Only 6 cars allowed to race.

[lopernv]

Only 6 cars are allowed to race because of a problem with the Michelin tires.

D i s c u s s

[RyanB06]

Here's a link with more information:

Link

Do we need any further information about how much of a joke the FIA and Tony George are?

This is why, folks, NASCAR will always be the #1 motorsport in this country - at least they don't have jokes like this. This is a disgrace and will probably kill F1 racing in this country.

[officeglenn]

Anywhere else, and this would likely not have as big a deal as it is. But at Indy, in the United States, the holy grail of sports markets that groups like F1 are desparately trying to break into, a debacle like this and having only six cars racing would be a complete embarrassment.

That said ? and maybe I've read the article wrong ? I can't understand why the FIA would oppose or penalize moves that would ensure the safety of drivers. If they switch tires, teams will be fined. And they won't add the chicane that apparently would solve the problems for 90% of the teams using Michelins. I can understand wanting to keep conditions consistent between qualifying and racing, but when the safety of drivers is at stake, then the F1 bosses need to a hard look at what is really driving their own motivation.

[DEAD!]

Hey, Minardi will actually get some points

This really is a disgrace. The new F1 rules this year have been controversial from the beginning, especially when it comes to tires (or tyres). Why F1 would only allow one set of tires for an entire grand prix is beyond me. If this means killing F1 in this country, then fine. F1 doesn't need the US and the US doesn't need F1. Hey, at least this is one Indy debacle that doesn't involve Tony George

[Plaid Paint]

Only 6 cars are allowed to race because of a problem with the Michelin tires.

D i s c u s s

Could you possibly be any more misleading and untrue in your post?

I doubt it.

It most certainly was not a question of teams being allowed or not being allowed to race at Indy. Every single team was allowed to race, but 14 drivers are obviously sissies as they all ran their cars into the various garages after one parade lap, leaving only 6 c ars to compete in the actual race.

[NJTank]

It was a good trip to the states for F1, first the boss of it insult Danika Patrick then this. I guess F1 wont be cracking through the popularity scales anytime soon.

[Shmee]

Only 6 cars are allowed to race because of a problem with the Michelin tires.

D i s c u s s

Could you possibly be any more misleading and untrue in your post?

I doubt it.

It most certainly was not a question of teams being allowed or not being allowed to race at Indy. Every single team was allowed to race, but 14 drivers are obviously sissies as they all ran their cars into the various garages after one parade lap, leaving only 6 c ars to compete in the actual race.

Right. These drivers who race around at 200 mph are sissies because the people who made their tires told them not to race? If the person who made your car gave you a call and told you that it would be extremely dangerous to drive today, would you grab the keys or take it easy at home until you knew more about the problem.

Moron.

[no97]

While I agree that Tony George is an ass for destroying open-wheel racing in this country, the Indy Motor Speedway was in favor of adding the chicane, but couldn't because of the FIA. Let's lay the blaime in the right place for this dibacle.

Moose

[epper]

Only 6 cars are allowed to race because of a problem with the Michelin tires.

D i s c u s s

Could you possibly be any more misleading and untrue in your post?

I doubt it.

It most certainly was not a question of teams being allowed or not being allowed to race at Indy. Every single team was allowed to race, but 14 drivers are obviously sissies as they all ran their cars into the various garages after one parade lap, leaving only 6 c ars to compete in the actual race.

sissies?

are you mental? All the Michelin teams' tires were deemed unsafe because the banking in Turn 13 (Turn 1 of the oval) was creating stress on the left rear, shredding them extremely fast. (see Ralf Schumachers crash) i would LOVE to see you jump in an F1 car, back it into the wall at 200mph, and then when you're in a full-body cast, see who's a sissie.

------

aaanyways, i see this being the beginning of the end for Formula 1 in the States. People will not come back next year, and Indy will be forced to cancel the race within a few years. Sucks because I really wanted to go to this race eventually.

[lopernv]

Could you possibly be any more misleading and untrue in your post?

I doubt it.

It most certainly was not a question of teams being allowed or not being allowed to race at Indy. Every single team was allowed to race, but 14 drivers are obviously sissies as they all ran their cars into the various garages after one parade lap, leaving only 6 c ars to compete in the actual race.

Hey! Guess what!

Eat me.

[DEAD!]

I've been looking at a few message boards, reading about their opinions on the matter. There is just as much blame on Michelin for not making the right tires as there is for the FIA in these tire rules that may affect driver safety.

Now that I think about it, while I don't blame Michelin for not allowing their drivers to race, they have every reason not to, this might look bad on michelin from a marketing stand point. If Bridgestone can run their tires under the same rules as Michelin, then it gives the impression that Bridgestone tires are superior to the Michelin tires.

So in essence, both the FIA and Michelin are to blame for this. The FIA for making this tire rule and Michelin for not being well prepared for this race.

[Seadragon76]

Well, whoever takes the bullet in this is going to be in a world of hurt.

Oh, and F1 isn't exactly on safe ground after their moron of a president said those disperaging comments about Danica Patrick.

[Suigi]

This makes me laugh.

I actually decide to watch this race, the first one all season, and this happens.

Oy gevalt.

And why do I have this sudden urge to do Rafale jerseys for the F1 teams?

