Africa-Press – South-Africa. Seventeen years ago, at the 2005 United States Grand Prix, Formula 1 experienced the worst race in its history. And more, it diverted a situation that could have resulted in severe injury.
Up until the end of the 2006 season, F1 had what you would call a tyre war. Several tyre manufacturers would partner with F1 teams, and between 2001 and 2006, the fiercest tyre rivalry in F1 would occur. Bridgestone entered the sport in 1997, with Michelin four years later.
Over the years leading up to the end of 2006, the two tyre manufacturers would compete for teams’ preferences, but most always opted for Michelin. In 2005, Ferrari, Jordan, and Minardi received their tyres from Bridgestone, while the remaining seven teams, including Renault and McLaren-Mercedes, opted for Michelin.
2005 would also be the year that the tyre war reached its peak, and F1 almost suffered irreparable damage to its image and credibility.
Roll on Indianapolis
After the 2004 edition of the US GP around Indianapolis, the circuit’s management team decided to repave the embankment out of the final corner. It all seemed well on paper, but the reality of the situation would be far darker.
It came to light after Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota suffered a left-rear tyre failure on the banking that’s angled at 9-degrees, sending him crashing into the wall in the weekend’s opening practice session. Michelin immediately launched an investigation into Schumacher’s crash, establishing that its tyres could not cope with the demands of the repaved section of track.
More, with 2005 regulations dictating that drivers should complete a race on one set of tyres, Michelin was caught between a rock and a hard place as to what to do. The final corner would take too much life out of the tyres, rendering a new set useless after just 10 laps of all-out racing.
Over the weekend, F1 teams and representatives from Michelin and Bridgestone met with the FIA, F1’s governing body, and Bernie Ecclestone – the sport’s former supremo. Many options and solutions were presented, including putting a chicane at the final corner, but the FIA refused to budge.
Interestingly, the Ferrari team was absent from all meetings, with team boss Jean Todt saying that it was an issue between the FIA and Michelin, and not of any concern to his team.
With no solutions in place, the uncertainty over the Grand Prix spilt into Sunday, with meetings held until it was time to go racing.
The biggest farce
With Ferrari still absent, the remaining nine teams and Ecclestone came forth with solution after solution, but Max Mosley, then-president of the FIA, refused to listen. He refused to heed the calls and threatened teams and the Indianapolis management team with sanctions if they altered the track in any way.
The Michelin runners saw no other option: they would not be participating in the race. The Jordan team, running Bridgestones, said they would follow the Michelin runners and retire their cars into the pits as soon as the formation lap was done. The Minardi team, also supplied by Bridgestone, said they’d do the same if Jordan kept its word and retired its cars.
Sadly, the allure for the two slowest cars on the grid to score points was too big, and both teams, along with Ferrari, stayed out while all the Michelin runners dived into the pits.
That day, on 19 June 2005, only six cars lined up for the US GP around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello first and second, and Tiago Monteiro third for Jordan.
“It’s the saddest day in F1’s recent history,” said Paul Stoddart, Minardi team boss.
“We had an opportunity to have a race. It was denied by the non-approval of putting in a chicane. The Michelin runners have my sympathy. The only reason my cars are out there is because the Jordans went out, having agreed this morning they wouldn’t go out. They went out.
“I can’t do anything. I’m a Bridgestone runner. I don’t take any pleasure in this. This is not a race; it’s a farce. My apologies go out to the fans that are here today and to the millions and millions of people watching this on television around the world. This is why F1 needs to be a sport.
“This is f*****g crazy. The FIA needs to get a grip with itself and sort this sport out before there’s no f*****g sport to sort out. This today is bulls**t. It was Max Mosley (FIA president) who actually said that they would not put the chicane in. He said that in the telephone call with all the team principals.”
Goodbye, US GP
Though the US GP still attracted strong spectator numbers in 2006 and ’07, the damage of 2005 still lingered. The FIA, F1, and the circuit’s management team suffered a strained relationship, with everyone failing to come to a new agreement over the circuit’s inclusion on the F1 calendar post-2007.
2007 also saw Bridgestone being the sport’s sole tyre supplier until 2010, with Michelin not willing to supply F1 after the 2005 fiasco, only seeing its agreement run its course in 2006.
In 2011, Pirelli entered F1 as the new and only tyre supplier, with a recent agreement involving it until the end of the 2024 season (pending renewals).
For the US GP, though, it returned in 2012 when a new track, the Circuit of The Americas, was constructed in Texas. 2022 is the track’s 10th hosting of an F1 race, with Miami joining the F1 calendar earlier this year. In 2023, a third F1 race will be staged in the USA when the pinnacle of motorsport takes to Las Vegas.
The 2022 US Grand Prix takes place this weekend, 21-23 October.
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