What in the wide world of sports was that all about? Sure, there are rules in F1. Sure, the teams running on Michelin tires could've driven slower around the banked turn. But the one set of tyres rule is dumb, in my opinion. It's dangerous, leads to boring racing (which the FIA was trying to prevent with the latest round of rules changes, BTW), and doesn't lead to any advancement in technology that could trickle down to passenger vehicles. I haven't had the need to drive around a banked curve at 300+ clicks for hours on end in quite some time.
My take is that this is more posturing from the manufacturers in their bid for a breakaway series. If the teams that boycotted the race are severely punished on the 29th expect them to decry the FIA. This may very well lead to all manner of musk spraying by the affected parties and perhaps even some withdrawals.
I used to be a big fan of the Indianapolis 500. While my father is a NASCAR man through and through I have always been entrhalled by the open wheel race cars. Every year I'd be glued to the set for the running of the TRUE 500 mile race. Every year until they destroyed the event by splitting the field into two. The infamous schism that led to the IRL. It has never been the same, hotties behind the wheel not withstanding. Now, not to be outdone by their American counterparts, the F1 is set upon doing the exact same thing. Considering it was so successful for Champ and Indy car I can see why the FIA and manufacturers are eager to emulate them. NOT.
This stinks.
1 comment:
Yeah, that sucked big time. I have had such high hopes for F1 in the US at Indy. The attendance had dropped since the inaugural GP in 2000, which is to be expected, but it seemed to have found a good home at the Brickyard.
The drivers all seemed to like the atmosphere, if not the track itself. And with Scott Speed running the 3rd car for Red Bull on Friday, the first steps were taken towards putting an American driver in the F1 field.
Now it's all gone to shit. The rigged Ferrari 1-2 finish of a few years ago left a bad taste for many that F1 has struggled to overcome. I fear this year's debacle will be too much to overcome.
It's easy to blame FIA for faulty rules. I do agree the one tyre rule is ridiculous. But those are the rules that were in place. I fault Michelin for not providing adequate equipment and backup.
Then they all -- manufacturers, suppliers, FIA, and FOM -- go and turn it into a political staredown to enhance their respective positions. Basically, one big dick-measuring contest done at the expense of the fans.
As it is, the FIA is trying to turn F1 into a spec series. Interesting that Ferrari signed the Concorde extension. Do they really want to run FIA-homologated and defined 2.4L V-8s?
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