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Thread: Usa Gp

  1. #1
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    Usa Gp

    Well, the first big news of the weekend was history repeating itself for poor Ralf Schumacher. A huge shunt into the wall coming off the final turn in Friday practice, just as in last years race, has put him out of the race. Thankfully the new safety walling on the outside of the banked section of the track (installed after Ralf broke his back last year) did its job and Ralf walked away unhurt. This has sparked a row about Michelin's tyres as the accident was caused by a rear blowout, and Toyota test-driver Zonta (who now substitutes for Ralf) had a similar blowout in practice too. After Raikkonen's last-lap shunt at the Nurburgring both tyre manufacturers were issued with a warning by the FIA that ultimately the buck stops with them in terms of the safety aspect with the tyres. Have Michelin heeded this warning? Makes you wonder, it can't really inspire confidence for all of the drivers on the Michelin tyres. Since the accident Michelin have asked all the teams to increase the pressure of their tyres. This may cost them a little in terms of outright performance but is surely the sensible choice in terms of safety.

    After this evening's qualifying session there is to be a meeting between the teams and Bernie Ecclestone to discuss whether they are going to allow Michelin to bring in a new compound tyre for tomorrows race on the interests of safety. This would effectively break about 5 technical regulations regarding the selection of tyres, and I imagine the Bridgestone runners will have something to say about it, but if it's being done in the interests of safety it would be difficult for Bernie and the teams not to agree to it. Makes you wonder what Michelin are playing at though if they bring tyre compounds that aren't capable of lasting a full GP distance. Highly unproffesional IMHO.
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  2. #2
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    i think that you have to consider that this is the first season where the tires had to last a full gp race distance. Prior to this year making a race tire that had to was not a priority. The bridgestone tires seem to be able to last longer as shown by schumacher when he is always stronger at the end of a gp then the beginning as shown in the canada gp, which shows that michelin is to blame somewhat b/c if bridgestone tires can last then michelin should also be able to build a lasting and safe tire as well.

    But should michelin shoulder all of the blame? In my opinion they should take the a hefty part of the blame but F1 itself should take some responsibility for it b/c it was their rule changes that made this possible in the first place. If safety is the issue, then maybe they should allow fresh tire changes. That in my opinion would be safer then michelin coming up with a longer lasting tire.

  3. #3
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    Yes, they should make a tire that can last a whole race, but should that mean that untill that tire does not exist, drivers have to risk their lives by driving with over 350 km/h with a tire that can explode at any time?? especially after 2/3 of a race...
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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by scottie300z
    But should michelin shoulder all of the blame? In my opinion they should take the a hefty part of the blame but F1 itself should take some responsibility for it b/c it was their rule changes that made this possible in the first place. If safety is the issue, then maybe they should allow fresh tire changes. That in my opinion would be safer then michelin coming up with a longer lasting tire.
    I see what you're getting at but the tyre manufacturers have known since late last year what the situation was gonna be, and indeed Michelin have been the team that has adapted the best to the change with their cars consistently being the front runners. The worrying thing for me is that I've just seen an interview with Michelin's F1 project manager and he revealed that after much research all last night and this morning they still don't know exactly what the problem is?! If the tyre manufacturer can't even work out what the problem is then it's gonna leave the teams and drivers up sh!t creek really.

    I agree that the one-set-of-tyres-per-race rule is seriously flawed but I don't think this weekend's problems can be blamed on the FIA as some of the teams have expressed doubts whether the tyres will even last 25-30 laps in race conditions! I think that just shows that Michelin have dropped the ball on this one as the tyres would potentially not even be safe under last years regs.
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  5. #5
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    Qualifying results:

