formula 1 indy!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!!! It was and still is TOTALY F***ED UP!! I was there and I have never experienced anything like that. F1 has definitely lost a lot of ground in America. Luckily I was a sponsored guest, but I extremely feel for those whom paid their hard earned money to be there.

Not once have been to a Nascar Race and heard "oh the tires wear too fast and have a tendency to blow out after 25 laps, so we have decided to do a parade lap and pull the cars into the garage. However, for your viewing pleasure Jeff Gordon and Kyle Bush will compete in their Monte Carlo rentacars".

Good friend of our family payed to go there, and let me tell you, he was PISSED.

chrisbudl1 said:

they even sent replacement tires, the night before, but formula 1 wouldn't approve them. bull!!!!!!!!!! and I just wanted to watch it on tape

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Michelin sent the same tires that were already there so then Michelin wanted FIA to put in a chicane before turn 13. FIA said that they should not have to change the rules because they sent faulty equipment and they are not going to change the course because no one had set up thier chassis and brakes for such a track layout change. FIA said because it was thier own fault they need to run what then brung!!! Michelin said no and you have a 6 car race.

Sucks but I see FIA on this one. This was the first US GP that I have not gone to in 4 years. I guess the racing gods were on my side. I do feel for the people that spent $$$ on the race and got screwed.

Total agreement... We can't expect the FIA to just change the course or the rules on a whim. If Michelin can't build a tire worthy of the track then looks like their teams don't get to run. Still, we all got a raw deal on that one.

Yeah, I was also there for that debacle. It was my 4th time at the USGP at Indy. We go down every year and are at the track for every lap of practice and qualifying. Indy's a great city and we have a ball there going to go kart tracks and partying, so it honestly didn't ruin our weekend but the dissapointment and general screw-over of the race was something I'll never forget. Sitting closely among Columbians and Germans who I talked to who flew halfway around the world to see a bunch of arrogant people not put the fans first really made me somewhat embarassed to be such a big F1 fan, I felt ashamed that day to support such an immaturely run sport.

The way I see it is 2 parties are at fault, Michelin and the FIA, equally. Michelin made the initial mistakes of not bringing the permitted 2 tyres to the U.S. and not engineering the tyres they did have properly to last. This is a terrible disservice to the teams it supplies and they can be held 100% responsible for the points those teams and drivers lost in the world championship. Despite this gross miscalculation and poor planning, mistakes do happen and at that point it should be the FIA's job to bend a bit with its regulations and come to a reasonable compromise to provide the fans with a race, even if it didn't count or was later ruled unsanctioned. I'm not suggesting the Michelin teams be allowed to race on new tyres at no penalty, but what would be wrong with a rule to allow them to start from the pit lane if the tyres were changed? As David Coulthard said, why couldn't they just race with a substantial penalty of points or otherwise to the Michelin teams? It's absurd that the tyre rules place such a heavy penalty on changing the most important part of an F1 car, the tyres. So I say the teams not being able to race is 100% Michelin's fault and the fans getting screwed is 100% on the FIA.

I'll be perfectly honest, as much as I LOVE and look forward to that trip to Indy every year, I hope Tony George tells Bernie Eccelstone and his currently dishonorable circus to not even think about coming back to Indianapolis. The Hulman-George family has poured so many millions into their speedway to make it ready for F1 and they have been treated like garbage, right down to their own track historians, reporters, and Indianapolis news agencies not even being able to get a press pass. Now Tony George and IMS are left with nothing but 100,000 angry fans who want their money back and probably won't get it. Indianapolis and its fans deserve better, and until F1 can learn to cater to its international fans and put them first they will never reap the benefits of their general support.

I'm already planning on Montreal next year, don't expect F1 back in the U.S. anytime soon. I hear Montreal is a blast so until then I'll be brushing up on my French. Shame on Michelin for letting down its teams, and shame on the FIA for letting down everyone who put their money and hearts into F1.

-Chris

Also, I agree with the FIA refusing a chicane. You can't just change a track you've already qualified on and set up the cars for. That is not fair to the teams who are prepared for the track in its intended set-up and for safety reasons it's irresponsible to start a race with a new chicane, a new braking point for everyone, and no rubber laid down in that area. It might have been in the fans' best interest but it's a fundamentally terrible idea, another, better compromise was possible.

kidtwist51 - FYI tires is spelled with an "i". Also, I went to Montreal with some friends 2 summers ago, not for the race but as vacation. I was not happy with the city nor the people there. They are @$$holes.

Anyhow, I believe that after being screwed by Michelin, the teams should have said screw Michelin and bought the unused Bridgestones off of their counterparts and run the race if not just for the fans.