Formula 4 Disaster

A Speed Addicts Special Edition

“I’m furious at the stupidity of it all. There should have been a compromise but we could not get one. I tried a million things and thought that if we could get them on the grid we were halfway there. But it did not happen … We were just starting to build a great image in America on TV and with the fans. All of that has gone out of the window.”

– Bernie Ecclestone, CEO and Majority Stock Holder, Formula 1

Welcome to a very, very special addition of Speed Addicts here at Inside Pulse Sports. Normally, you would be surfing the web, not expecting to find your favorite Auto Racing “expert” here at the Pulse hard at work with another column during the work week, on a Monday no less. But then, these aren’t normal times. Read into this what you wish, but the most important racing story of 2005, and perhaps the young century at hand broke on Sunday. Oddly enough, our little expedition into the controversy takes us back to a place that we seem to have just left yesterday: Indianapolis. It was on the hollowed grounds of Indy that the most controversial, disgusting, and tumultuous event in the history of American auto racing may have taken place. So prepare yourself, as we stray from the comfort zone of NASCAR to tackle the event that has scorned Formula One. We’ll take a look at the event itself, plus the consequences – and potential benefits – of its having transpired, and how they may be too great to comprehend. For now…

“We are absolutely not embarrassed about our decision … we feel it is a reasonable decision and we were professional to bear in mind primarily the safety of the drivers … We had no other choice.”

– Frederic Henry-Biabaud, Deputy Director of Competition, Michelin

Six Cars.

No, wait. Let me type that again. Six Cars.

Had that been the number of cars that actually finished the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis this past weekend, then we probably would be sitting here discussing the colossal number of wrecks that wiped out nearly 3/4ths of the starting grid. Instead, we sit here discussing fourteen cars. Fourteen cars that boycotted the United States Grand Prix by turning down pit road, oddly enough going backwards as opposed to the customary American “turn left” standard. Naturally, because Europeans and Americans both view the other as being backwards and wont stop arguing and name-calling long enough to rectify our “cultural” differences, as certain gun-toting Republicans would call it. They actually have the audacity to race… backwards? At Indianapolis?

The first signs of trouble occurred on Friday morning, where two cars crashed during the morning practice session at Indianapolis. One crash, involving popular driver Ralf Schumacher, prevented him from racing in the Grand Prix, which actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since he’ll miss most of the negative animosity. Both cars that crashed did so because of tire failure. Both cars were running on Michelin tires, which prompted tire representatives from the French manufacturer to closely examine their tires. After careful analysis, Michelin made a shocking revelation; the rubber was unsafe to race on, especially at high speeds that the cars were reaching in Turn 13, the most dangerous turn on the modified Indianapolis circuit. This sparked a panic amongst the other Michelin users in the garage, and necessitated an emergency meeting between Michelin, the twenty individual race teams running in the U.S. Grand Prix, and the official governing body of Formula 1 Racing, FIA.

Without some sort of agreement between the teams and FIA, Michelin would not guarantee the safety of the drivers competing in the race. Therefore, the first collaborative effort came in the form of a deal that would allow the Michelin tire users to obtain brand new tires to race on. The FIA, however, has strict rules that forbid the introduction of new tires on cars after qualifying. Despite strong protests from the Michelin camp, the FIA would not back down from their traditional position and refused the request from the Michelin users to allow them to get fresh tires. By this point, Michelin started to inform their drivers that it would be in their best interests not to race on Sunday. But the parties involved were not ready to give up on the race without a fight. Turn 13, or Turn 1 in the Indianapolis 500 or NASCAR races at the track, was the main area of concern, due to the fact that the cars were attaining so much speed heading down to the final stretch before the start/finish line. Therefore, the second and final attempt at a compromise came when the Michelin teams petitioned the FIA to add a chicane in Turn 13 to slow all the cars down. This proposal actually got farther down the drawing board than the tire proposal did, as both the FIA and the teams agreed to add the chicane. All but one team. The lone holdouts in the emergency meetings in the Michelin tire crisis was the Ferrari camp, led oddly enough by the eventual winner, Michael Schumacher. The Ferrari group took a hard-line stance with every proposal pitched by the rest of the teams. When crunch time arrived, Ferrari bosses flat-out refused to add the chicane, blocking every potential race-saving move that the Michelin teams and FIA produced. A last ditch effort was launched that would have added the chicane in exchange for the race having been run for no points, but the idea was met with stern resistance.

