeply suspicius – it’s like there was an agenda here from the FIA.
Bernie Ecclestone
His refusal to answer some simple questions from Martin Brundle on the grid showed you where the problem lay. Ecclestone has tried very hard to bring F1 to North America, but even before this race the fans weren’t biting. Even with ticket prices at $85. (Try buying a grandstand seat for £50 at a European race.) A crowd of 120,000 was half full before we even got the farce of a race we had.
So he’s gone and shot himself in the foot by not sorting out the teams and getting everyone to agree to a solution. The idea that Bridgestone could have the front three rows of the grid in exchange for a safety chicane, (Introduced on safety grounds, nothing to do with performance) seemed pretty fair.
He and his former employee Charlie Whiting should have forced it through.
The FIA
Max Mosley and the FIA are supposed to be the champions of safety. So does preserving the rules at all costs, even though it might compromise safety for some of the teams, sound contradictory to you?
Their solution to the Michelin problem was run slower on the banking. It’s a motor race, though isn’t it.
I suppose the sponsors of the EuroNCAP tests will applaud the Michelin teams for opting for safety instead of competing.
The best thing they can do now is cancel the result of the race and use the FIA’s money (or Bernie’s) to compensate US race fans.
Ferrari
Nine teams agree on a way forward and the one team that spoils it all is…yes, Ferrari. They’re not to blame for the debacle, but they are to blame for the compromise solution not going through. And as a result they come away from the race with 18 points. Jean Todt was grinning on the grid and you know why.
The team feel no shame at testing more than all the others so the other teams won’t have been surprised.
It’s odd, too, that for the first time we get to hear Ferrari’s pit radio. Why don’t we hear it in the other races – the Championship leaders, Renault, made theirs available in Canada, a really crucial race for them.
Finally, even when there are just two cars at the front, they won’t let their cars race to the line. Rubens and Michael could have had a humdinger over the last 15 laps but it was 2002 all over again. Fall in line
So how come Michael Schumacher was allowed to challenge Rubens on the last.lap of the Monaco Grand Prix?
Jordan
The chance to score a shedful of points proved too much for the greedy b******s in charge of the team. The new sporting director (though surely a contradiction in terms) explained that they wanted to put on show.
Clearly he doesn’t appreciate that six cars running round a track, with a pre-determined result doesn’t count for entertainment in the USA. Even Ferrari fans were leaving their seats and going home.
Minardi
Paul Stoddart argued that the only reason that Minardi competed was that he had to race the Jordans, their only serious competition in F1.
Because the yellow cars went out to race, he did too. But how did they know on the formation lap that Jordan were going to compete with Ferrari? Surely the only time they knew was when the Jordans didn’t dive down the pitlane.
Michael Schumacher
Presumably after this race Michael Schumacher will be resigning from his position in the Grand Prix Drivers Association. He’s supposed to be the guy in charge of F1 safety yet he’s racing for a team who weren’t prepared to support it
His position now is untenable.
In the race he had a barging incident with Rubens, but unlike many others, this time he didn’t intend to do it. Once he locked up his brakes into Turn 1 he could do nothing to avoid the other Ferrari. It was robust but it looked accidentally robust.
ITV
“F1 should be deeply ashamed by this,” said Jim Rosenthal, “I feel sick and embarrassed.”
So, was he talking about the station’s refusal to show ‘live qualifying’ on Saturday night on ITV1, ITV2 or ITV3. No, he was talking about the race.
If the station are big supporters of F1 they can only come up with statements like this when they show all qualifying live and stop interrupting good races with advertising breaks.
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