If it would have been the other way around, I would have hated it BUT I would have kept my mouth shut. I would have accepted it (the rules) but that doesn't mean I would have liked it. I accept it now too but I happen to like it as well.
IMO & after much thought, the only (and best) solution was for Michelin teams to run through the pits each lap thereby avoiding turn 13 altogether. Speed limits could have been easily imposed earlier in the pit lane entrance to ensure no one is racing between it's concrete walls. Michelin teams would've scored points, FIA and F1 rules would've stayed intact, fairness to everyone would've been in effect, Ferrari would've won & most importantly the fans would've seen a very interesting race for positions 7-20. In fact, this solution was ready-made for IMS and should NOT have escaped the intellect of Michelin team principals. Eau Rouge obviously doesn't allow for the same remedy.
Reparations for the hapless, totally blameless fans who attended this fiasco would truly preserve the integrity of the series.
Just wondering, why would it have been an interesting race for 7-20, considering how almost 100% of the passing happens at the end of the straight.
More interesting than what we DID see...Ferrari 1-2, Jordan 3-4, Minardi 5-6. Even though what I did witness was interestingly unprecedented, to watch Michelin-shod teams complete 45-50 laps to Bridgestone runner's 72 would have been a race worth watching.
I beg to disagree. F1 is a laughing stock because if the FIA's intransigence. F1 is nothing without the fans because if no one is interested in watching the race do you think Mercedes, Toyota, Honda, etc are going to be interested in financing it? Michelin cocked up but when you have 120,000 fans there and millions more watching on TV, you have to put the show on. So there would have to be compromises either accepted by all volountarily or enforced by the FIA. But the FIA can't stick it's head in the sand and continue to blame Michelin. The FIA's attitude to the public is evidenced by their website, which has no links enabling you to contact them. Hardly surprising since they're not remotely interested in what the paying public have to say.
I have watched Formula 1 and Sports Car racing for many,many years and unfortunately have been present when a driver has died. It's very very sad and very,very quiet and may deeply disturb you for a long,long time. If a Michelin blew at that corner and an accident occured and lets say Hakkinnens car hit Michael Schumacher and they were both killed or maybe car pieces flew into the crowd and killed spectators. It could be the end of F1 racing forever and all of us might feel it for a the rest of our lives! Think about it ................................
The real bad guys might be the FIA when they screwed up the rules to break Ferrari and Bridgestones dominance. The new rules were a big help to Michelin teams,everyone knows that inside F1. People were getting bored with Ferrari running away with every race and attendence was dropping off at some races alsoSponser $ & TV ratings that=$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ the fuel that F1 runs on. They should return to the rules that allowed unlimited tire changes in the intrest of safety in future races ! The FIA & F1 changed the qualifying rules in the middle of the season, so bring back tires changes in the interests of safety and also the strategy they brought to F1. This might have saved Indy this year. When people race on dangerously worn tires its going to get someone killed, not just good racing ! I agree on racing on the tires you Sunday qualified on, but let the teams change them when they want. Some of you F Chat member race or have raced and when tires get really bad you know the decision process. F1 is the razors edge in Auto racing the teams should also be able to make the same decision. Also let them go back to changing engines at will without a penalty in the next race If you don't qualify well you generally don't win,and this new rule this year was another screwup that should be reversed. Does anyone think Minardi still belongs on the track or maybe even a couple of other rolling chicane teams ? Instead of t cars let the teams run 3 cars if they can qualify faster then the backmarkers, put in a stipulation that the driver must have less then ??? ,so many F1 races experience this may bring some new blood into the sport,. Would anyone like to see Scott Speed at the wheel of a 3rd Red Bull car ? I'm sure a lot more people would then the driver of the month at Minardi!
My $0.02 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What a crazy race. I did not mind seeing Ferrari 1&2. I did'nt see the start of the race. I was wondering for a while what the heck was going on. Now of course after the race and reading many threads on the subject I think the following. 1. I find it hard to believe that any team in F1 could come to a race unprepaired like that. Its not like they have never been there before. How could a tire company like that not have the right stuff coming to any F1 race. Its not like thier some fly-by night tire co. Unbelieveable. There must be something else going on here. 2. The teams who pulled out should be ashamed. These are F1 drivers, supposively the best in the world. Should they have quit if thier motor was not fast enough? How about if thier handleing package was not as good as the other teams? Should they have quit then too? Of course safety is paramount in any racing series. But These are Professional drivers, mechanics, engineers. They could have changed tire pressure, changed the set up on the car, they are the best teams in the word (so we were lead to believe). They had the time to come up with something that would work. Would they have been the fastest on that day? Maybe not. But thats racing. Give 110% on that day with what you have and go on to the next race. 3. I lost a lot of respect for those teams and drivers. How pathetic. Acting like a bunch of spoiled little brats, taking thier toys home and not playing because thier's wer'nt the best on that day and they may not win. Then trying to mask the whole thing by saying thier cars were not safe. BS..they could have made them safe. Maybe not the fastest that day, but safe. 4. BIG Hats off to F1 for sticking to the rules against overwelming pressure from all sides. That took guts. I don't care what anyone says. And Bravo to the teams that came to race and did. That could not have been easy to step up and soldiered on despite pressure from the other teams to be QUITTERS too. 5. I still love F1 & Ferrari. That race was truely historical. Not how I hoped it would be. But what the heck, just when you think you've seen it all...... 6. Sorry, maybe this was more that $0.02 worth. Kurt There is nothing like a Ferrari, there never has been and never will be!
Wasn't there a ton of threads posted here about the evil FIA and how they are only out to hurt Ferrari, and how the RULES had been adjusted solely to harm Ferrari. At that time, the rules were bogus, should have been changed, had tainted the season and championship, and everyone was very ready to just write off this season as "the one where Ferrari lost because of the rules". But now the rules are great and must be stuck to and when something happens, "hey those are the rules"???? I don't think people were so enamored with the rules when MS retired a few races back because he suffered a 2nd tire failure and had already used his "one free tire" for that race. I wonder if the rules will be so well received going forward too?
It is entirely the fault of the teams and of their tire supplier, Michelin. I would only like to add that this certainly heightens my respect for John Todt and the whole Ferrari Team. I didnt see them crying when they were having tire problems and by the way I didnt see any of the Michelin teams wanting to change any of the race parameters for the Bridgestone teams or did I miss that?! I a mean after all this is a COMPETITIVE event! If you arent ready you have NO ONE to blame but yourself! All the other teams should take a lesson for the sportsmanship and professionalism that Ferrari has demonstrated.
Thank you, thank you! Might also wonder why the FIA is being so roundly commended for maintaining the "integrity" of the rules and the sport, but nothing about the integrity of the teams who chose ot to expose their drivers to potentially fatal risk. Does anyone believe that this was an easy decision taken with a cavalier attitude on the part of the seven teams?
