F1 to Penalize 7 Teams

Posted this earlier today but the thread seems to have disappeared????


PARIS - Formula One's governing body ruled Wednesday the seven teams that boycotted the United States Grand Prix were guilty of failing to provide suitable tires and wrongfully refusing to allow their cars to start.

ADVERTISEMENT

The FIA will announce their punishments Sept. 14.

BMW-Williams, Mercedes-McLaren, BAR-Honda, Toyota, Sauber, Red Bull and Renault declined to race June 19 after their tire manufacturer, Michelin, said its tires were unsafe for the Indianapolis circuit.

In a joint statement, the teams said they were "very disappointed by the decision of the World Motor Sport Council to find them guilty" and will appeal. The teams added that they "reasonably relied on Michelin, an approved FIA tire supplier" — meaning that it was not their fault if unsuitable tires were supplied.

Though Michelin offered fans refunds and free tickets for next year's race, FIA president Max Mosley had harsh words for the company.

"It's a big step forward, but delaying as they have done has caused a lot of damage," Mosley said at a news conference. "The facts speak for themselves. It was a disastrous performance from that company and they should be deeply ashamed."

In September, the teams will face punishments ranging from a reprimand to life bans — but the FIA can only indirectly punish Michelin by applying pressure on the teams using its tires.

"The difficulty here is that the FIA has no contractual relationship with Michelin, we are not in a position to impose penalties," Mosley said. "Had this been the case and judging by what we heard today, Michelin would have found themselves in a very difficult position."

Mosley added that until the penalties are determined, the teams and Michelin must show what steps they will take "to compensate the Formula One fans and repair the damage to the reputation" of the Indianapolis racetrack and "to the image of the Formula One."

Michelin claimed its tests showed the tires were not "intrinsically flawed" and justified demands for a chicane, or a curve, to be installed to slow cars on a high-speed part of the course. Michelin added that the circuit's banked Turn 13 was unique to the championship and the pressure exerted on the rear left tires was greater than estimated.

The FIA refused the request, even though nine of the 10 teams — excluding Ferrari — said they would race if the turns were installed.

"They were asking for a chicane when they said they didn't know the root cause of the problem," Mosley said. "So how did they know a chicane would be safe if they didn't know the root cause? This completely begs the question: why did they not turn up with proper tires?"

Two Michelin tires failed during practice sessions two days before the race — one causing a wreck that prevented Ralf Schumacher from competing.

Mosley said the race could have gone ahead safely if teams were prepared to adopt a Michelin-only speed limit on turn 13, Michelin runners used the pit lane instead of the banked corner, or there were repeated pit stops to change damaged tires.

In a joint statement, 19 F1 drivers — including Fernando Alonso and David Coulthard — argued against this, saying, "This suggestion would have been an unprecedented restriction ... and would have been completely contrary to the competitive essence of Formula One. It would have been unworkable, unpoliceable and above all, unsafe."

The problems are the latest that threaten to break up the F1 series.

Nine of the teams are considering a breakaway series in 2008 backed by three key manufacturers — BMW, Mercedes and Renault. Honda and Toyota have also given unofficial support to the idea.

They are opposed by Mosley, F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone and Ferrari. Ecclestone is trying to persuade the teams to sign a new contract beginning in 2008 and Ferrari has already signed up through 2012.

The next F1 race is the French GP at Magny Cours on Sunday.

 

Isn't there usually an indication that a thread has been merged/moved? As a user, how are you supposed to know that your thread was moved vs. a technical glitch and didn't get posted? That is obviously what I thought happened which is why it got re-posted.