F1 Circus

Remove all ads!

If people didn't like F1 races, with the last 'show' I think they are going to hate it.
I don't see much of comments about F1 around here so I guess nobody gives a dime about it, well, I like it and what happened last weekend was awkward for people like me who try to deffend this sport.
A quick review: there are 2 tyres factories that provide the tires: 14 cars run on Michelin and 6 on Bridgestone; so, M tires found out that they couldn't garantee safety so they asked to supply another tyres set or to build a chicane in a particular zone. Both things against F1 rules.
The thing is that 14 drivers retired after the presentation lap leaving only 6 car racing.
Who was right? Michelin people who wanted things changed in their favor using 'safety' as excuse? FIA for not giving up against a bunch of people who wanted br even with Bridgestone?
Shumacher said: 'When the season started I had tire problems and I had to ran slower that everybody, I didn't go around asking for chicanes or another set of tyres.'. I think he's right.

[ June 21, 2005, 23:38: Message edited by: Sydax ]

 

It was an utter and total farce; It has cemented my belief that F1 is, in fact, a circus and that the actual GOOD racing is F3.

Then again, I am biased, I am friends with experts

 

Actually the Michelin teams were ready to take even a one lap penalty to the Bridgestone teams, which would have been more than enough for Ferrari to win they were even ready to face disqualification afterwards if the chicane would have been built. Michelin clearly screwed up and badly and they deserve sanctions, but the teams just did what Michelin advised them to do and did what was best for the security of the drivers. If a driver would have died there there would be a LOT more problems than there are now.

I blame both Michelin and FIA. The Michelin screw up is unforgivable but so is the fact that FIA could not find a solution to get the cars on track. The FIA is there to solve these problems and on Sunday they failed miserably in doing that. And where the hell is the authoroty of Eccelstone?A few years ago his word was the law and his will was done but today we just have incompetent clowns such as Mosely running the F1 circus. *Sigh*

The situation is very different in this case, since the Indianapolis circuit and the place were Michelin were having a tyreproblems are amongst the most dangerous in Formula 1. Having a tyrewreck on the Nurnburgring is very different from having a tyrewreck in Indianapolis. Just ask Ralf Schumacher. Additionally I'm 100% sure that none of the drivers would have followed the restriction since they all wanted to race even with the normal tyres.

 

All these sports groups always say that their number one concern is the safety of the athletes, and now that they get a chance to prove this, they go and say that they aren't allowed to change it. One of the dumbest things that I have ever heard, any fan of whomever won that race who is gloating right now should shut up, as by no means did they win a fair race.

 

This was the first race for as long as I can remember, that I felt like turning off the tv before the end of the race. The race wasn't fun at all. There were six cars driving around, which couldn't compete with each other, and the only interesting thing that happened was that one brief moment between Schumacher and Barrichello. Michelin screwed up, and in a way, they got what they deserved. However, I think that the FIA is the one to blame in this matter. Michelin provided options, but the FIA wouldn't hear anything about it.

I may have wasted a few hours on this race, but there are people who wasted hundres of bucks to be there. They should have put that chicane in, not for the sake of sparing Michelin or doing them a favor, but to keep it fun for the fans. In the end, isn't that why we watch the sport?

 

Yeah, they really made a mockery of themselves this time. I gave up watching F1 since Schumacher appeared to be invincible, it got a little too predictable for taste. It's different this year though, but i still can't be bothered. Most people are only watching because they hope there's gonna be some spectacular crash or something.

 

Just a question here, what's a chicane?

 

I don't see why Ferrari and FIA had to accept the demands of Michelen and other teams. The rules are clear, you can't change them in the middle of the champioinship and if the teams made a mistake its their own problem, it's not Ferrari's or FIA's problem. Afterall all these years the rules are changed just because they try to find a way to beat Schumacher. As for the security issue, this is real BS. The real problem was the performance of the tyres. If the security was the real issue, they could simply order their drivers to drive slower or they could send them to the pits every few rounds in order to change their tyres.

 

@reepnorp: chicane is like a S curve.
Some definitions are here.
See turns 11 and 12? that's a long chicane; turn 16 is a real painful chicane.

In the name of safety, FIA had changed rules year after year, but the fact is that every year, track records are faster; like BOC said, making new rules to stop Shumacher brought this, now, tyres are the most important thing in Formula 1, now people are talking about having just one tyre company or even teams making their own league.

[ June 21, 2005, 23:42: Message edited by: Sydax ]

 

So what is the saefty benefit from this? Would they be trying to make them go slower?

 

Lol... since the past 4 years, FIA tries with a new rule to make the car run slow: less aerodinamycs, using just one set of tyres, and long etc., but like I said, every year track records are beaten.

 

And just how long has, say, Schumacher been driving in the series? I'd say that the reason that the track records get beates is partially because the drivers become so bloody familiar with them...

 

People who claim that this was not an security issue don't know what they are talking about. It's not in the intrests of Michelin nor the teams to do something like this, it would be more beneficial for them to drive even if bridgestone had won and they offered solutions as I said. Even the possibility of them being disqualified afterwards. I can hardly see how that would be a porblem for the bridgestone teams? Having the teams to order their drivers to drive slower would not have worked since the drivers would not have done that, and having them coming to pit stops every 10 laps would not have worked either since there was no guarantees that those tyres would have even lasted that much. The chicane was the only way to make it a race, but the FIA chose to sacrifice the race in favor for the rules. Something I don't find to be very fair to the crowd or good for the sport.

 

Unfortunately, this days there is like a fight: M. Schumacher + Ferrari + Ecleston against the other Teams + pilots. Few years back, when Schumy started to win every race and after his second championship in a row, I remember Bernie Ecleston say that 'there's a need to improve the spectacle' because was boring to watch Michael and Rubens winning by minutes. So FIA implemented the one lap qualification, but even if Schumy started last, he finished first. What then? Bernie said: cars are too fast, we make something in the tyres, the result were those 4 rows in the tyres. Before Sena's accident, the same morning, drivers asked to do something about the danger in the turn where a driver, the day before, had an accident in which was killed but FIA did nothing and that day Sena died. The problem here, IMHO, has a name: Bernie Ecleston, even there's an authority, Mosley, as a president in charge, Bernie still does everything, he just wants 'his' circus up and running and with the money incoming all the time, and now, as Danika Patrik has finished 4th in the Indianapolis 5oo, he sees that the future is having this girl running a F1, why now? because she finished 4th? There were girls before and they did well too before. Anyway, I see that rules in name of safety are just an excuse in favour of the show; Monza had to build a chicane in name of safety, Germany had to change its track in the name of safety (as FIA said) but organizing people said that FIA forced them to do that in the name of televisation or the would be excluded of the calendar, as happened to Spa Francorchamps; if so much FIA is worry about safety in tracks, why are they still running in Monaco?

 

Probably because Monaco is relatively safe. The speeds are low and the only place where a really bad accident can take place is really the tunnel and aside from Alonso crashing in the tunnel last year I can't remember any accidents in there in the past years.

What I personally see as a big problem is the all kind of electronic crap and driving aids they put into F1 cars these days, making driving a lot more comfortable and easier. Senna would turn in his grave if he saw the F1 cars of today. *Sigh*

/me wanders off to the golden days of Senna vs. Prost when the real drivers were the men and not the cars.

 

I agree, one of the things that I hate the most is the fact that cars go almost by themselves, is almost like the game I play in my computer: press F1 if you want brake assistance, F2 if you want brake balance...