Why I respect Formula 1 now more than ever

This last weekend was unfortunate. But it was unfortunate only because Michelin came unprepared. There were a number of options available to Formula 1 to run the race with a full field, but all of the options would have been a breach of the rules.

I admire Formula 1 for preserving the integrity of the series. They very easily could have caved in and bent the rules for the sake of the almighty dollar. I am sure they were tempted to do so. But they didn't. I like that.

While I don't agree with every rule in F1, nor in college or professional football, golf, etc., etc., the rules are the rules. If you bend the rules, the integrity of the sport is toast. If F1 had bent the rules to satisfy the crowd and TV audience, the long-term integrity of F1 would have been permanently harmed.

Formula 1 had a big decision to make, and they opted to stick with the rules. While that might cost F1 in the near-term, it may have won a lot more fans in the longer term.

 

Exactly.

I feel bad for the fans, but the FIA shouldn't have to accept half-a$$ed solutions to problems CREATED BY MICHELIN.

Michelin bought a knife to a gunfight.....

I hope the FIA fines them heavily but I don't want to see drivers lose points.

 

Thank you for the clarity and excellent comments.

And finally, more folks who value following the rules above what I want as a fan.

Regardless of F1's marketing responsibilities to the fans, etc., following the rules trumps it all. Otherwise, as you point out, you're left with nothing of value subject to the whims of the squeekiest wheel.

 

i most whole heartedly agree.

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63713

there's enough compromise for whiners and failures in the world. it's been a fun season so far, i look forward to more hilarity.

even those unsafe michelin tyres might do a few laps in france. remember f1 is just a marketing tool. the true poetic justice in all this is that michelin has greatly and fundamentally damaged their brand and they will pay plenty in the marketplace.


ps:
Michelin's failure to supply its teams with safe and durable tyres came less than two weeks after it was warned by the FIA not to sacrifice safety for performance.

Mosley wrote to Michelin in the wake of Kimi Raikkonen's suspension failure in the European grand prix - caused by vibrations which built up after the Finn flat-spotted his right front tyre - warning it should take no risks in the specifications of its tyres.

 

I, too, admire the integrity of the sport. In my mind, there was no other solution.

What I don't understand is why the Michelin runners didn't go out and do as many laps as was safe, then come in to change tires once they became unsafe. They left points on the table. Or were the tires an unknown as to how long they would be unsafe for?

 

They didn't know how long the tyres would last. There were 9 failures in qualifying alone, which is only 3 laps!

 

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

 

Where did you read this??

Michelin tied the hands of the teams when they anounced their tires were unsafe. Period. If a team had decided to race and there was a death, there would be a wrongfull death suit filled instantly.
William was just cleared in the death of Senna. That was 11 years ago....
What Bull*hit!!

 

very well said

 

I agree wholeheartedly as well !!

 

What a crazy weekend.... RB must be ready to kill MS after he ran him wideand took the lead after the pit stop...that would have capped the weekend off, "Jordon wins the after the 2 Ferraris take each other out". How about next season bridgestone is the only tire supplier, problem solved.

 

Somehow methinks your attitude would be quite different if you had paid your $450 a year ahead of time for tickets for you and the missus, all the money for hotels, travel, etc., burned up your vacation time for the year, and braved the crowds and port-o-pots.

Integrity? Rules? Safety? Of course they should be upheld. With the hundreds of millions of dollars made by the teams, FOM, and the FIA, it was their duty to indeed uphold all the above and still put out some kind of show for the loyal fans.

7 stop strategy to keep tires from bursting? Fine. That would have actually been pretty da*n cool despite that fact that you knew from the start which 3 teams would come in the first 6 places.

3 Laps? Yeah, before they corrected the tire pressures per Michelin's instructions.

The high and mighty regard for the rules is warranted, but doesn't mean they're not ALL a bunch of complete incompetent IDIOTS for allowing this debacle.

Shame, shame, shame.

 

Pardon me, I meant to say CRIMINALLY incompetent idiots.

I hope you are kidding when you say that you think F1 would actually GAIN fans from how this was handled.

 

Yep...

Rules are another way for people in power to protect their jobs by not having to think!

 

I am glad that F1 values it's rules ... but I am still disappointed we didn't get to see a show

One thing that does upset me with F1 is that the rules are so poorly written that we constantly end up with intepretation arguments!

