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

[tihol tiholov]

>>  ferrari had no part in the decision not to proceed with a chicane.

>All the teams agreed to the chicane except Ferrari

Can't blame Ferrari for sticking to the rules.  No-one is nice to them when they have troubles, incl. with their tires, and they don't whine when they can't win.  As a matter of fact they've been driving with slower tires so far the whole season and didn't ask for a chicane on any track.

> It is widely argued that FIA management caters to Ferrari's whim, because if Ferrari takes their blocks and plays elsewhere, F1 would be in extremely deep dog food.

I'm not a ferrarist but they are the only team in F1 to build both the car and the engine, have to respect that.  As to catering, maybe when JM Balestre was FIA's head.  Would Max Mosley cater to an Italian or to an England-based team?  Apparently to no-one in this case.

>Regardless of Michelin's problem, FIA had a responsibility to present an event, not piss off thousands of ticketholders and millions of fans.

Totally agreed, maybe FIA underestimated the stubbornness of teams.  I suspect the teams wanted to use this situation to press FIA to allow tire change during race as in the past, they should IMHO. 

>> frank williams has confirmed that fact this
> morning on autosport.com, and completely exonerated ferrari.

>That's the line of an apologist.

Doubt it muchly that Frank Williams would readily apologize for anyone, incl. himself at times

Last minute chicane would have been fair if everyone without exceptions had safety issues.  This way it's gambling with everyone's safety.

>  Heaven forbid drivers and teams should actually have a challenge on their hands

Driving an F1 car is far from a picknick.  It's enough of a challenge as it is, as some of the Michael's might attest, for instance, Andretti.


TT