By Sunday morning, things were becoming hopelessly bogged down. FIA summoned all twenty drivers in the U.S. Grand Prix to one final emergency meeting between all twenty drivers, the team bosses, Bernie Ecclestone, and the FIA. Ferrari bosses did not attend, which sealed the fate of facilitating the Michelin tire teams. At this point, Michelin advised its teams not to race, citing safety concerns. Fruitless negotiations continued right up until the warm-up lap, though the finger pointing was already underway in the garage. FIA and Michelin blamed Ferrari for blocking every move, while Jean Todt, Ferrari’s top man denied such claims. With no compromise in place, though, Formula 1 could only stand by and watch to see what would actually happen, if anything. They wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.

Race Profile: U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, Indiana
Date: June 19th, 2005
Distance: 306.016 Km
Laps: 73 (4.192 Km per Lap)
Circuit: Indianapolis Infield Circuit (13 Turns)

Official Starting Grid: U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis
01. #16 Jarno Trulli – Toyota
02. #09 Kimi Raikkonen – McLaren
03. #03 Jenson Button – BAR
04. #06 Giancarlo Fisichella – Renault
05. #01 Michael Schumacher – Ferrari
06. #05 Fernando Alonso – Renault
07. #02 Rubens Barrichello – Ferrari
08. #04 Takuma Sato – BAR
09. #07 Mark Webber – Williams
10. #12 Felipe Massa – Sauber

11. #10 Juan Montoya – McLaren
12. #11 Jacques Villeneuve – Sauber
13. #17 Ricardo Zonta – Toyota
14. #15 Christian Klien – Red Bull
15. #08 Nick Heidfeld – Williams
16. #14 David Coulthard – Red Bull
17. #18 Tiago Monteiro – Jordan
18. #21 Christijan Albers – Minardi
19. #19 Narain Karthikeyan – Jordan
20. #20 Patrick Friesacher – Minardi

The Controversy
The starting grid pulls off to begin their warm-up laps. A majority, if not most of the fans in attendance and watching on television have little, if any idea of what is to follow. Just prior to the field taking the green flag, fourteen cars pull off the track unexpectedly into their pits. Unusual, but the fans really don’t know what to make of the incident until they see the drivers exiting their cars. When the six remaining cars take the green flag to begin the U.S. Grand Prix, the fans finally realize that the fourteen cars that parked it are not coming back. Debris starts peppering the track, as drivers still on the course start dodging bottles and cans. Some fans begin to scale the metal retaining fences that dot the track, while others dig in trash bins for garbage to throw. Hundreds of fans search for sharpies as they hastily create derogatory signs showing their displeasure. Thousands more approach the Indianapolis Motor Speedway box office to claim refunds that just aren’t available. When it becomes painfully obvious that Formula 1 is contempt in saying “this is the race: take it or leave it”, most people vacate the track. The few that remain pepper winner Michael Schumacher and the other two drivers on the podium with garbage and hideous boos as all involved get the Hell out of Dodge. It is also rumored that Schumacher had to pit because of debris that damaged the tail of his car, though that has not been substantiated as of this time.

Official Results: U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis
01. #01 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
02. #02 Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
03. #18 Tiago Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)
04. #19 Narain Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota)
05. #21 Christijan Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
06. #20 Patrick Friesacher (Minardi-Cosworth)

(Remaining fourteen cars withdrew from the U.S. Grand Prix before the Green Flag).

The Analysis
This incident occurred primarily because the race was held within the United States. To explain: had the fourteen cars on Michelin tires gone ahead with the race and suffered catastrophic tire failure (after the tire manufacturer insisted the tires were not safe in Turn 13, or Turn 1 for NASCAR/IndyCar Series fans), watchdog groups in the United States would have had a collective field day with the whole event. Not that European, Asian, or Australian officials wouldn’t have, but American interest groups and sports-governing bodies tend to really nail international groups for breaking U.S. protocol.

