The F1 Indy Disaster
Wow! What a most dreadful display we have seen on that Sunday morning in Indianapolis. The drivers practiced and worked their hearts out all weekend. The crew and staff made maddening preparations to make sure the event would go off well. The fans lined up in anticipation that Sunday morning expecting a great event which should have been reflective of a two day earlier free event full of the excitement preview of what should have come...but did not.
All of those angry people in the audience, and rightfully so, were wanting a full refund. Drivers wanting to pursue their craft, but not allowed. Stadium owners and event planners stabbed in the back. Why? Blame it on the teams, the tyre maker, and the 1 trye rule.
Michelin supplies the tryes for most of the teams. On the big picture, we can all point the failure of this race on Michelin for showing up at the race with the wrong tyres which proved to be hazardous when Ralf Schumacher made his practice run and the tyre basically tore apart. Luckily for him and other drivers there were safety rails to keep them from slamming into a wall.
Why couldn't Michelin just replace all the faulty tyres? F1 introduced the 1 tyre rule at the beginning of the season. Common sense should have dictated that Michelin should have come prepared with the right tyre in the first place, but common sense should also be used when there is a pressing need to change tyres without having to face penalties. The two most important features of what makes the car work are prohibitted from being replaced the entire weekend unless the team is willing to take the chance and have a judge determine after the fact the change was needed. Both the tyre and the engine change should be solely at the discretion of the team. If it were not for the one tyre rule Michelin could have had replacement tyres for all of their cars and the race could have gone off as normal.
Why not just race on the faulty tyres or put in a safety chicane? This is the argument which will go before the committee. Are the rules unreasonable or were the teams being unreasonable?
Yes, there is a safety wall and if the willing drivers wanted to race the chances are there would have been blowouts on the tyres creating havoc during the race with hopefully minimal injuries and no fatalities - but that was not a guarantee. The teams wanted to be assured the drivers would be safe before racing and no one would assure them it was safe.
Putting up the extra chicane was not a guarantee of safety either. Yes, the teams with the failing tyres could have an edge to compensate the weakness, but it was not fair to the other teams who tested out correctly with the right equipment who were not prepared to race with the extra chicane.
The owner of the track was willing to put it up, that was not the issue. The issue was only a handful came to the race prepared and the teams not prepared needed to face the consequences. The committee would not budge on anything to assure the race would go on. They were more stubborn about being in the right that they were willing to sacrifice the entire reputation of the game on the line. It was more important to be right than it was to consider the safety issue and allow the tyre change. It was more important to be right than to put up a chicane that would have allowed the game to take place. Pride was just as much as fault for the failure of that race.
When this issue comes up before committee and they decide the penalties, I hope they do not penalize the drivers who did in fact want to race. I hope they address the issue of who gets to pay the bill to reimburse the fans and think this should be paid for by both Michelin and the F1 committee who were both at fault for not coming to a timely agreement to get the race off the ground. I hope they do not put too heavy a penalty on the teams who were concerned for the safety of the people who are the bigger assests than their cars.
I really feel sorry for those who did get to race. It was more like a parade. No one had their hearts in the game. Fans were throwing debris on the track and booing and jeering at them as well as the situation in general. It wasn't their fault. They were just doing what they were supposed to be doing. The win was not exactly a great one because there really was not a competition. Michael Schumacher took his award from a substitute and hung his head in shame. Not even the award presenters wanted to be a part of this fiasco.
As I have said before and many others agree - the one tyre rule needs to go!
http://www.callendamornen.co.uk
All of those angry people in the audience, and rightfully so, were wanting a full refund. Drivers wanting to pursue their craft, but not allowed. Stadium owners and event planners stabbed in the back. Why? Blame it on the teams, the tyre maker, and the 1 trye rule.
Michelin supplies the tryes for most of the teams. On the big picture, we can all point the failure of this race on Michelin for showing up at the race with the wrong tyres which proved to be hazardous when Ralf Schumacher made his practice run and the tyre basically tore apart. Luckily for him and other drivers there were safety rails to keep them from slamming into a wall.
Why couldn't Michelin just replace all the faulty tyres? F1 introduced the 1 tyre rule at the beginning of the season. Common sense should have dictated that Michelin should have come prepared with the right tyre in the first place, but common sense should also be used when there is a pressing need to change tyres without having to face penalties. The two most important features of what makes the car work are prohibitted from being replaced the entire weekend unless the team is willing to take the chance and have a judge determine after the fact the change was needed. Both the tyre and the engine change should be solely at the discretion of the team. If it were not for the one tyre rule Michelin could have had replacement tyres for all of their cars and the race could have gone off as normal.
Why not just race on the faulty tyres or put in a safety chicane? This is the argument which will go before the committee. Are the rules unreasonable or were the teams being unreasonable?
Yes, there is a safety wall and if the willing drivers wanted to race the chances are there would have been blowouts on the tyres creating havoc during the race with hopefully minimal injuries and no fatalities - but that was not a guarantee. The teams wanted to be assured the drivers would be safe before racing and no one would assure them it was safe.
Putting up the extra chicane was not a guarantee of safety either. Yes, the teams with the failing tyres could have an edge to compensate the weakness, but it was not fair to the other teams who tested out correctly with the right equipment who were not prepared to race with the extra chicane.
The owner of the track was willing to put it up, that was not the issue. The issue was only a handful came to the race prepared and the teams not prepared needed to face the consequences. The committee would not budge on anything to assure the race would go on. They were more stubborn about being in the right that they were willing to sacrifice the entire reputation of the game on the line. It was more important to be right than it was to consider the safety issue and allow the tyre change. It was more important to be right than to put up a chicane that would have allowed the game to take place. Pride was just as much as fault for the failure of that race.
When this issue comes up before committee and they decide the penalties, I hope they do not penalize the drivers who did in fact want to race. I hope they address the issue of who gets to pay the bill to reimburse the fans and think this should be paid for by both Michelin and the F1 committee who were both at fault for not coming to a timely agreement to get the race off the ground. I hope they do not put too heavy a penalty on the teams who were concerned for the safety of the people who are the bigger assests than their cars.
I really feel sorry for those who did get to race. It was more like a parade. No one had their hearts in the game. Fans were throwing debris on the track and booing and jeering at them as well as the situation in general. It wasn't their fault. They were just doing what they were supposed to be doing. The win was not exactly a great one because there really was not a competition. Michael Schumacher took his award from a substitute and hung his head in shame. Not even the award presenters wanted to be a part of this fiasco.
As I have said before and many others agree - the one tyre rule needs to go!
http://www.callendamornen.co.uk
posted by Callen Damornen at 4:26:00 pm
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