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2005 US F1 GP: VIEWS ON RACE BOYCOTT BY 7 MICHELIN TYRED TEAMS

2005 F1 GP: R9 of 19, 2005 US GP, June 19, Indianapolis

• JOINT STATEMENT FROM 6 TEAMS - APPEAL PENDING
• JOINT STATEMENT FROM 19 DRIVERS
• MICHELIN TEAMS FOUND GUILTY BY FIA
• GUILTY VERDICT CANCELLED - JULY 22, 2005

FIA: JUNE 29, 2005: FIA FINDS 7 TEAMS GUILTY ON 2 CHARGES

• FIA PRESIDENT (M MOSLEY): "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, and what steps have been taken by the Michelin teams to make sure nothing like this ever happens again ... There were five charges against the teams. The first of these were to be sure they were in possession of suitable tyres, and they were found guilty of that, but with strongly mitigating circumstances. They were accused of wrongfully refusing to start the race, found guilty of that."
• "They were found not guilty of refusing to race subject to a speed limit, because there was no plan in place. They have also been found not guilty of conspiring to make a demonstration because they satisfied the World Council. They were found not guilty of failing to tell the stewards."
• "The number one priority, from our point of view, was to secure compensation for the fans in the States and to make it up to the people watching on television. Apart from that... it is very important that Formula One retains its position in the United States. If we give them (the teams) a bit of time, we will know in September what has been done. If a great deal has been done, the world council will take a lenient view."

TEAMS: JUNE 29, 2005: JOINT PRESS RELEASE FROM:

B.A.R Honda
BMW Williams
Renault F1 Team
Sauber Petronas
Team McLaren Mercedes
Toyota Motorsport GmbH

• Paris, France, Wednesday 29th June 2005
• The six Formula One Michelin teams identified above are very disappointed by the decision of the World Motor Sport Council to find them guilty of two of the five charges brought against them by the FIA in relation to the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
• 1) In relation to the finding that they failed to ensure that they were in possession of suitable tyres, the Teams point out that they reasonably relied on Michelin, an approved FIA tyre supplier and a highly reputable manufacturer of tyres worldwide, to provide suitable tyres for that race. As Michelin have already acknowledged, they were responsible for the supply of unsuitable tyres for the Indianapolis circuit. The FIA's decision accepts that there were "strong mitigating circumstances" for the Teams. In truth, those circumstances provided a complete answer to the charge, given that the Teams cannot be held responsible for what occurred.
• 2) In relation to the finding that the Teams wrongfully refused to allow their cars to start the race having regard to their right to use the pit lane on each lap, the Teams respond as follows. The charges suggested only one means by which the Teams could safely have raced (the use of a speed restriction). On that charge, the Teams were found not guilty. The Teams cannot understand how they can be found guilty by reference to another proposed solution, which was not part of the charges brought against them, which was not suggested by the FIA at Indianapolis, which was considered unsafe and which, in any event, would not have achieved a satisfactory race for the fans.
• The Teams therefore will be lodging an appeal against each of these findings.
• The Teams explained to the World Motor Sport Council that, in the light of the clear and written advice from Michelin that it was unsafe to race at Indianapolis on the tyres supplied by that company, the Teams had no choice but to decline to race. Any other decision would have been irresponsible. Nineteen of the current Formula One drivers have expressed their agreement with the decision of the Teams.
• The Teams much regret that the American public were unable to enjoy a race involving all ten Formula One teams, and would like to express their thanks to the many fans who have communicated their support for the stance taken by the Teams and by Michelin on grounds of safety.
• The Teams are pleased that Michelin have agreed to compensate fans who attended the race.
• The Teams very much look forward to the next Grand Prix on Sunday.

DRIVERS: JUNE 29, 2005, JOINT STATEMENT BY 19 F1 DRIVERS

Introduction

• 1. We the undersigned drivers make this statement in order to assist the World Motor Sport Council in its consideration of the events at the Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday 19th June 2005.
• 2. We wish in particular to respond to the suggestion that we could have raced with a speed limit (which was never defined) somehow imposed through Turn 13 on cars with Michelin tyres, or that we should have raced but the cars with Michelin tyres should have slowed down voluntarily through this Turn.
• 3. This suggestion would have been an unprecedented restriction in an F1 race and would have been completely contrary to the competitive essence of Formula One or any motor race that we have ever participated in. It would have been unworkable, unpoliceable and above all, unsafe.

