American Grand Prix – Race
So between Ferrari and the FIA, it looks like the Michelin-shod cars now have the choice between slowing for the final turn (i.e. where they need major speed for the main straight), changing tyres and getting an unknown penalty, or risking a major accident and putting their driver, the marshalls and spectators at risk. [more]
If it wasn’t such a serious safety concern, I’d say that the FIA are right and that it’s down to the manufacturers to ensure their components work correctly, but it’s crazy to insist they either race on dangerous tyres or suffer an unknown penalty which could include disqualification. Crazy!
Michelin have told the teams using their tyres NOT to take Turn 13 at full speed NOT to race unless there’s a chicane added between Turns 12 and 13.
13:37 – Only Ferrari and Jordan have taken to the track so far – both are Bridgestone teams.
13:39 – Speed are talking to Sam Michaels (Williams) and he’s reiterated that 9 of the 10 teams (i.e. everyone except Ferrari) have said they will not race unless there’s a chicane.
13:41 – Both McLaren cars are heading for the track … there’s no chicane, so what’s been decided?
13:43 – Renault, Toyota, BAR are now on the grid too.
13:46 – Some American jingoism over the tannoy – blah, blah, Iraqi Freedom, blah barf!
13:53 – Bernie, the poison dwarf, is on the grid visibly telling Paul Stoddart and others the way it’s going to be. Meanwhile the rumour is that the Michelin-shod teams will pit and retire at the end of the first lap.
Time for the formation lap – what will happen?
That’s NK’s engine going back, wasn’t it?
Pit-car radio for DC: “if it’s down to me, I want to race” – of course.
That’s the Michelin guys pitting! JT, KR, JB, GF, FA, TS, MW, FM, JM, JV, RZ, CK, NH, DC all pit. Only MS, RB, TM, CA, NK and PF start – what a farce!
There’s just 6 cars (the Bridgestone-shod cars: Ferrari, Jordan & Minardi) take the lights … and the “race” starts.
01/73: MS, RB, TM, CA, NK, PF. One of the Jordans is smoking – I think NK is out soon.
03: All the Michelin teams are now shown as retired.
04: Pat Symonds (Engineering Director, Renault) is saying it’s such a sad day – he’s right, the FIA should not have forced the teams to do this.
05: Alastair Gibson (Chief Mechanic, BAR) – very diplomatic when the Speed guy asks him why there was no compromise – well done.
06: The “fans” are throwing rubbish on the track – that’s just brainless and dangerous – I understand their frustration (we ALL want to see a race) but throwing stuff is going to kill someone!
I’m not going to bother with my usual race notes because this isn’t a race. BBC have abandoned their live updates too – one update after 10 minutes of “racing” is just to say that RB ran over a water bottle.
13/73: Ron Dennis – “we tried everything to convince the governing body to put in a chicane … and they catagorically refused. … We had to think about the safety of our drivers.” (Note: the circuit people said they had no problem putting in a chicane. Only the FIA objected, and they have the final say.)
Well done Bernie – you make no secret that you want Ferrari to win, and you’ve made that they will. I hope you’re happy.
24/73: DC says there had to be a solution, even if it meant giving the Bridgestone cars all the points.
Red+yellow flags (“slippery surface”, not necessarily oil) at Turn 1 – more rubbish on the track?
25: RB pits – his front right looks pretty bad – wouldn’t it be funny if they had to change a tyre and were then penalised. 
26: MS pits too – very long look at the rear tyres but no change. What was that they pulled out from the rear-left? The commentator speculated it was a squashed beer can! (It’s a tyre groove depth guage.)
The crowds have almost completely gone – I’m sure there’ll be a class action with people wanting their money back … and I don’t blame them.
33/73: CA stalled it after a long look by the Bridgestone engineers.
(The race farce).
Bernie apparently has been on local (US) TV saying it wasn’t his decision and that the fans were cheated out of a race by the Michelin teams!
47/73: NK’s rear left looks a bit bald
Speed commentator just said that Bernie has left the circuit … but apparently a few fans told him what they think before he escaped!