So, who gets burned, and how badly? Well, with the lashing that Formula 1 is getting in the United States right now, you can bet your Dale Jr. pillow that the fourteen drivers and their respective teams are going to be roasted on a spit when they arrive for an inquisition with the Formula 1 Administration at the World Motor Sport Council hearing on June 29th. What saves the “Michelin Seven” as they’re being called (the seven Michelin-tire using teams in Formula 1) from more scrutiny by the American is the fact that Michael Schumacher is not among them. Thusly, the range of knowledge as to who did and didn’t park their cars at Indianapolis is rather lacking.

Michelin is going to really get it bad in Europe, where the racing fans may be more inclined to side with Formula 1. With the drivers liable to get hit hard with stiff fines and suspensions, it would not surprise me to see some teams pull out of their deals with Michelin following the season. What will really be hard for Michelin to do, though, is to repair their image enough to the point where they can start attracting other drivers to jump on board with their program. God forbid they have another tire problem at a place like Magny-Cours, because their survival in Formula 1 depends on a spotless performance record for the rest of the year.

If Michelin gets third-degree burns from this incident, then Formula 1 is going to into the crematorium. Though we’ll discuss the problems that Formula 1 a bit more later, the big problem for Formula 1 now is their public perception. As noted before (and mentioned again), Formula 1 is lucky that this problem arose in the United States, where they aren’t quite as popular or important. Had this occurred at Nürburgring, the shit may have hit the fan for real. As it is, F1A has a major problem on its hands; if they don’t do anything to the drivers that parked their cars on Sunday, then their viewed as absentee landlords who will allow their inmates to run the proverbial asylum. They were already thought of as tight asses by not doing more to solve the problem before the U.S. Grand Prix. And yet, if they come down too hard on them, they run the risk of being called butchers, even though it might have been necessary to save their skins.

What will hurt Formula 1 even worse in the long run is their authoritative figurehead, Bernie Ecclestone. Even though it would have opened a whole can of worms between the individual race teams and the Formula 1 Administration, Ecclestone needed to make a bold statement and crucify the fourteen drivers that parked their cars to begin the U.S. Grand Prix. Not that I would agree with such action, but it was pretty much the only way that Formula 1 was going to retain any shred of credibility in the eyes of the American Public. Instead, he shoves his foot in his mouth by insulting America’s (race) darling du jour, Danica Patrick. Smooth move, genius.

Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad, and there’s several groups that are going to get some blame here when they really do not deserve it. The folks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are inevitably going to get caught up in the whole refund issue, even though Formula 1 pretty much shoved IMS personnel aside in dealing with any and everything revolving around the handling of the U.S. Grand Prix. Why Indianapolis Motor Speedway, or any other major American track even entertains the idea of facilitating such a snobbish, anti-American group is beyond me at this point. To give you the best possible representation of the relationship between Formula 1 and the American market, allow me to equate it to the current relationship between World Wrestling Entertainment and their fans. They promise new faces, exciting matches, and worthwhile entertainment for the low price of $34.95, plus the $1.00 handling fee charged by your Pay Per View provider… and then deliver more Triple H as a sort of “screw you, we’ll do what we want” message to the buyer. Formula 1 has been wanting to expand into the United States for years now, in part because some of their biggest sponsors have large American markets to reach (see, Ferrari). Yet at every other turn, they’re trashing American racers as sub-standard drivers that couldn’t compete with the real race car drivers in Europe and Asia. They’ve taken plenty of shots at NASCAR, and their consistent use of “oval tracks”, and have even dared to take shots at bonafide American legends. Mario Andretti, the lone companion of Richard Petty in the “Kings of Racing” department in American racing lore, got trashed when he attempted to run in Formula 1.

I tell you something else that put a bug up my ass, although everyone and their mother could have told you it was coming. The treatment that Schumacher and his fellow podium dwellers got after finishing the race was downright absurd. In a perfect world, they would have been cheered for actually trying to deliver the fans their money’s worth. Instead, they nearly got booed out of the damn building by upset fans who needed a target for their venom and found it in the form of the three drivers on the podium, the only available drivers for the fans to unleash on.

