Here's the first on it.... from Grandprix.com JUNE 29, 2005 The latest from Paris... Word has it that matters are falling apart within the FIA World Council meeting in Paris today. The general hearing has already taken place, and the team principals are now coming out one by one - and are refusing to comment - but the word from within the meeting is that bad news is expected. BAR principal Nick Fry has just come out of the meeting, with Ron Dennis expected to be the next to come out. Minardi's Paul Stoddart came to Paris, but was refused entry to the World Council meeting. An FIA press conference with Max Mosley is planned for 3pm local Paris time, while a press conference of the Manufacturers is expected sometime after - at which Stoddart is expected to be part of. Rumours are that BAR is facing a ban - in which case it is anticipated that BAT and Honda would announce that they would pull out of the championship.
As Derek Daly says at the beginning of every race: "Hold on to your Holly Hocks". I think it's gonna get ugly.
Gosh I hope this is not true. That would be truly a catastrophic outcome. And why ban BAR? Or are they mentioned just because they're the first out of the conference? I don't see any difference between the seven Michelin teams. Either ban all or none. If you ban all, the championship is over and in the toilet. If this is really going to happen (still hope left), then I'm looking forward to GPWC.
Here is the latest in the proxy war. http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/952453833__29_06_2005_FIA_Michelin_letter.pdf
Here's more from ITV about the letter and response. Notice the last two paragraphs concerning Article 127. Let's hope it doesn't go there. http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=33281
Maybe the choice for the other teams was losing points or a ban. No points, no choice for BAR? Personally, I hope they ban Michelin immediately and tell the seven teams they are now on Bridgestone, or stay home. Make Bridgestone the sole supplier for F1 for the next 5 years.
You're right. That makes "sense" in FIA kinda way. Not in real life though since these are two totally different issues. Mad Max Mosley rules
Seven teams pulled out at Indy, leaving only three to race The teams who refused to start the US Grand Prix have been found guilty on two charges of bringing Formula One into disrepute and not guilty on three. But motorsport's governing body the FIA will not decide their penalty until 14 September, it announced on Wednesday. Renault, McLaren, Toyota, Williams, Red Bull, Sauber and BAR pulled out of the 19 June race after Michelin said it could not guarantee its tyres' safety. More to follow. from bbc.co.uk http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4631523.stm
Ron Dennis, Flavio Briatore, and Sir Frank Williams leaving the meeting. Paul Stoddart enjoying the show outside. courtesy of the AP and an old friend of Fchat! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
PARIS - Formula One's ruling body said Wednesday that the seven teams that abandoned the U.S. Grand Prix were guilty of two offenses and set a Sept. 14 date for handing down penalties. The teams were found guilty of failing to ensure suitable tires for the race and of wrongfully refusing to allow their cars to start. Associated Press World Council decision The seven teams are guilty of failing to ensure that they were in possession of suitable tyres for the United States Grand Prix but with strong mitigating circumstances. They where guilty of wrongfully refused to allow their cars to start the race having regard to their right to use the pitlane on each lap. They where not guilty of refusing to race subject to a speed restriction having regard to the absence of any detailed plan for this. Not guilty of combining to make a demonstration for the reason that they had hoped to race until the last minute. They where not guilty of failing to inform the stewards of their intention not to start for the same reason. The World Motorsport Council has decided to adjourn discussion of any penalty until an extraordinary meeting of the WMSC on Sept 14th. The WMSC will also examine what steps have been taken by the seven Michelin teams and their supplier to compensate the Formula 1 fans and repair the damage to the reputation of the Indianapolis Motor Sped at and the image of Formula 1; what steps have been taken by the Michelin teams to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. grandprix.com There will be a joint update from the 7 teams + Stoddart soon...
What the hell is that ?!?!? Waiting until Sept 14. Now that is crap. The FIA should make any penalties known now not 2 1/2 months from now. How can they race not knowing what going to happen to them for that period of time ? I hope a plausible explantion is given as to the rationale behind waiting until mid-Sept.
Actually not a bad ruling: They were concerned about the reputation of F1. With a pending verdict the teams are kept on their toes to behave and not pull any more stunts. Also it leaves us with hope, that actually nothing will happen on September 14: Since it is all about the reputation of F1 the FIA wouldn't want to change the championship outcome by some arbitrary ruling.
Hmm, proxy war with Michelin and the teams don't get punished until September 14? Me thinks the FIA is going after Michelin between now and then...
"They where guilty of wrongfully refused to allow their cars to start the race having regard to their right to use the pitlane on each lap" So the FIA wanted a Pit-Lane race? Have we ever seen a pit-lane race in F1 with 14 of 20 cars exiting and entering the pit on every lap? FIA is nuts. But I would have liked to see that giant mess. LOL
More precisely, this allows the FIA to know exactly how many points they will have to remove from the teams to ensure a Ferrari/Bridgestone championship....
It looks like the FIA are hoping to get 7 'clean' races out of the way before ruffling the team's feathers. I wouldn't bother getting a ticket for Interlagos though, as that race is on Sept 25th!
For those who do not belive that Jean Todt listens: Ferrari's Formula One team boss Jean Todt arrives at the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in Paris Wednesday, June 29, 2005, for a hearing of the FIA World Council following the boycott by seven F1 teams of the United States Grand Prix. - Associated Press Photo. He was invited to the hearings to clear any misconceptions that Ferrari had anything to do with the decisions of the FIA taken at Indy. Image Unavailable, Please Login
That is what scares me about this. Levy the penalties now at the time of the transgression. And not 2 1/2 months later. Seems to me that the penalty is a moving target depending on what happens in the next few races until then.
The FIA President indicated that the seven teams will have to wait until the extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on September 14. "The World Motor Sport Council has decided to adjourn discussion of penalty to an extraordinary meeting, when it will be seen what steps have been taken to compensate the fans," said Mosley. "And also what steps have been taken by the Michelin teams to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. The final decision will then be made after that." But the French tyre manufacturer, who was not summoned to the hearing, will not face any penalty. Mosley added: "The difficulty is the FIA has no relationship with the Michelin tyre company, so we are in no position to impose a penalty in Michelin." Source AFP
Well first of all I think they don't want a Ferrari championship this year. That's why they worked so hard to change the rules. However: Their primary objectif is to keep the title chase interesting. So *IF* they come back in September and remove points, I would suspect they would only remove so many points from Alonso, Kimi and Trulli to give Michael again a mathematical chance at winning the title. But since they say they are concerned about F1's reputation with the fans, I think the teams are now somewhat safe: Most people want the title decided on the track and not by a ruling, so hopefully all this ruling does is prevent the teams from doing another Indy pullout.