[pollux]

Only 6 cars are allowed to race because of a problem with the Michelin tires.

D i s c u s s

Could you possibly be any more misleading and untrue in your post?

I doubt it.

It most certainly was not a question of teams being allowed or not being allowed to race at Indy. Every single team was allowed to race, but 14 drivers are obviously sissies as they all ran their cars into the various garages after one parade lap, leaving only 6 c ars to compete in the actual race.

Right...

I think that everybody before me pointed out what you were...

The biggest problem in Formula 1 has been exposed to the public, in the place they wanted most to perform well, the USA. While you can blame anybody for this debacle, what we see is that the race itself isn't what matters most now, it's the image that they are trying to protect.

It's a fact that the Michelin tires were degrading fast especially in the last corner, a corner taken at very high speed. The manufacturer decided to withdraw those tires from the race, but the FIA wouldn't let them import new tire from France. Those tires were also tested by the teams and they had no problem when testing... Why? Because this is the only track with a big banked corner.

Now there were many solutions proposed in order to have at least some spectacle for the fans.

1- Michelin proposed to have a chicane to slow down cars in order to have a safer corner. This was turned down because as it is, the track fits the FIA homologuation (sp?) and adding the chicane would have changed that. I have heard that the drivers would have accepted that without any problem.

2- The FIA proposed that cars equiped with Michelin tires would take the corner at a smaller speed than what could be achieved... WTF??? It's a race... The fastest wins...

3- The Michelin equiped teams proposed to have the race as usual, letting all 6 Bridgestone equiped cars finish 1-6, and they would not have taken any points for the race. They would have been on the track for the show. Now for this solution to be accepted they needed the approval of all teams. However, Ferrari decided not to accept it, with no apparent reason. Then again, they will come out as fools because they would have gained the 18 points for the 1-2 finish and no other direct rival team would have points.

This is one of the biggest mistakes I have seen in recent memory. I watched the end of the race only to see the Ferrari team congratulating itself (wow... big job!!) and to see Tiego Monteiro celebrate his podium finish, a thing that he shouldn't have done...

Anyway, most of the fans across the world will soon forget this event when the French race comes along, but I guarantee that the US fans won't forget...

[DEAD!]

and to see Tiego Monteiro celebrate his podium finish, a thing that he shouldn't have done...

Oh, he has every right to celebrate. It's not his fault 14 cars decided not to race. It's like 14 cars crashing out and you just happen to be in third. And with a team like Jordan, you need to celebrate whenever you can.

[CC97]

Could you possibly be any more misleading and untrue in your post?

I doubt it.

It most certainly was not a question of teams being allowed or not being allowed to race at Indy. Every single team was allowed to race, but 14 drivers are obviously sissies as they all ran their cars into the various garages after one parade lap, leaving only 6 c ars to compete in the actual race.

Hey! Guess what!

Eat me.

Hey! Guess what!

He was right, well about the misleading and untrue part -- but I doubt that you purposely made it misleading, just a mistake on your part.

Moving on, people.

[Frenchie]

Define IRONY:

This morning on my favourite morning radio show (Derringer in the morning on Q107, for those living in and around "the centre of the Universe") the sport capsule comes on: Blue Jays, U.S.Open then F1. after the 30-second headlines bit is over can you guess what the first commercial to come on the air is?

Yes, you guessed it: MICHELIN Tires...

[Saintsfan]

F1s problem, worldwide, is that is far too politicial. People just wanna see cars racing, and at every turn the sport seems to mess up. People are switching off everywhere around Europe. But to be honest F1 doesn't care, because people in Asia are turning on. And guess what there are no sponsorship rezstrictions in Asia, so cigareette compnaies can have there logos plastered all over the cars.

[DEAD!]

Define IRONY:

This morning on my favourite morning radio show (Derringer in the morning on Q107, for those living in and around "the centre of the Universe") the sport capsule comes on: Blue Jays, U.S.Open then F1. after the 30-second headlines bit is over can you guess what the first commercial to come on the air is?

Yes, you guessed it: MICHELIN Tires...

Damn I was expecting a Goodyear commercial

[slapshot]

From what I understand of the whole situation, F1's higher-ups are too obstinant to change anything for the sake of safety or gaining new fans.

I think there were at least 4 drivers whose tires shredded during prelims, and that's what led to the protest. The tires might not have all been Michelins either. Supposedly, a shredded tire made its way back to the Michelin plant in France for closer inspection. The final report was that none of the shredded tires were faulty. Something on the track (or the track itself) was the cause of the problems.

F1 has a rule that you must use the same tires for prelims as the race (or the same brand/model). And you can't change tires during a race, unless it's for safety reasons. So all the drivers who had potentially accident-prone tires (due to track conditions) did not want to race unless the course was made safer. It has nothing to do with being the fast driver in that sense?there are plenty other places on the track to be very fast and pass the competition. The drivers wanted the chicane placed at the spot in question to eliminate the chance of half the field having their tires shredded.

F1 is going to have to rethink things if it wants to gain more fans in this country. It has to learn to adapt to things for safety reasons. And to hold itself accountable for situations like this. The poor people who manage Indy had to take the brunt of the abuse from the angry fans.