52/73: MS comes out of the pit lane and almost T-bones RB – fortunately RB reacted in time and moves out of his team”mate”s way, across the grass.
A Speed commentator says that MS’s move was dangerous and should be investigated by the stewards … yeah, sure – what planet is he on? It’s MS in a Ferrari – there’s no way he’ll be penalised!
Speed are speculating “what if it was Bridgestone that had a tyre problem?” – he thinks no-one would care. I don’t agree – if Bridgestone told Ferrari (and Jordan & Minardi, but who cares about them?) not to race, Bernie would have made sure they could! I suspect most of the fans are there to see Ferrari, so to not have them race would hit him where it hurts – in the wallet – so he would have made sure they could.
Just 10 exciting laps left: MS leads RB by 2.4s; RB-TM ~61s; TM-NK ~35s; NK-CA ~70s; CA-PF ~11s. Only 3 cars are on the lead lap.
70/73: MS and RB lap TM, so only the Ferraris are on the lead lap; the Jordans are both 1 lap down, and the Minardis are 2 laps down.
Provisional results:
- M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
- R. Barrichello (Ferrari)
- T. Monteiro (Jordan)
- N. Karthikeyan (Jordan)
- C. Albers (Minardi)
- P. Friesacher (Minardi)
All 14 Michelin-shod cars are unclassified.
Apparently the Ferrari team didn’t go to the pit wall to see MS win, and they’re not talking to the press.
The “fans” are throwing stuff and booing.
Listening in to the chat before the podium – there will be no presenters from the circuit!
Monteiro enjoying himself on the podium but at least the Ferrari guys had the sense to slope off without spraying the champagne.
The interviews are going to be interesting.
MS: “Bit of a strange Grand Prix.” “Bottles and beer in the first corner.”
RB: (re: MS exiting pits) “I thought I had it covered.” “A sad race.”
TM: (First ever Portuguese driver on the podium) “A very wierd situation.” “It’s still a podium.”
So now we wait for the fallout – Bernie will have to make someone suffer, but will it be Michelin (thrown out – back to a single supplier) or the 7 teams (for daring to disobey Bernie’s instruction to race) … or both?
(The fiasco has even made it on to Fark.com!)
Update: Joint statement from the Michelin teams – “After final data from Michelin became available at 06.30 on Sunday morning it became clear that Michelin were not able to guarantee the safety of the drivers. Numerous discussions and meetings took place to find a safe solution to the problem. Every possibility for the race to go ahead in a safe manner was explored. The only practical solution was for a chicane to be installed prior to Turn 13 and nine of the teams were prepared to run under these conditions even forgoing championship points or by allowing non-Michelin teams to take top positions on the grid. Unfortunately all proposals were rejected by the FIA. Safety is always the first concern of any team and the FIA. Regrettably the teams were obliged to follow Michelin’s requirements not to race.”
Next race: France in two weeks. [F1 calendar, 2005]
American Grand Prix – pre-race – tyres
If you missed the whole tyre story, catch up with my notes from Friday practice and yesterday’s practice and qualifying sessions.
Renault boss Flavio Briatore has threatened to withdraw his cars from [the] US Grand Prix unless permission is granted for Michelin to use a new batch of tyres flown in from its Clermont-Ferrand factory. Unfortunately he seems to be the only team boss willing to make a stand for the safety of his drivers.
“Formula 1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone has dismissed suggestions that the United States Grand Prix might not go ahead due to a mass boycott by the Michelin teams.” He basically said that they’ll make sure all the teams run but because “they will be in breach of regulations – that’s obvious … we will see afterwards what will happen.” Well that’s very handy for Bernie – he gets his money (sorry, race) and then the teams have to fight it out in court to see if it was worth the millions they paid to compete.
Minardi boss Paul Stoddart has joined the debate – he says he feels empathy for the teams running Michelin tyres but wants to see the FIA apply their rules fairly. (Minardi wanted special dispensation to run their 2004 car at the start of this season and were told no.)