Safety

• 4. Not all cars would have been subject to the speed restriction. At least 6 cars would have been going through Turn 13 as fast as possible i.e. over 320 km per hour. The other cars - if they all complied - would have had to slow suddenly going into the Turn, travel at a much slower speed through the Turn and then accelerate back to racing speed.
• 5. This would have meant a huge speed differential between cars at the approach of Turn 13, during Turn 13 and exiting Turn 13. Having cars travelling at dramatically different speeds at the same point on the race track would have been completely chaotic and highly dangerous.
• 6. There is one good racing line through Turn 13. All of us would have tried to take that line. If a car subject to the restriction had to slow down approaching Turn 13 on the racing line, a car behind it not subject to the restriction would have had to take avoiding action and try to overtake on the Turn off the racing line. this would have put both drivers at considerable risk.
• 7. Given the competitive nature of a race, the speed restriction would have become a focal point for overtaking. For instance two cars both subject to the speed restriction racing each other going into or coming out of Turn 13 would inevitably have each tried to gain advantage by braking later or accelerating earlier. With other cars racing through the Turn at higher speeds this too would have been chaotic and very unsafe.
• 8. Given the nature of a race there would also have been a clear incentive for drivers to maintain speeds above the restricted speeds, particularly if they were close in the race. This would have risked damaging the Michelin tyres which would have created yet further risks.

Practicality

• 9. The Teams would have been unable to fit a speed limiter which would have operated (a)round Turn 13 in the time available. It would have been left to the Drivers to attempt to accomplish the speed restriction by themselves whilst still trying to race each other. Quite apart from the safety issues explained above, none of think that it would have been possible for a Driver to do this.
• 10. Unlike the pit lane (which has an obvious and clearly marked entrance and exit) there was no clear physical marker on the race track for where any speed limit should begin and end at Turn 13. In a pit lane, we race to and from well-defined lines, and we are aware precisely when to brake and when to accelerate so as to maintain race speed before and after the pit. In Turn 13, we would and could not have known when and where to break and when and where to accelerate to achieve the speed restriction through the Turn. Each Driver would have had to make a judgement which would have been different on each lap depending on what was happening in the race. It would have been quite impossible for any of us to know each time whether or not we had maintained the speed restriction.
• 11. We also believe it would have been impossible for the Stewards or anyone else to tell at Turn 13 precisely when any car had slowed, and whether it complied with the speed limit throughout the restricted areas.
• 12. For these reasons, we have no doubt that a speed restriction imposed at Turn 13 would have been impossible to comply with and impossible to police.

The day of the Grand Prix

• 13. On the morning of the Grand Prix, all of the Drivers attended a Drivers' briefing with representatives from the Teams. We were told of the Michelin tyre problem. Even though we all wanted to race, we accepted that the Michelin Teams could not go against the safety advice from Michelin and take the risk of serious and potentially fatal accidents.
• 14. We were also told of the proposal for a chicane at Turn 13. Chicanes have been successfully introduced in races in the past. We believe that a chicane would have been a perfectly workable solution at Indianapolis. Accordingly none of us objected at the meeting.
• 15. Many of us were also consulted by our Teams about the FIA proposal for a speed restriction. Those who were consulted explained to their Teams that a speed restriction would not work because it would be dangerous and impractical (for the reasons set out above). The Teams in turn explained this to the FIA officials.

Conclusion

• 16. All of us wanted to have a proper race at Indianapolis, which is one of motor racing's most sacred venues, and to showcase Formula One to the American public. We are extremely disappointed that we were unable to do this.
• Signed by Christijan Albers, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Pedro de la Rosa, Giancarlo Fisichella, Patrick Friesacher, Nick Heidfeld, Christian Klien, Felipe Massa, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, Takuma Sato, Ralf Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Jacques Villeneuve, Mark Webber, Alexander Wurz, Ricardo Zonta.