The second thing is that we now have way to many rules and thus laterial thinking is taking a back seat

Pete

 

Agree (and all that Huskerntexas said).

The rules were clear, Michelin messed up, seemingly on purpose (why didn't they bring the backup tire?).
Everybody including Michelin know full well that F1 has become a tire competition. They thought they had FIA by the balls simply because they provide the majority of the grid with their tires. It's a power thing and the fan is the victim.

I know from onw experience how it feels like when something you looked forward to and spent a lot of money on turns out a deception. I didn't even get my money back. But there's nothing you can do. Either way it would have been bad, 6 cars only or 14 slow cars.

 

Pity to all the spectators as they paid good money to see some real race and what they got was a shameful race.
Michelin messed up big time!

 

Okay, now that you've talked about honor, fair play and sticking by the rules no matter what, consider this:

The Michelin teams are also the GPWC supporters. This was an opportunity to show them who's boss and slap them down.

Look at history. Have Max and Bernie EVER done anything because it was the right thing to do?

 

If instead... JPM won the 6 car race last Sunday and Ferrari didn't even make it out on the track.
Would this thread, about how much you love strict rule enforcement, have ever been posted?

Loving rule enforcement when it tosses the ball to your team for a 100% slam dunk, somehow strikes me
as not as pure, as just loving rule enforcement

 

OK I'm busted. I have no integrity myself. I like the rules only when it benefits me. If JPM (whoever that is) would have won I would have been jumping up and down angry at the world. Thanks, Mark, for setting everyone straight on this.

 

Different points of view.... after last Sunday I disrespect Formula 1 and the team managers (Michelin teams of course) now more than ever .
As for the rules go I'm with you, they should not be bent to accomodate ill prepared teams

 

I'm just asking for fun. We know you're a straight shooter.

Most guys on here hate JPM and love MS .... just wondered what funny reactions I would get, if it worked out for any team but Ferrari.

Sorry, I could have made my question less targetted to your quote.

 

HERE! HERE!

 

“Methinks” again, Steve. I’ve been to every USGP at Indy since they started, and I agree wholeheartedly with this thread. It didn't cost as much as your comments suggest, but it is a hassle traveling and does take you away from your work. Now, if I had come all the way from Columbia to root for JPM instead of from California to root for Ferrari, maybe I would think differently but maybe not.

I was looking forward to this year’s race because it was looking to be very competitive, unlike many in the past. Ferrari was down but seemed to be coming back, BAR Honda was in the mix, and of course there was also McClaren and Renault. So it looked like it was going to be a great race. Anyway, I will send in my renewal even though there may not be a race next year. This can’t happen 2 years in a row, can it? If I get a refund, that’s great. If not, I’m not going to waste any time thinking about it.

The thread started out absolutely correct. Michelin was and is the primary problem. They failed to test at Indy when they had the opportunity; Bridgestone did. I’ve also read that because of their experience in IRL, Bridgestone knew the track and was aware of the problem and had it solved. Michelin did not and there is no reasonable excuse for their failing to provide a safe tire.

So to blame all the participants and say a pox on all their houses just does not seem appropriate to say the least. The problem begins and ends with Michelin. IMS and Tony George had no part in it. Ferrari did the right thing; when Bridgestone had tire problems earlier in the year, they did not go and ask for rule changes, they just kept plugging away. Maybe the FIA and Bernie should have done something to salvage the race, but remember that they gave Michelin at least 3 options, and they still chose to do what they did. I believe there is an underlying animosity between Ferrari, who goes their own way for the most part, and the other major teams, that may explain in part why this happened.

One final comment, re: braving the crowds. As far as big time sporting events go, the crowds are really not that bad. The IMS does a pretty good job of putting on the race and the facilities are very good. Of course the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400 have much bigger crowds, and so the F1 race is not a problem for the IMS. And according to The Indianapolis Star, the local merchants like the F1 crowd because they spend more than the fans at the other races.

Finally, someone said this may blow over by next year (maybe it was Peter Windsor on Wind Tunnel). Already I’m hoping there will be a race again next year. But the bottom line is that this problem was caused entirely by Michelin and there are still denying they were at fault.

 

No problem, Mark. Sometimes postings in and of themselves can be misinterpreted.