On one hand, there’s the safety of the drivers (and marshalls, spectators, etc.) to think about, but equally can Bernie/Max allow the teams to bend the rule? Will they allow the teams to change tyres but shuffle them all down the grid. (My money is on that solution, because that also gives Ferrari a clear advantage – a definite plus for Bernie.) If they insist on the teams running on the same tyres and there’s an accident (and remember this race is in the States) the litigation and money-grab is going to be huge.
Even the official F1 site says “If Michelin decide they cannot be used safely, their teams could face a major dilemma. A new batch of tyres is being flown in from France, but in using these competitors would be breaking several Formula One regulations. Meetings are taking place between the parties concerned to try and reach a solution, but a final decision is thought unlikely before Sunday morning.”
Updates:
BBC reports that “Ferrari were threatening to derail a rescue plan to save the US GP with an hour to go to the start of the race.”
ITV-F1, however, report that it’s the FIA that have rejected the plan. “FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting wrote to Michelin this morning effectively informing the tyre manufacturer that its Indianapolis dramas were down to the shortcomings of its tyre design, and that fixing the problem was not, therefore, the responsibility of the governing body.”
The FIA has published the exchange of letters: initial letter + reply from Charlie Whiting; 2nd letter from Michelin + reply; fax + final brush off “It is for them to decide. We have nothing to add.”
[Race weekend schedule] [F1 calendar, 2005]
American Grand Prix – Practice & Qualifying
Ralf Schumacher isn’t racing after yesterday’s accident; apparently he has an eye problem. That means Zonta (who also had an off following a tyre failure yesterday) will take his place in the race.
“Michelin has advised the teams not to race unless Ralf Schumacher’s tyre failure in practice can be explained or new tyres are allowed to be used.” [BBC]
The McLarens (at least) didn’t take Turn 13 (the scene of RS’s accident yesterday) and instead have been driving through the pit lane.
Speed commentators just said that Michelin have advised the teams using their tyres that they are not to take Turn 13 if they’re using the same tyres as yesterday.
Nick Shorrock (Director of F1 Activities, Michelin) sort of reiterated that but without being quite so specific.
Rumours about RS having shards of carbon fibre in his eye are false … so says RS himself.
Both Saubers had their water pumps changed last night, which meant breaking the FIA’s seal, but they got the OK to do it and won’t be penalised.
Whoops! JV comes in to pit but as he hits the brakes, he puts it sideways and the pit crew scatter.
Speed commentators were talking about Ferrari’s use of “heating boxes” (not ovens, honest) to warm their tyres … which of course is illegal … and there’s photographic evidence … but it’s Ferrari, so that’s OK.
There was also talk yesterday about Michelin staff spotting Bridgestone engineers cutting grooves in Ferrari’s tyres at the Canadian GP last week. Apparently the FIA wouldn’t listen to them, which is why there are a lot of Michelin guys watching everything Bridgestone do this weekend.
FA is driving like an idiot – passing CK and then slowing, baulking him – what’s that about? I hope the drivers’ meeting deals with his problem!
Fastest: KR, JB, FA, MS, TS, GF, JT, JM.
Track temperature 42°C; air temp 24°C; wind 2.7m/s; humidity 46%; pressure 991.1mBar
First batch: RZ, JM, NK, GF, FA
RZ, standing in for RS – Sector 1 = 22.1; S2=52.0; S3=1:11.754
JM – S1=22.2; S2=51.8 (locked up a bit); 1:11.681 = provisional Position 1
NK – S1=22.7; S2=53.5; 1:13.776 = pP3
GF – S1=22.1; S2=51.6; 1:11.290 = pP1
FA – S1=22.2; S2=51.7; 1:11.380 = pP2
2nd batch: PF, TS, NH, JB, JT
PF – S1=23.2; S2=54.0; 1:14.494 = pP6
TS – S1=22.2; S2=51.6; 1:11.497 = pP3
NH – S1=22.5; S2=52.3; 1:12.430 = pP6
JB – S1=22.0; S2=51.4; 1:1.277 = pP1 by 0.013s (fastest S1 & S2 of the session so far)
JT – S1=21.8; S2=51.2; 1:10.625 = pP1 by 0.652s (fastest S1 & S3; fastest speed trap 342.2km/h) – very brave, considering Toyota’s weekend so far!