VIEWS ON RACE BOYCOTT BY 7 MICHELIN TYRED TEAMS

• Bernie Eccleston (F1): "I am furious with the stupidity. There should have been a compromise. I tried a million things, but the teams had other ideas."
• WILLIAMS (Frank Williams): "We would have done anything to race. The Michelin teams offered to race on a modified circuit with a chicane on the 'offending corner'. We would have been happy to score no points and start at the back of the grid behind the Bridgestone cars"
• MICHELIN (Frederic Henry-Biabaud): "We are convinced our decision was a professional one in line with our policy of 100% safety ... I really don't believe this will affect our F1 future ... Michelin would have been to blame if it had raced. Can you imagine what would have happened if, having seen the failure on Friday, we had decided to race the tyre and we had a problem ... I prefer, as a company, we find ourselves in this position rather than if there had been an accident."
• BAR (N Fry): "it's a very sad day for us all"
• COULTHARD: "I have no words to describe how damaging this is for F1. I am sick in the stomach to be part of this ... That mature adults were not able to put on a show for everybody is very sad."
• McLAREN (Martin Whitmarsh, MD): "I don't know what more the Michelin teams could have done to get a race on safely. We offered so many options and were open to ideas. We offered to let the Bridgestone runners start at the front, we offered everything but sadly for the fans it did not happen."
• FIA (President - Max Mosley): "It seems the Michelin teams failed to bring a back-up tyre as usual with them to Indianapolis. The FIA offered them options which would have allowed them to compete safely within the limitations of their tyres. For some reason they chose not to accept those options ... Between the teams and Michelin, they owe the fans the money. Morally, there's no question in my mind, they deprived the fans of something. They owe the fans money and they owe the fans compensation for wasted time. If something was my fault I'd be first to consider my position, not because a tyre company can't supply the right tyres or the teams won't compromise by running a little bit more slowly through a fast corner. I'd be first to accept blame if it was over something I had control but I don't. If I was in charge of the tyres or the teams, it wouldn't have happened."
• INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDWAY (Joie Chitwood, President): "This sets us back in all of our efforts and all of the gains we've made in introducing this sport to America ... we feel as victimised as the fans do. We had no control in our ability to stage an event. The people who had control today were FIA, Formula One and Michelin. We have directed comment to the folks who were making decisions. We will be evaluating what we communicate to our customers in the coming days. I believe Bernie Ecclestone is aware of our position and our unhappiness at what happened"
• Nigel Mansell (ex world champion): "Although I was 4,000 miles away, I felt humiliated and embarrassed by what went on. It was like watching someone commit suicide in public ... You cannot blame Michelin. I thought it was very brave of them to declare their concern over the integrity of their product and advise the teams. You cannot really blame the teams, who had to react to the advice they were given and not risk the safety of their drivers. I had some spectacular tyre failures during my career. One robbed me of a world title and yet I did not criticise the Goodyear company who supplied us in those days. You cannot disregard warnings about tyres. When the safety of drivers and, possibly, supporters comes into question, you don't mess about. You do whatever is necessary in order to race. A compromise had to be found"
• HEIDFELD: "It's a disaster for Formula One in the States"
• Jackie Stewart (ex world champion): "The contract in the US is up next year. Whether the people here will want to renew it is another thing. The governing body has to be open to some kind of compromise when faced with unique or unusual situations of this kind."
• M SCHUMACHER: "We have a tyre which is quicker. We didn't use that because we knew what is going to face us here. I'm not saying the others purposely chose something wrong, but whatever it is, it is their problem and not our problem."
• BARRICHELLO: "This was a sad day for the race fans and it was also sad to see the other cars pull into the pits, but I guess their problem must have been a serious one.