And this garbage will inevitably hurt the American racing market, and its on-going expansion that may very well be crippled for a long, long time. With the racing boom having just reached its zenith thanks to NASCAR’s boom at the IndyCar resurgence led by Danica Patrick, the American market was primed for the incursion of a series like Formula 1 in racing’s “experiment” age. With this garbage, though, the door is pretty much shut on a new racing group establishing a foothold in the America market for awhile. Fortunately, this event happened at Indianapolis, which is one of the few places in the United States where the people can differentiate between open-wheel racing leagues, thanks to the mystical powers of the Indianapolis 500. The only saving grace for Formula 1, if they can get a date in the United States again, is the shock factor. Will people tune into the race to see if something controversial happens? I don’t know if people care enough to watch F1 Racing that much, though.

However, this event could actually benefit some people.

One group that’s licking their lips at the sight of Formula 1 in distress is their biggest competition, the biggest American racing league, and the target of a small-time internet personality’s recent outburst: NASCAR. That’s right, NASCAR. This event helps them in two ways, believe it or not. Firstly, and more importantly to Helton and Co. is the trouble that Formula 1 is going to find over the next year. Up until the resurrection of the IndyCar Series this past year, Auto Racing was pretty much defined by two camps: the NASCAR body, which had North America in a stranglehold, and the world-beating Formula 1 series, which was big everywhere else. With Formula 1 now mucked into their biggest controversy in years, this will open the door for NASCAR to thrash the league for their poor handling of the incident. To NASCAR’s credit, their very much tight-asses when it comes to making sure the race goes off without a hitch. Sometimes too much, as evidenced by their handling of the Aarons’ 499 last year at Talladega.

But the more interesting gain NASCAR can make is their standing in Indianapolis. It’s no secret that the Indianapolis 500 is the biggest race in American history, and the people of Indianapolis have always been a bit… apprehensive over NASCAR’s continued presence there. Despite the NASCAR boom, and serious contention in the past over outdrawing the Indy 500 in paid attendance, NASCAR is still viewed as the 2nd tier group to venture around the Brickyard. The Formula 1 Disaster couldn’t have come at a better time, though. The 90th Indianapolis 500 isn’t for another 11 months, but NASCAR’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is just six weeks away on August 7th. If the higher-ups in Daytona Beach are wise, they’d pimp the Hell out of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The hype for the race is already high, since it’s at Indianapolis, but NASCAR would be best served to really make this deal memorable. Fan festivals, parades downtown, meet and greet sessions with the drivers, the works. Bring Speed Channel into the mix all week, give it a pre-game show like no other. If NASCAR goes all out with the hype, then the fans in Indianapolis will come to the race in droves. It would be NASCAR’s way of sticking it to Formula 1, saying “We’re not like you. We come to race.” The fans will respect that, and will finally accept NASCAR as an equal force at the track on par with the IndyCar Series.

Speaking of which, the IndyCar Series benefits to a degree as well, though not quite as much as NASCAR. With F1’s blunder, the IndyCar Series has indirectly been established as the premier open-wheel racing league in the United States now. Without Danica Patrick, though, this might have been just as disastrous for the less-astute American race fans. Make no mistake, the IndyCar Series is trying to expand, just as NASCAR is doing. Had Danica not come along, the possibility that some of the hostility towards Formula 1 may have transferred to their American counterparts would have been a very real threat, indeed. But with Danica, the IndyCar Series is pretty much safe from any negative fallout.

Well, to be honest, Danica Patrick also gets a little boost here, too, because you now have another somewhat important figure to target her with his stupidity, even though the seriousness of Ecclestone’s comment is debatable. The customary male chauvinistic attitude was apparent, and thus if Danica manages to win in the next few weeks, all Hell is going to break loose in the racing world. Patrick is sure to love that. It would be a great story to begin with, because Danica has been nothing but a darling to everyone. To see such an overwhelming favorite win a first race and make history in the process is big enough, but to rub it in the faces of jackasses like Robby Gordon and Bernie Ecclestone would make it worthwhile.