    1 J. Trulli Toyota 1:10.625
    2 K. Räikkönen McLaren 1:10.694
    3 J. Button BAR 1:11.277
    4 G. Fisichella Renault 1:11.290
    5 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:11.369
    6 F. Alonso Renault 1:11.380
    7 R. Barrichello Ferrari 1:11.431
    8 T. Sato BAR 1:11.497
    9 M. Webber Williams 1:11.527
    10 F. Massa Sauber 1:11.555
    11 JP. Montoya McLaren 1:11.681
    12 J. Villeneuve Sauber 1:11.691
    13 R. Zonta Toyota 1:11.754
    14 C. Klien Red Bull 1:12.132
    15 N. Heidfeld Williams 1:12.430
    16 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:12.682
    17 T. Monteiro Jordan 1:13.462
    18 C. Albers Minardi 1:13.632
    19 N. Karthikeyan Jordan 1:13.776
    20 P. Friesacher Minardi 1:14.494

    Toyota have seemingly shrugged off their considerable problems this weekend with Jarno Trulli scoring their first ever pole position. The margin of his advantage over the likes of the Renaults and Ferraris suggests that he is running light on fuel but it was a superb lap none the less. He was absolutely devestating in the final sector (the sector which saw his team mates horrendous accident yesterday) and that's what really made the difference over the the Renaults, BARs and Ferraris.

    Kimi came in second with an excellent lap, and you have to assume that he will be fuelled heavier than the Toyota so he must go down as the race favourite (Michelin tyres permitting! ). Button gave his second good quali performance in a row coming in third just ahead of Fisico's Renault and Schumacher's Ferrari. It was a slightly confusing performance by the Ferraris as with all the problems with Michelin everything seemed to be playing into their hands. However, fifth and seventh isn't exactly sensational by their standards. I would imagine they would have much greater confidence in their tyres, and they are possibly fuelled slightly longer than the other front runners, so they're looking strong for a good race tomorrow.

    Fisichella has again qualified ahead of team mate and championship leader Alonso and it'll be interesting to see what happens should he make it round the first lap ahead of the young Spaniard. There has been much bitching and back-stabbing going on in the Renault camp this week, with the conspiracy theories about the second driver that inevitably seem to follow Flavio Briatore every single season. Fisico must surely be as fired up and determined to perform as ever this weekend, if only to prove a point to his eccentric team boss so it'll be interesting to see how the two Renaults can work their way through the field.
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  6. #6
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    oh i agree that michelin dropped the ball on this one. But i just think its weird that the fia said "that ultimately the buck stops with them (michelin) in terms of the safety aspect with the tyres" when the one set of tires per race rule was made i dont think that safety was in their mind, i just think its a bit hypocrytical. in my opinion michelin needs to work out their problems, (really fast) and the fia should take some responsibility for the safety of the sport. Afterall that is one of the biggest parts of the fia's job.

    And i have a question, what compound were the tires that are blowing out and having trouble with? i would guess that it would make a difference but is there a difference? Is it just the soft compound tires doing this or are the hard compounds just as bad?

  7. #7
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    Oh MARVELOUS!!

    Round of applause for the FIA please:

    Quote Originally Posted by GP.com
    To fly the tyres to Indianapolis would take around six to seven hours and realistically they cannot be in Indiana before the morning. Thus if the Michelin teams were to run the tyres on race day, they would be breaking the rules and it would be up to the stewards of the meeting to decide on whether or not to impose a penalty. But penalising teams for doing something in the interests of safety is a situation in which the FIA will not want to put itself. However, one can see a situation in which the Bridgestone teams, namely Ferrari, will try to gain an advantage to pick up World Championship points. Responding to that, voices in the paddock say that if there is a protest from Ferrari, the other teams will simply not run on Sunday and so the United States Grand Prix would feature six cars: two Ferraris, two Jordans and two Minardis. That would be disastrous from a marketing point of view and the only obvious solution to the problem is to invoke force majeure rules and allow the new tyres to be run and a full field to be seen in action. Bridgestone would still be at an advantage because of the late arrival of tyres but there may then be questions about whether it is safe for the teams to go into a race on tyres that have not been used at all. Thus it might be necessary to have a short session on Sunday morning. But if that happens it is not clear how it could be handled under the parc ferme regulations that exist.
    They have so many stupid little rules to "control" the sport that when something unexpected happens no one can act without breaking all off the rules and causing mayhem.

    What an utterly ludacras situation. Absolute Farce. Maybe that is what the "F" stands for these days.