STATESMENTS BY FIA, MICHELIN, BRIDGESTONE, INDIANAPOLIS, FERRARI, TOYOTA:

FIA STATEMENT

• Formula One is a sporting contest. It must operate to clear rules. These cannot be negotiated each time a competitor brings the wrong equipment to a race.
• At Indianapolis we were told by Michelin that their tyres would be unsafe unless their cars were slowed in the main corner. We understood and among other suggestions offered to help them by monitoring speeds and penalising any excess. However, the Michelin teams refused to agree unless the Bridgestone runners were slowed by the same amount. They suggested a chicane.
• The Michelin teams seemed unable to understand that this would have been grossly unfair as well as contrary to the rules. The Bridgestone teams had suitable tyres. They did not need to slow down. The Michelin teams' lack of speed through turn 13 would have been a direct result of inferior equipment, as often happens in Formula One. It must also be remembered that the FIA wrote to all of the teams and both tyre manufacturers on June 1, 2005, to emphasise that "tyres should be built to be reliable under all circumstances" (see correspondence attached).
• A chicane would have forced all cars, including those with tyres optimised for high-speed, to run on a circuit whose characteristics had changed fundamentally -- from ultra-high speed (because of turn 13) to very slow and twisting. It would also have involved changing the circuit without following any of the modern safety procedures, possibly with implications for the cars and their brakes. It is not difficult to imagine the reaction of an American court had there been an accident (whatever its cause) with the FIA having to admit it had failed to follow its own rules and safety procedures.
• The reason for this debacle is clear. Each team is allowed to bring two types of tyre: one an on-the-limit potential race winner, the other a back-up which, although slower, is absolutely reliable. Apparently, none of the Michelin teams brought a back-up to Indianapolis. They subsequently announced they were flying in new tyres from France but then claimed that these too were unsafe.
• What about the American fans? What about Formula One fans world- wide? Rather than boycott the race the Michelin teams should have agreed to run at reduced speed in turn 13. The rules would have been kept, they would have earned Championship points and the fans would have had a race. As it is, by refusing to run unless the FIA broke the rules and handicapped the Bridgestone runners, they have damaged themselves and the sport.
• It should also be made clear that Formula One Management and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as commercial entities, can have no role in the enforcement of the rules.

MICHELIN & TEAM JOINT STATEMENT

• The Michelin teams deeply regret the position that they have been put in today and would like to apologise to all the spectators, TV viewers, Formula One fans and sponsors for not being able to take part in today's USA Grand Prix.
• Following Ralf Schumacher's accident on Friday morning, we were advised by Michelin that none of the tyres that were available to the teams could be used unless the vehicle speed in turn 13 was reduced. Without this Michelin did not consider the tyre to be safe to be used for the race.
• All the teams are confident in Michelin and trust their advice as we know they are competent and responsible and their written instruction to us not to race unless changes to the circuit were made was accepted.
• After final data from Michelin became available at 06.30 on Sunday morning it became clear that Michelin were not able to guarantee the safety of the drivers. Numerous discussions and meetings took place to find a safe solution to the problem. Every possibility for the race to go ahead in a safe manner was explored. The only practical solution was for a chicane to be installed prior to Turn 13 and nine of the teams were prepared to run under these conditions even forgoing championship points or by allowing non-Michelin teams to take top positions on the grid.
• Unfortunately all proposals were rejected by the FIA.
• Safety is always the first concern of any team and the FIA. Regrettably the teams were obliged to follow Michelin's requirements not to race.
• We are totally aware that the USA is an important market for Formula One and there is an obligation for Formula One to promote itself in a positive and professional manner. It is sad that we couldn't showcase Formula One in the manner we would have liked today.

BRIDGESTONE STATEMENT

• Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director Bridgestone Motorsport: "A disappointing day for race fans and we fully understand their displeasure. That aside, Bridgestone is pleased to have been able to provide our teams with a safe and suitable product for our teams this weekend. Our technical and support staff have worked hard with our teams to prepare for this race and I am pleased to see all our runners cross the finishing line safely."
• "My congratulations to Michael, Rubens and Tiago who finished on the podium. Obviously this afternoon's race was not run under normal circumstances but we now look ahead to returning to Europe where we expect to see a fully competitive field."
• Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager Bridgestone Motorsport: "I am pleased to see all six Bridgestone runners finish today's race under tough conditions. Our tyre performance was strong and consistent on the Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi cars. It would have been easy for our teams to have held back today, preserving their engines, but I am pleased to see them pushing themselves."
• "Congratulations to Michael and Rubens but especially to Tiago on his first F1 podium. It was not an easy situation for all our drivers today and they were very composed. Naturally we are disappointed not to have been able to demonstrate our tyres within a fully competitive environment but I am pleased that Bridgestone has been able to meet the FIA's requirements."

