In the aftermath of the Michelin brouhaha, I have received a lot of comments criticizing Ferrari for their stand regarding the construction of a chicane on Turn 13 of the Indianapolis Race circuit. The chicane was requested by the teams using Michelins, because the tire manufacturer declared that they cannot guarantee the safety of the drivers using their products. When I first heard of this, I thought it was simply ludicrous for the teams and Michelin to request for changes that would certainly suit them. What about Bridgestone? They weren’t having any problem during the practice and qualifying sessions. Bridgestone did its homework and managed to provide their teams with tires that could see them safely through the race. Michelin was playing dirty by requesting for adjustments that could make up for their inadequacy.
Ferrari was said to be the only team vehemently saying no to this proposal. Which I think any sane team would do. Why would you squander the advantage you’ve worked so hard for, especially if you’ve been down on your luck for pretty much half of the competition? Tough luck for those who failed to rise to the challenge of the track. It certainly isn’t right to say that the Michelin users had no choice but to pull their cars out of the race. There is no such thing as not having a choice. If the tires weren’t up for the strains the turn and the speed put on them, then the teams could’ve still raced, but in a slower pace. A choice they opted not to take. Sure, it was probably a no-win situation for them, but they were never left without choices.
Well, the French Grand Prix is the next event in the F1 calendar. The circus is back in Europe, smack right in the home track of Michelin. I have a feeling the Michelin teams would be coming back with a bang, but it still hasn’t changed the fact that they have a lot to make up for for what happened in the US. I can’t wait for the next race.
written on 25 June 2005
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