In Closing…
We still have one question left to answer, and it’s a big one. I’ve actually tried to avoid it for the duration of the column, but you and I both know that it just isn’t going to happen. Who’s responsible for the Formula 1 – U.S. Grand Prix Disaster? I don’t think that you can blame any one group, because everyone made mistakes, and compensated for that by doing what they thought was best. Michelin screwed up royally by mucking up the tires for their Formula 1 representatives, and yet they caught the snafu and did everything in their power to warn the teams and the FIA about the dangers of racing on the tires. The Formula 1 Administration made the mistake of not forcing the change of the Indianapolis circuit to facilitate the drivers in question, even though changing the course layout at this point would have inevitably opened up a brand new PR nightmare by the non-Michelin using teams that would feel cheated by making the course to favor the Michelin-using cars. And the drivers that parked their cars made the mistake of causing a damn-near riot at the speedway by parking their cars to begin with. They were acting in the interest of their safety and the safety of other racers by not competing, and may have did the start thing. But even if they couldn’t compete, they probably should have ran the circuit at reduced speeds as suggested by the ESPN analysts that covered the controversy on ESPN News. By boycotting the race, they actually put their fellow drivers (and themselves by default) in more danger than they otherwise would have had they ran around the track for 70 laps at half-speed. The fans made the mistake of throwing garbage onto the track, and nearly sparking an uprising at the Speedway. Had they not gone ballistic, the incident may not have garnered as much attention as its getting. They paid up to $100 to see the world’s best, and they end up getting six cars, four of which can’t hardly keep up with the Ferraris. I’d be undoubtedly pissed, too. Then there’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which made the mistake of letting Formula 1 run all over them. If this were a perfect world, IMS would tell Formula 1 to go f*ck themselves, which is starting to sound like what they’ll do. Good for them.

In the end, Michelin will probably get hammered in Europe, where Formula 1 can do little wrong. If they survive as a major tire provider in Formula 1, I’ll be shocked. The drivers will likely get branded as chickens by some European fans, though I really don’t think they overreacted like some do. They were fearful for their safety, so they didn’t race. I can’t really say anything more about it; as human beings, you must ask yourself if racing in a relatively unimportant race is worth putting your life at risk. For the fourteen drivers that parked their cars, the answer was obvious. Formula 1 gets trashed in the U.S. for being a bunch of unprofessional jerks. Actually, Formula 1 will eventually be the big losers in this, their reputation everywhere else be damned. They’ll be issuing refunds to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway patrons that watched their pathetic race come Hell or High Water. Plus, they’ll be paying millions in compensation to sponsors who lost out on their advertising revenue when so many cars parked it for the day before the race began. Then there’s the whole issue with punishing the drivers that didn’t race, and the PR Crisis that will follow that. Think about it; would you like to be charge of a company that’s going to fine and suspend people that didn’t want to put their lives at risk, even more so than normal? On a more statistical note, the race jumbled up the standings quite a lot, as Michael Schumacher is now back in the hunt for the series championship. Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen will probably be the big losers out of the whole deal, because Alonso is the points leader and Raikkonen was coming off such a big win at Nürburgring three weeks ago.

This is one of those rare events where it’s hard to pin the blame on any one individual or group, because it took so many small things to add up to become such a big controversy. Whatever the cause, or whoever is to blame, one thing is and will remain certain; Formula 1 now has its first black eye in the world scene. How things progress from here will depend entirely on Formula 1’s handling of the incident, and how froggy NASCAR and the IndyCar Series are feeling. Because if they jump now, we may be poised for the real War of the Worlds.

Victory Lap… eh, Warm-Up Lap for the Pimps
Pomazak makes the world a better place. Pancakes.

Holy crap, Tal is back! Now give me my pimp, damnit! Aulbrook!

Daniels has the Tyson debacle in his newest edition of Cheap Heat Sports. Daniels.

Slayer returns with more wholesome goodness. Sports fans unite! Slayer!

Eric says that I’ve returned from the dark side. Kudos, now here’s your pimp. Wrestling News, Opinions, Etc.

Patrick gets Z’ Customary pimp, because he’s that damn good. Danica’s #1 Fan!

Victory… Pit Road
Well, that’ll take care of business until Saturday. Unless Jeff Gordon shoots Tony Stewart, or Michael Waltrip wins some life-altering award, we’ll call this little column closed. Hope to see you new faces back on Saturday as we stray closer to home. Until then, this is the one and only Speed Addict, wishing you a pleasant week. Kudos for the time. Peace.