July 1, 2005
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Hi folks…
F1 arrives at Magny Cours this week for the French GP and, after Indianapolis, I just hope things will start to get back to normal.
Where do you start with the US GP weekend?
It was just a disaster for Formula One as far as I was concerned. It was somewhat embarrassing being there and be part and parcel of it. It was a little bit difficult in some respects from my side of things, as I have spent five years there racing in the Indycar series and to try to explain to people what was actually going on was very difficult, because there was no understanding whatsoever of that kind of thing.
It just wouldn’t happen in America because, at the end of day, entertainment is everything. The race is what they class as entertainment. There should have been a race, and a race with 20 cars in it – not a six car farce.
But, anyway, there you go. The damage is done and now we have to see what limitation can be put around that – or whether anything else will come off the back of it.
So is the US Grand Prix now under threat? I think it is fair to say that it is definitely under threat.
However, it is difficult to know what the situation is exactly without having all the information, and without having any knowledge of what the contractual obligations are too. I’m sure, over the course of time, we will find out whether there will be another US GP, and whether there will be another US GP at Indianapolis, but for those not in the know, we will only be able to surmise what is going to happen.
Of course, it’s not over yet and, with the FIA announcing today that the seven Michelin teams have been found guilty on two of the five charges – and six of them now set to appeal – this it’s going to run for a while yet too.
In my view though, I don’t think anybody was trying to do anything different or political from the team point of view. I think they were all prepared to go out there and get the job done – certainly from the drivers’ point of view. It’s a difficult situation. I don’t feel anyone will win out of this. I don’t think there will be any winners whatsoever. Overall, the only thing that is going to get harmed is the sport in general.
So who is to blame?
Well, ultimately, the bottom line is that Michelin caused the problem because their tyres weren’t up to the job performance-wise and that is the issue.
But then, once you have gone through that side of things, you have to look at the sport’s governing body to see what they could have done to make sure something was in place to create the race. We have had chicanes put in. I’ve been in grands prix where we have had chicanes put in overnight to compensate for issues, for safety problems, speeds and so forth. It is difficult to understand why that couldn’t be done again, especially as people’s uttermost thoughts are about safety and that was the bottom line.
But, seemingly, there were other issues – with other teams and other tyre manufacturers – where, all of a sudden, it became increasingly complicated.
It all seems quite simple, and it all seems very easy to do after the event. However, I’m sure there is lots of ‘fors and againsts’ – the problem being, as per normal, that you won’t get to know what they were.
Michelin’s gesture though to refund the fans that bought tickets is very good. I think it is a very credible thing to do and I think it is a great gesture for those people out there to have – and I’m sure they will take note of that. But it is an unfortunate situation.
I can’t believe for one moment that Michelin turned up there with any intention of not being able to compete that weekend. Mistakes happen – everybody makes mistakes, no matter who you are or what you are. Unfortunately, the mistake was made under the world spotlight of F1, so it has got a high amount of friction caused by it.
One of the other big stories since the US GP has been confirmation that BMW are going to buy Sauber and enter there own team in 2006. I think that is great news for Sauber obviously, and I think it good news for F1 in some ways too, because it is a huge commitment by another big manufacturer and that’s great.
It is not so good for Williams, because now they have to find another manufacturer for engine supply. Obviously, there will be concerns and worries that information and technology and so forth will be getting fed through the system into the BMW team for 2006, but that unfortunately is part and parcel of racing and you have to take that on board. I think it is a good deal overall.
Williams have been in this situation before and they have always managed to find a way out. Let’s see what comes of this. There are loads of people out there in terms of manufacturers. There are people being bandied about, like Audi, and there has been talk about for several years about them coming into F1, as there has with Volkswagen. Anything can happen in F1 – you never know with F1 until it happens and is announced on the day. That is part and parcel of excitement.
However, let’s look at this weekend now and hope normal service is resumed…
Assuming that is case, I think it will be interesting to see where we sit now with Ferrari and Bridgestone in terms of performance. I think they have made some progress – obviously the US GP didn’t indicate anything against the other teams, because they weren’t out there, but I think there has been some definite strides made there.
I still think we will be looking at the same contenders – McLaren are mighty at the minute and Renault are still in there and consistent. You also have people like Williams, Toyota and BAR – who could come into there own at Magny Cours. So I think it will be a very interesting weekend.
As for the venue itself, it is an interesting circuit, in the respect that it is pretty smooth and has got a couple of high speed corners. It is a little bit of a lacklustre place in terms of character because it is in the middle of no where, and unfortunately there is not a lot of atmosphere generated around it. But, overall, it is still a good track.
There is still a lot enthusiasm and passion, and the French GP is steeped in history, so it is something we can’t dismiss. I think it probably needs a change of venue to really generate the atmosphere it deserves, but we will have to make do this weekend!
This weekend, though, I think McLaren and Renault will be the guys who lead the pack. I’m not overly sure the Ferrari-Bridgestone combination will be right up at the front in qualifying, but I think they will be in contention come the race.
In terms of qualifying, I reckon Kimi will be the man, and I also predict that he will win the race, followed by Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. Then, after that, it gets tough? But maybe Jenson Button will come good for fourth, with Jarno Trulli next up and Takuma Sato sixth in the sister BAR.
Enjoy the race…
MB
PS. The British GP follows straight on from France and its great news that it’s a sell-out. It’s definitely encouraging. I think there have been lots of people helping out to try and push the promotion of the track – and the grand prix – and at this point in time the British public has responded. That’s fantastic. So let’s hope we have a super grand prix weekend and things go from strength to strength.
