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Monday, June 20, 2005

michelin farce


the biggest loser of this farce would definitely be formula one. there's no winner.

of course we shouldn't point the fault to one particular element of the sport. contreversies of all sorts have happened in formula one since before i was even alive. it is part of the sport. for that, we have to see the bigger picture of this whole event, understand the chronological situation, and analyze each parties point of view.

first of all, you can't be baffled with the decision of bridgestone teams to actually go on racing. they were supposed to race on a race weekend, that is the spirit and it is what they do. you should however be baffled with the decision of the michelin teams to quit racing. six teams on the grid is disgusting? well, imagine no teams.

instant classic grid [www.f1-live.com]
of course there is the argument of safety. this safety issue is real, and it's not some storm kicked up from ralf's blown tyre. however, the problem is that michelin tyres were totally unsafe because they compromise safety for speed. i commented on this issue before the qualifying on another f1 blog:
how fair is this one tyre rule? bridgestone compromised speed with safety, whereas michelin focused more on speed. now bridgestone teams get penalized somewhat just so the marketing value of the usgp can go through? if the michelin can't follow all the rules and provide safe tyres (supposedly a priority), then too bad, the ought to withdraw from the race. else they should be penalized. no sympathy should be given at all.
this brings me to the threats made by the michelin teams, which were uncalled for and insensitive to the fans. let's face it, it was all business and all politics for them. they knew their tyres were unsafe beyond repair (even the new tyres they flew in had similar problems). they knew they will break many rules and pay for the penalties if they were to change their tyres in the race. they knew it will be impossible to create a chicane just for their benefits. ultimately they knew they will embarassingly lose the gp. so what did they do? they quit and they created a farce.

pissed [www.f1-live.com]

they diverted the blames to fia for not accepting whatever demands they put out. they diverted the ugliness to ferrari for not co-operating to their requests (in actual fact ferrari had no say in this). they diverted the pressures to jordan and minardi for pact-forming and not racing (chicane or no chicane at turn 13 is of no difference to them). frankly though, why should any of them co-operate?

it isn't their fault if you cannot make your tyres safe enough for formula one. it isn't their fault if you want to compromise the drivers lives for championship points. it isn't their fault if you cannot follow the rules applicable to every team. nobody sympathized when a double puncture occurred to ferrari, or when kimi's tyre caused a suspension failure. there is no way the fia is going to back down from this sort of unreasonable threats just because it didn't benefited the majority of the teams. who would be running the championship then? the michelin teams or the fia?

finally, for those who blame the fia on this issue, you are sadly mistaken. for those who blame ferrari on this issue, you are totally biased. if you're an f1 fan, you know there's no winner from this f1 debacle. only losers.

single tyre-manufacturer rule couldn't come sooner, and we all know which company this will be.



previous posts:
indianapolis: indianapolis motor speedway
montreal: post-montreal notes
montreal: canadian gp preview
montreal: lopsided mirrors?
nurburgring: ferrari to make or break
monaco: f1 and star wars don't mix
barcelona: the era is all over
imola: from zero to hero
imola: f1 aero upgrades
bahrain: what a joke
sepang: bring out the new car!!
sepang: toyota f1 rev party
sepang: klcc sauber f1 street demo
melbourne: the wait is over!
pre-season: the viking
pre-season: nose job
pre-season: b.a.r. unveiled a goose
pre-season: sweet sauber
pre-season: evolution not revolution
pre-season: sauber ain't coming


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