US Grand Prix

[paul hastings]

Jad, I do believe one has to favor the F1 drivers as being a notch higher. There will be guys who are successful in the crossover but, in general I would go with the F1 guys. I just think the competition is greater for them to get a drive and it seems Europe has a better farm system for bringing up drivers.

I met a kid a few years back on a ski trip and he mentioned he was a racing driver living in Europe the past five years. He happened to be a junior Porsche team driver. I asked if his ultimate aspiration was F1 and he stated it would be great but, it's not his focus as getting a ride is so terribly difficult. His focus was on Le Mans style racing. His name is Patrick Long and he seems to be doing quite well in sports cars. It's great to see an American doing so well.

[kary]

Jad, I do believe one has to favor the F1 drivers as being a notch higher. There will be guys who are successful in the crossover but, in general I would go with the F1 guys. I just think the competition is greater for them to get a drive and it seems Europe has a better farm system for bringing up drivers.

I met a kid a few years back on a ski trip and he mentioned he was a racing driver living in Europe the past five years. He happened to be a junior Porsche team driver. I asked if his ultimate aspiration was F1 and he stated it would be great but, it's not his focus as getting a ride is so terribly difficult. His focus was on Le Mans style racing. His name is Patrick Long and he seems to be doing quite well in sports cars. It's great to see an American doing so well.

Paul, I am not sure I quite agree. Because a series has limited seats available does not always mean they are the best drivers. Some drivers, like you mentioned, simply do not see the worth in competing for such a small number of seats. They can have a great career in other venues. Kind of reminds me of golf or tennis years ago when it was not available to the masses as it is today. More people have access and now we see many more cultures doing well at higher levels in these sports. F1 is like golf and tennis of years ago. Somewhat privileged rather than accessible...gee come to think of it look at NASCAR and Indy, all those big name siblings driving that do not belong there......

[MVZ944T]

One should also note that some drivers buy their way into F1, at least on the lesser teams like Jordan. A so so driver with a $100 mil to contribute to the team, wellcome aboard. Of course I doubt that is only true in F1, but in F1 where it might be a neccesity for some teams, I think it degrades the overall "gene pool" of quality drivers and may cut down on the competition. Speaking of which, 22 cars at a start is pretty slim anyway. It would be nice to see the costs come down so others could play. Another 10-12 cars would not hurt at all.

[Bob Gagnon]

Max Mosley on the Michelin issue, an interesting read

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/formulaone/17766/

[paul hastings]

Kary, this is a valid point. However, most would agree F1 is the all star team of the major leagues. Of course there are the handful of elite drivers such as M. Scumacher, Montoya, Raikkonen who could be challenging for the win in any serious but, the next group likely would be a higher level then most other series. My personal opinion anyways. I have always believed F1 and WRC to have the top drivers.

[paul-silver]

My take in all of this mess - Michelin is completely to blame. I don't blame the FIA or Bernie at all.

Look at it this way: if in an NFL game, one team showed up with helmets that broke whenever they hit the ground, and there was a proposal to make the game a touch football game to "even the field" and have a show for the fans, the fans would complain very loudly. They wouldn't want that show.

I agree wit Ferrari's decision - F1 is a competition. If I showed up to something prepared and my competition did not, I would not agree to handicap myself. I think FIA's decision to stick to the rules was the correct one, as well.

I do not blame the M-teams for deciding not to run on unsafe tires. I blame Michelin for failing to provide safe tires.

Yes, the whole thing was a debable. But Michelin should shoulder the entire blame and pay consequences.

Autoweek suggested that F1 offer to waive the sanctioning fee for Indy next year to make up for it. I think that the fee should be refunded for this year, with Michelin paying to reimbirse IMS for all other expenses related to the race, and them IMS should refund ticket costs to all the fans who bought tickets.

One bright point in this mess - Champ Cars has offered to honor all USGP tickets for their Cleveland race coming up.

[paul hastings]

Bravo to Champ car! Or, are they really that deperate for fans. Maybe an opportunity to capture disgruntled F1 fans.

[David J Marguglio]

Okay did everyone read the Autoweek article about the race? Their piece indicated that the M-shod teams, specifically McLaren, had found that by adding a bit more pressure that the tires showed slightly slower speeds in the slower infield sections, but no problems on the high speed banking. It was also speculated that Toyota was using a lower pressure (below Michelin's stated minimums) to try to get some more time out of the infield. The article was informative, but I feel reached the incorrect conclusion that the debacle was Michelins fault. It cast some additional blame in the direction of Bernie/Max and Ferrari. Again, I think that although those were contributing factors, ultimately it was the teams choice to use this as a red herring to continue their fight with the FIA and are, therefore the most culpable of the lot. It will be interesting to see what comes out of them being called to the principal's office next week.

[David J Marguglio]

Jad: by the way, this is the info I was referring to in an ealier post, now verified by Max:

MM: It is completely untrue that we stopped them. We told them they could use the tire, but that the stewards would undoubtedly penalize them to ensure they gained no advantage from breaking the rules by using a high-performance short-life tire just for qualifying. We also had to make sure this did not set a precedent. However the question became academic, because Michelin apparently withdrew the tire after trying it on a test rig.

[harnishclan]

Maybe I am missing a point or two in this whole thing, but doesn't it seem odd that their significant cost cutting measure is reducing the number of tires used during a race weekend? I mean really, these guys have budgets in the many millions of dollars and this is what they come up with? Seems silly to me. A better approach might be going with more restrictive rules on testing, chassis and motor development, aerodynamics. There are a bunch of areas to cut big dollars, tires seems like such a small and rather inane area to start.

[David J Marguglio]

Brian: I believe that the one tire per weekend rule was designed to increase the competition rather than decrease the cost. In previous seasons it seamed that whoever was leading after the final pitstop won the race; one thing that can be said of this season is that it is not over until it is over. By the way, I read that the cost savings on the one engine rule is approximately 1.5M Euros ($1.8M) per engine times two cars times at least 9 less changes is over $32M. Not chump change there.

[David J Marguglio]

From BBC:

Michelin has offered to refund the 120,000 spectators who bought tickets for the farcical US Grand Prix. The tyre company made the offer just hours before Wednesday's disciplinary hearing involving the seven teams that refused to race over safety concerns.

The teams face charges of bringing the sport into disrepute and could be docked constructors' points.

Michelin also offered to buy 20,000 tickets for the 2006 US Grand Prix to be given to this year's fans.

A Michelin statement read: "Michelin deeply regrets that the public was deprived of an exciting race and therefore wishes to be the first, among the different groups involved in the race, to make a strong gesture towards the spectators.

"This is an important decision, since Michelin is not at all legally bound to do this."

The Michelin gesture is likely to reduce the risk of the teams - championship leaders Renault, McLaren, Williams, Toyota, Sauber, Red Bull and BAR - being heavily sanctioned by the FIA world motorsport council.

[Kim Crosser]

At face values of $85-120 per seat, that is $10.2 - $18 Million in refunds.

Of course, scalpers were charging up to $350 for "penthouse" seating - I am betting they will only refund the face values of the tickets, but that is still impressive.

[David Ray]

That's a penance to the overall compensation the class action lawsuits are seeking; total expenses for the fans. I spent $350/airflight for three family members; $300 for auto rental, expenses (beer (Fosters at 6/can)) and room and board (at my sisters, she charges Ritz’ rates), meals, etc. Reimbursement for the $315 spent on tickets is nothing.

Michelin has no idea what they’re into monetarily – and providing restitution for the “tickets” is a quick step to the guilty verdict. I see many more lawsuits pending after yesterday’s announcement.

Don't turn your ticket stubs in too soon.....