anyone watching the f1 race today? cars running michelin tires did not start the race.they just pulled straight into the pit after the warm up. only 6 cars running. i feel bad for the fans who spent lots of money to get tickets for it. i have never seen anything like this in any motorsport. i think this is really gonna hurt f1 in the U.S.
at least minardi will get some points today!

 

best race ev4r, lol.

-1 michelin.

 

I think this is the only time that both Minardis scored points. Also it's only the second race ever that every car that started the GP finished the GP. This is going to destroy F1 in America... guess I'll have to trek to Canada in a few years when I finally get my finances together to go see one live.

 

Too much politics in F1 and the FIA. It is sad. What makes it even worse is that it will make it look bad here in the US.

 

Well the fans were being retarded too. Throwing **** on the track and boo-ing the Bridgestone teams. Total BS, it's not Bridgestone's fault that the Michelins couldn't cut it. Wind Tunnel tonight should be interesting . . .

 

i think most of the fans had no idea what was going on, unless they had radios with them. i was surprised that most of them stayed to watch the whole race.
i hope they were booing the FIA, not the drivers.

 

wasn't the FIA's fault, it was Michelin and the Michelin teams

 

I was there this weekend and I did not have a radio, had damn good seats though and alot of pictures.. not to get too much off topic. They were having a problem with the Michelin tires early on in the weekend, two spins and one car later, they were unsure about the tires.. They asked Michelin to ship them a new batch of tires but they refused... and the drivers said hell no after their managers told them to race anyway on the tires.. half of the problem was the rules. the tires you qualify in you must race with... and second Michelin are French ( no offence to whom ever is French.. including me) The majority of French despise the Americans for reasons beyond me ( I guess the history books will tell you) something about political b.s.

 

What happened at the American Grand Prix is pretty simple. Michelin Tire screwed up in a huge way and provided the wrong tires for the race. The Michelin Tires were falling apart at the banked turn at Indianapolis. Poor Michelin: they are used to custom tayloring tires for individual races in Europe but who woulda thunk they needed to do the same for the American Grand Prix. Cars and drivers lives were put at risk by the disintegrating Michelins.

As you know, FIA rules now state that the same tires must be run for all of a F1 event.. practice, qualifying and racing. That meant Michelin let down every team that used it's tires. Then Michelin tried to change the rules to cover their a...'s. They air-freighted in a batch of new tires to Indianapolis and asked FIA to allow them to switch tires. No one else gets a chance to do this in a Grand Prix, but Michelin thinks they are so big in F1 that FIA has to allow them the exception.

The FIA was right in telling Michelin they couldn't get a second chance by swapping out the mischosen tires.

The Michelin-equiped teams then came up with the idea of installing a chicane in front of the banked curve before the race. That would keep the Michelins from falling apart. The FIA again said no. You can't change the conditions of the race because the Michelin tires are failing and the Bridgestones aren't.

The FIA can't be expected to safety inspect every tire before an event. This is one of those situations when the safety of the drivers is up to the teams themselves. The Michelin-equiped teams wisely decided to pull out of the race rather than risk the lives of their drivers.

There is more to competition in F1 than just one driver trying to go faster than the others. Teams are competing and so are manufacturers and suppliers. The FIA was right in saying in effect: Michelin lost the American Grand Prix, got pwned in fact, and the the teams running the Bridgestones deserved the chance to win. I agree.

 

The teams blew the problem out of proportion, the two teams that actually practiced at Indy earlier in the year didn't have problems, but still pulled. They are looking for an excuse to cause trouble, rumors about a spin-off series and whatnot . . . the whole thing is stupid.

 

Did the two teams that ran the test do it after the re-pave? I heard Firestone had issues with it too and since it is a sister company with Bridgestone, that may have helped them create a better tire. Even Nascrap had to suspend test due to tire issues after the re-pave. I couldn't watch it. I felt sorry for the fans that paid out of their noses. My friend was at turn one. I was suppose to get those seats next year!

 

the teams did do the test after the resurfacing, which is why they didn't have probs. michelin was running last year's tire, instead of doing their homework. the firestone/bridgestone data exchange is speculation, but I believe it. your consolation is this: if they race at indy next year it should be really good.

 

Well if they knew at the test what needed to be done then that's their a$$. I don't think I want to risk $500 bucks for hotel/lodging for a six car field. I'll just watch the CART race for now.

 

I think we should all be allowed to kick a Michelin spokes-person in the nuts at least once for such a disappointment.

 

I was there, with a radio, knew it was coming. Will never buy a Michelin product again. Might attend an F1 race if I get my money back. I hope they have a Champ Car or IRL race there on the road course. As always IMS and the people of Indy were great. Too bad the foreigners let everyone down.