Batch 3: CA, TM, JV, CK, DC
CA – S1=22.9; S2=53.2; 1:13.632 = pP9, ahead of his teammate
TM – S1=23.0; S2=53.1; 1:13.462 = pP9 … very close to the wall in the final turn though
JV – S1=22.1; S2=51.8; 1:11.691 = pP7
CK – S1=22.4; S2=52.2; 1:12.132 = pP9
DC – S1=22.4; S2=52.7; 1:12.682 = pP11, behind his teammate – the onboard camera shows DC really struggling to get the Red Bull car through the infield corners
Final batch: MW, FM, RB, MS & KR
MW – S1=22.3; S2=51.6; 1:11.527 = pP6 (fastest S2)
FM – S1=22.2; S2=51.6; 1:11.555 = pP7
RB – S1=22.1; S2=51.7; 1:11.431 = pP5 – lost time in S3
MS – S1=22.0; S2=51.5; 1:11.369 = pP4
KR – S1=21.9; S2=51.1; 1:10.694 = p2 (fastest S2)
- J. Trulli (Toyota) 1:10.625 – first ever pole for Toyota
- K. Raikkonen (McLaren)
- J. Button (BAR)
- G. Fisichella (Renault)
- M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
- F. Alonso (Renault)
- R. Barrichello (Ferrari)
- T. Sato (BAR)
- M. Webber (Williams)
- F. Massa (Sauber)
- J. Montoya (McLaren)
- J. Villeneuve (Sauber)
- R. Zonta (Toyota)
- C. Klien (Red Bull)
- N. Heidfeld (Williams)
- D. Coulthard (Red Bull)
- T. Monteiro (Jordan)
- C. Albers (Minardi)
- N. Karthikeyan (Jordan)
- P. Friesacher (Minardi)
We’ve yet to find out what will happen with the Michelin tyres, so the grid could change dramatically.
[Race weekend schedule] [F1 calendar, 2005]
American Grand Prix – Friday practice
Nothing of interest to report from the first practice.
R.Schumacher just wiped out on the final turn – same spot as his big accident last year. (Red flags almost immediately.) The car slid over to the pit wall and RS got out OK but didn’t seem to be able to climb over the wall; he’s been driven away by the medic’s car. On the (multiple) replays you can see a puff of smoke from the rear left before RS’s Toyota spins and slids along the barrier. There’s a clear tear in the temporary barrier where RS hit it. He’s now back in the Toyota garage. You’ve got to feel sorry for Trulli (the other Toyota driver) – both teammates have crashed out in this session.
The pit-driver radio (Klien’s?) reports Michelin have advised increasing the rear pressures.
DC and KR both spun in Turn 1 (a minute or so apart) – have the tyre pressure changes caught them out?
NK spins again – that’s his 3rd of the day, I think.
[Race weekend schedule] [F1 calendar, 2005]
American Grand Prix weekend
This weekend’s schedule:
| Circuit (local) time | EDT (GMT -4hrs) | TV coverage | |
| Friday Practice 1 | 1100-1200 | 1200-1300 | Live on Speed |
| Friday Practice 2 | 1400-1500 | 1500-1600 | Live on Speed |
| Saturday Practice 1 | 0900-0945 | 1000-1045 | x |
| Saturday Practice 2 | 1015-1100 | 1115-1200 | Speed are showing highlights at 1pm |
| Saturday Qualifying | 1300-1400 | 1400-1500 | Live on Speed; TSN aren’t showing it until 7:30pm |
| Race | 1300-1500 | 1400-1600 | Live on Speed; TSN are showing golf instead! (TSN are showing the race at midnight!) |
[sources: official F1 site; TSN; SpeedTV]
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