    Dissapointing result for Montoya who was fastest in all three of the first Practice sessions.

    Still - nice to see that having one problem at one race doesn't immediately throw you out of contention for the following event...
    Thanks for all the fish

  8. #8
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    Like I said... Farce1

    "After recommendations were issued by Michelin concerning tyre usage at Indianapolis, Flavio Briatore clarified the Renault F1 Team’s position on the situation.

    “We fully support Michelin in this situation, and in the efforts they are making to best resolve it. They are flying out different tyres to use in tomorrow’s race – the same that were used in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix,” explained Briatore. “The authorisation to use them has not yet been granted, but if that were not given, we would not compete in tomorrow’s race. The safety of our drivers remains our number one priority.”
    Thanks for all the fish

  9. #9
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    Responding to that, voices in the paddock say that if there is a protest from Ferrari, the other teams will simply not run on Sunday and so the United States Grand Prix would feature six cars: two Ferraris, two Jordans and two Minardis
    wonder who would win?

    what a mess.

  10. #10
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    In ITV2's coverage of the qualifying session they had a quick chat with Bernie Ecclestone at the end regarding the potential outcomes of the meeting that is to take place this evening and he seemed fairly confident that an amicable solution could be found. He said it was totally out of the question that we may end up Michelin runners boycotting or anything so extreme, so I imagine Bernie's gonna try and pull out all the stops to ensure that the race goes ahead with as much normality as possible.

    To be honest I don't really forsee any need for Ferrari to protest even if Michelin do ship in a load of new tyres from France. The Michelin runners will have done zero testing miles on these new tyres and the cars will be coming from a parc ferme situation where the set-up has been optimised for a completely different tyre compound. Either way I think it's gonna be a complete nightmare for the Michelin runners and will play into the hands of the Ferraris.

    I think after the dust has settled on the race weekend the Michelin top brass like Pierre Dupasquier will have a lot of questions to answer from the FIA. Less than a month after being explicitly warned that the tyres they bring to the race must err on the side of caution and driver safety we end up with this debacle. I imagine there will be a LOT of grovelling from Michelin to both the FIA, Bernie and the teams, who have all been well and truly screwed by their incompetence.

    Bernie will be especially pi$$ed off as the US market is one that he is desperate to make a big impression in. He knows how potentially lucrative it is for the sport to be successful in America, and every year he goes on a full-on charm offensive to win over the US investors and fans. To be honest it's hard to remember any really great races in America in recent history, partly down to Ferrari's dominance and partly due to the lameness of the Indianapolis track. This year has been one of the most exciting and closely fought seasons in years and everything was looking set for a great race, something that could genuinely excite some interest in the American market. The fact that we've ended up with such an embarrasing farce will be especially galling for BE.
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  11. #11
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    but these two faliures only came from Toyota out of all the Michelin runners. so there also has to be a problem between the tires and the TF105. I do agree that the FIA has royally screwed themselves this time with the rules.
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jack_Bauer
    he seemed fairly confident that an amicable solution could be found. He said it was totally out of the question that we may end up Michelin runners boycotting or anything so extreme,
    Sure, because Bernie would ever say anything else?

    The teams could not turn up to a race and he would still be "100% certain that there will be 20 cars on the grid".

    Quote Originally Posted by Jack_Bauer
    To be honest I don't really forsee any need for Ferrari to protest even if Michelin do ship in a load of new tyres from France.
    Is there ever a "need" for Ferrari to protest?
    Thanks for all the fish

  13. #13
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    AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! WHNES THE RACE!!! please say tomorow!!!
    He came dancing across the water
    With his galleons and guns
    Looking for the new world
    In that palace in the sun
    On the shore lay Montezuma
    With his cocoa leaves and pearls

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by my porsche
    AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! WHNES THE RACE!!! please say tomorow!!!
    next week
    Audi humbles Porsche. A new dawn starts today.

    Being nice since 2007.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by my porsche
    AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! WHNES THE RACE!!! please say tomorow!!!
    Yep it's tomorrow!
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