Days that Shook the F1 World - US Grand Prix 2005
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- File: day1.mp3
- Transcript: day1.pdf
- Torrent: day1.torrent
Welcome to Sidepodcast. This is the first part in our latest mini series – Days that Shook the F1 World. The idea is to pick out some specific dates in Formula 1 history that made drivers, teams, fans and the media sit up and take notice. Days that quite literally shook the F1 World. Our first date is June 19 2005.
The 2005 Formula 1 season proved to be a refreshing break from the Ferrari dominance of previous years. Fernando Alonso took his R-25 Renault and made it work out on track, and Michael Schumacher was left struggling in the distance. Only Kimi Raikkonen could match Alonso’s pace, but the McLaren suffered from reliability problems.
In June, Formula 1 descended upon the USA, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Speedway features some of the only high banking in the Formula 1 calendar, as the cars leave the infield section and rejoin the Speedway oval. The critical corner is Turn 13. During Friday Practice, Ralf Schumacher suffered a left rear tyre failure at the turn and crashed heavily. After close inspection by Michelin of both the tyres in use, and spare tyres flown in from Spain, they advised their customer teams – seven out of the ten teams competing – that they couldn’t guarantee safety through the banking for a full race distance. On Saturday, Michelin informed the FIA that they didn’t know what the problem with the tyres was, but that it could be solved by slowing the cars down at Turn 13. The teams proposed several options: new spec tyres to be flown in, or a temporary chicane to be built, but Race Director Charlie Whiting would not allow either of these amendments. According to him, Bridgestone would be unfairly put out by a chicane, and essentially it was Michelin’s problem if they couldn’t bring the correct tyres to a race.
The teams met up, discussed the options, and all except Ferrari, who weren’t there, agreed that a chicane really was the best way to go, despite the FIA’s concerns that any changes to the track layout would render the race outside of the championship. Bernie Ecclestone offered to ask Jean Todt for Ferrari’s position on the proposal but returned with bad news. Todt believed the problem was between the FIA and Michelin and didn’t want to get involved.
Discussions continued, and the proposals went back and forth, with the teams beginning to come round to the idea of running a non-championship event, if only for the fan’s entertainment. The FIA and Ferrari continued to disagree to all the options presented to them.
With only moments to go, and confusion reigning supreme, the teams decided that they had no options left and would be forced to complete only a formation lap and then retire from the race. Ferrari were going to race, and Jordan decided to race also. Minardi team principal, Paul Stoddart, who was running on Bridgestones decided he needed to race, to keep the fight up with Jordan, but announced he would retire his cars if the Jordan’s were out of the race.
And so, twenty cars took to the grid, twenty cars completed the installation lap, then fourteen cars peeled off into the pit lane. Six cars took their places at the start line.
The crowd booed.
Obviously Ferrari won the race, and it helped them considerably in both driver and constructors championship. But any benefits the team had were outweighed by the many, many complaints. Anyone attending the race was absolutely furious, the race was rubbished and the future of F1 in the United States looked very shaky.
The fans blamed the FIA. The FIA blamed Michelin.
It was a very dark day in the entire history of Formula 1, and still provokes reactions today. Although the FIA eventually decided Michelin was not solely to blame, it was too late for the company, and the sport is now supplied by a single tyre manufacturer. Although the US Grand Prix battled through the bad feeling in both 2006 and 2007, it is off the calendar for 2008. Michelin eventually gave refunds to anyone who had attended the race.
That’s our first topic covered, a day that really did unsettle F1 to its very foundations. Join me again tomorrow for part two, featuring another day that shook the F1 World.
Theme music: Dylan in the Movies, Better Days and Causeway, Change in My Lifetime.
December 2nd, 2007 at 11:03 pmbill harris said:
I had the unfortunate luck to make it to the 2005 USGP. That was to be my first F1 race too.
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:15 pmbrendan stallard said:
“I had the unfortunate luck to make it to the 2005 USGP. That was to be my first F1 race too.”
Bill,
The powers that be: that afternoon, had better thank their lucky stars that you still have an interest in this sport.
Personally: I’m of the opinion that the wrong guy got punished, it was that eejit with the big nose who wouldn’t play ball, Jean Todt.
But the POTW punished Michelin, who have supported racing through thick and thin times.
They should have put the chicane in: and made it non championship. There were 400.000 ticket holders who had paid good money to watch a race.
In entertainment: which is what motor racing is: you call Dr Stage and put the show on! Of course: they should not have raced with the danger of the banking: hence the chicane.
Nice work Christine and Me: a well written and informative piece, with no bias either way.
Thanks,
brendan
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:44 pmDan said:
I still remember screaming at the TV with more profanity then I have ever used in my life. I was gone for the few days before the GP and didn’t know what was going on till the cars started pulling off the track.
There are so many questions that have been left me begging from this the last two years. However over it has come to one conclusion: the FIA is a horrible organized and managed. Then again, anyone who has follow F1 this year know, that things have not gotten any better.
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:53 pma.k.a. the Blue Orange Lion said:
Are you going to add Austria 2002 racing week-end to the days that shook the F1 world? Maybe Australia 1994, Jerez 1997 and Monaco 2006 would be a good idea. Or even better - name it “The Schum that shook the F1 world”. You have inspired me - I’m gonna do something like that on me own blog, maybe call it “the daze that shook the F1 volt”. I must think it over…
December 4th, 2007 at 10:50 amme said:
i second that
anything that doesn’t involve schumi perhaps?
December 5th, 2007 at 7:53 amF1Wolf said:
over here we have these North American races at 2 or 3am … I know I can’t compare with the people who travelled all the way to Indy to watch that farce, but staying up that late on Sunday night and then watch Tiago Monteiro jumping crazy on the podium, that did not feel too good …
However I find it a bit unfair to lay the blame on Ferrari. They did nothing wrong, their tyres worked, and this was maybe the only track that year that they actually had chance for good result and perhaps even win fair and square …
It was a combination of the Michelin tyre and the single tyre weekend rule … Most of the other races this combination worked very well for the Michelin teams … In the US it turned against them and Ferrari is to blame for that ? Why not to blame Stodart and his principles ? He claims he needed to keep up with Jordans … Ferrari needed points to keep up with Renault and McLaren … The reasons Minardi raced were exactly the same as the reasons Ferrari rejected the non championship race idea … I believe that should the problems be the other way around, Michelin runners would take same position as the Bridgestone runners did. The only differece would be 14 instead of 6 cars on track …
I am not sure there actually was a good solution to the situation … Ferrari needed points and they were looking good for the US GP. The Michelin tyres did not work, were not safe, the teams could not race them due to possible liability issues. To fly in different spec tyre would be against the rules that FIA set out for that season. To add an extra chicane would change the track and then Bridgestone could have come out claiming that the track has changed and does not suit their tyres… That race was doomed from the moment Michelin sent out the memo that their tyres and not safe to drive …
December 5th, 2007 at 9:56 amChristine said:
It’s not a situation with an easy solution, and I feel sorry for the people who had to make those difficult decisions at the time.
I don’t think Ferrari are to blame. I’m sure it’s true that if it was the other way round the Michelin runners would have taken to the grid.
However, from a fan’s point of view, several solutions were presented to Ferrari that would have meant some kind of action that day, and they chose to decline them all. From a competition and business view, they did the right thing. But from a sporting and entertainment standpoint, they didn’t.
December 5th, 2007 at 2:37 pmF1Wolf said:
nice sum up