STATEMENT BY INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:

• The Indianapolis Motor Speedway shares in the disappointment with the loyal fans of IMS and Formula One that we did not see the exciting race we all anticipated due to circumstances beyond our control.
• The FIA, Formula One, the constructors and manufacturers that represent the cars on the starting grid made decisions on an individual basis to limit participation in today's USGP.

FERRARI RACE REPORT:

• Jean Todt: "This was our first win and our first one-two finish of the season, obtained under very unusual circumstances. To be put this result in boxing terms, we and Bridgestone won with a technical knock-out. We witnessed a very close race between our two drivers, even if today's main aim was to bring the cars home without any problems, whatever the finishing order."
• "I am particularly happy that this is the hundredth win for a car produced under the technical direction of Rory Byrne, that coincides with the eightieth victory for the Scuderia since I have been running it. For Ferrari, this is an important win, coming as it does in a country that is our number one market."
• "It was pleasing to see that, even in these circumstances there were so many of our fans and so many Prancing Horse banners in the grandstands right to the end of the race."
• "I am very surprised by the situation that arose today, but would prefer not to comment on things that are not directly my responsibility. Bridgestone is doing an extraordinary job. There are now ten races to go to the end of the season and, as usual, we will do our utmost to reach our targets."
• Michael Schumacher: "This was a strange grand prix and it was odd seeing the other cars go into pit lane at the start. But then Rubens and I had a close race -- there was only the two of us really. I suppose it was not the best way to take my first win of the season and it was sad for the fans. But I am glad so many of the Ferrari supporters stayed to the end to see how this strange race would end."
• "It is just a shame we could not fight in a normal way, because I think that, even with the other cars, we could have won as we had a strong car. The situation we had today was out of our hands and I don't know all the details of the problems the others had."
• "But I do know that we left at home tyres that had more performance and less durability, but we and Bridgestone made our choice knowing how much stress there is here on the tyres. I lost the lead to Rubens because we had long pit stops to check the tyres and mine was longer than his and he was pushing very hard."
• Rubens Barrichello: "This was a sad day for the race fans and it was also sad to see the other cars pull into the pits, but I guess their problem must have been a serious one. I am also disappointed that I missed out on getting 10 points today. Once I got in the lead I pushed quite hard and I managed to open a gap to Michael and I also had a tremendous out lap. I tried to stay ahead but it did not go my way."
• "Bridgestone and Ferrari had worked so hard that I think we could have won here anyway. We had the quickest car and I was quicker than Michael at the start but I could not find a way past him. Formula 1 has never looked very strong in the States and I think it is worse now."

TOYOTA REPORT:

• The Panasonic Toyota Racing team did not start today's US Grand Prix, returning to the pit lane after the formation lap as a precaution following the accidents suffered by Ralf Schumacher and Ricardo Zonta in Friday's practice session.
• The decision was taken on the clear advice of the team's tyre partner, Michelin. After exhaustive testing of the two tyre-related issues which were the cause of Friday's accidents, the tyre company could not guarantee that such incidents would not reoccur in race conditions with this track configuration, particularly at turn 13.
• Safety is always the first concern of any race team and this decision was taken because to race in such circumstances would have placed the team's drivers Jarno Trulli and Ricardo Zonta under unnecessary risk. This was a decision shared by all seven teams running on Michelin tyres.
• Panasonic Toyota Racing Team Principal Tsutomu Tomita said: "First we would like to apologise to all the race fans and sponsors watching, both here and around the world. We are sorry to have to take this decision, particularly in the light of Jarno Trulli's pole position here yesterday."
• "But the safety of our drivers always has to come first. After a detailed explanation of the tyre problems encountered this weekend we could not legitimately send our drivers out for a race distance. Therefore we did not race either car this afternoon. We look forward to returning to the track at the French Grand Prix in a fortnight."

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