Quote:
Originally posted by Yetiman
...My opinion on the root cause is complicated. I feel that it is very hard to blame Tony George or the track for 'being fast', HOWEVER, the tire wear issues came about after the grinding of the new surface.....
Michelin... easy to blame, largely at fault due to inadiquate tire testing at the track which is their own fault and responsibility. In my opinion their attitude that they are catagorically not to blame only shows they are stonewalling to cover their azzes when they know they screwed up.
The FiA.. ..shoulders most of the blame (from my view) for attempting to cripple F1 cars with their one set of tires rule. To me it is rediculous....to attempt to keep costs in line....trying to make one set of rubber last and having to set a fragile car up to go the distance on detiriating rubber seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
Ask all the people (Kimi Raikonen) who have had suspension failures caused by something as simple as a flat spotted tire.
.....Thats the root cause of the Indy debacle as i see it.
_just my opinion_
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Just a couple of things I`d like to throw into the ring here.
The Indy GP circuit, and in particular, turn 13 are not 'too fast'.
Tyre wear was not the issue. Wear can be predicted or monitored. Catastrophic failure due to either incorrect design or manufacture cannot be something to risk drivers/track workers/officials over. Sure, every time an F1 car turns a wheel on the track, there is a risk of a big accident, but when the manufacturer tells you(in terms such as '..cannot gaurantee the safety of the product...')that failure is a certainty, you gotta put the safety of lives first.
Raikonnen`s flat spot was a result of Raikonnen`s right foot, his accident was the result of his racers` instinct to keep going for that last lap and a bit when he
should have come in.... either by his own choosing or the team`s decree.
Indy is not sanctioned as a F1 testing circuit as many are not, so if Ferrari/Bridgestone have tested at Indy, this is outside of the Concorde agreement(which we know a lot of Ferrari`s testing is).
Michelin, I believe, are to buy 20,000 tickets for next years` race, to be given to this years` ticketholders.
Michelin may well be charged with bringing the sport into disrepute, but this should be for failing to supply 'fit for purpose' tyres, not taking the only appropriate action of acting on safety concerns.
None of the above in any way excuses the farce that was the USGP.
I personally feel that they should have rescheduled qualifying, with the Michelin runners on 'safe' rubber, and a 'late' race, rather than any other attempts to chicane or whatever, and to be honest, it could have worked in favour of the Bridgestone-shod Red cars, having been outpaced by several of the Garlic-Rubbered teams.
Hybrid Mode
