OTT: US Formula 1 race great for Ferarri, bad for Michelin

[Mike Veglia]

Michelin and the teams that run them are 100% at
fault. The fans got screwed, F1's presence in the USA
likely got screwed, but there is only one place to lay
blame, and that is Michelin I'm afraid. The root of
the problem can be also attributed to tire wars, and
this supposed cost saving rule of running race
distance on a set of tires

According to Peter Windsor on SPEED TV's Wind Tunnel
program Sunday night. Michelin was told of the track
resurfacing and the Michelin running teams were
invited to a tire test. I don't recall which two, but
two teams sent two cars (one each) with test drivers
to Indy to test tires with Michelin. Meanwhile, the
majority of team testing was held at Silverstone
instead. Obvious to see priorities lied here. That was
the opportunity for Michelin Engineers and teams to
"get it right" and they failed, miserably.

Adding a chicane in the 11th hour because Michelin
failed to provide reliable and safe equipment really
wasn't an option. Clearly the technical hurdles were
not insurmountable, after all the struggling Ferrari
team finally got a decent qualifying result and ran
race distance at a solid pace just fine. In fact, none
of the Bridgestone teams had a tire problem.

The only underlying conspiracy here is the opportunity
for the breakaway teams to use this as a reason to
begin the "split" in F1. Of course American open wheel
fans only know all too well what happens when a strong
series splits off into two. The best open wheel race
in the USA last weekend was likely in Portland, but
not many cared.

Mike Veglia
Motor Sport Visions Photography
http://www.motorsportvisions.com